Pioneering legal service inspired by photographer killed in Gaza

 The father of a peace activist shot dead by an Israeli soldier has launched a pioneering legal service to make justice more affordable.
 Tom Hurndall, a photojournalist from Camden, was shot in a head by a sniper as he tried to help Palestinian children in Gaza in 2003. The 22-year-old fell into a coma and died nine months later in a London hospital.

 
 His father Anthony Hurndall, a property lawyer, led a lenghty legal battle to bring his son’s killer to justice.
 He has set up the Centre for Justice in Camden [Camden - dzielnica Londynu - przyp. tlum.] to help resolve disputies without going to court and at a fraction of the cost and time – as he also begins mediation with Israeli autorities over compensation for his son’s death.
 Mr Hurndall, 59, said: ‘Tom was concerned about justice and investigation. He wanted to help those who are disenfranchised. There is a parallel with what we are trying to do.
 Most people involved in a dispute are crying out for help but they are shoe-horned into the legal process without the central issue being resolved. We provide a non- adversarial arbitration service that tries to empathise with the people involved.’
 The centre has between 10 and 20 cases, the first of which, a financial services dispute, is expected to be resolved within next month.
 One of its five lawyers is appointed to investigate the issue in dispute and to speak to both parties, acting as mediator. The lawyer also has powers to judge how monies or property should be split. The decision is legally binding under the 1996 Arbitration Act as long as both parties sign up for the mediation.
 Although there are dispute resolution companies, Mr Hurndall believes the centre makes it more accesible for civil disputes that would normally be settled by a county courts. It saves legal aid costs as well as private fees paid by potential litigants who could face significant expense in a court.

Source: Evening Standard, 10July (by Rashid Razaq)

legal serivice – obsluga prawna
to launch – wszczac
a property lawyer – odpowiednik notariusza
to bring to justice – osadzic
to resolve disputies – rozstrzygnac spory
mediation – mediacja (to begin mediation over something)
authorities – wladza
compensation – zadoscuczynienie
to be disenfranchised – byc pozbawionym praw (publicznych)
arbitration – arbitraz
party – strona
to judge (czasownik) – osadzac, tu: wydawac wiazace rozstrzygniecie
civil – cywilne
county court – odpowiednik polskich Sadow Rejonowych (Borough – pow. 50.000 mieszkancow)