Poor Lawyering : A Comparative Study of the Quality of Criminal Defence Assistance in England and Belgium

Comparing the criminal justice systems of Belgium, France and England, the PhD will assess the impact of low quality legal assistance. It aims first, to assess the role of legal counsel in each jurisdiction; secondly, to determine what the legal consequences of poor quality representation are, and how this may be measured; and thirdly, to identify appropriate remedies in circumstances where legal counsel may have failed or otherwise denied clients appropriate legal assistance. In short, the PhD aims to identify the legal conditions necessary for enhancing and enforcing a minimum quality of legal assistance across each jurisdiction.