January 11
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Charles Dickens’ Bleak House was published at the end of the 19th century. The work portrayed the legal system as an institution, revealing how both actors from the business world and those involved in law used their ‘Wall of Words’ tool to fulfil their own personal gain in a questionable manner, leading to the incrimination of innocent citizens of moral and noble character, or failure to access funds which have been bequeathed to them.
The system itself is depicted as a hugely inefficient and needlessly time-consuming affair, the fictional case was based on another factual one, spanning more than one generation. The conclusion was that the legal costs far outweighed any compensation that the defendant had any hope to claim, and thus declared that it would be foolish to engage in such a venture.
Fast-forward to the 21st century, and we have a modern parallel to the one Dickens puts forward, on a far larger scale, and with far more devastating results. Recently dramatised by ITV, the Post Office scandal – the case running for over 20 years – succeeded in prosecuting more than 700 innocent postmasters, resulting in devastated lives, mental and physical illness, loss of livelihoods and savings, deaths, bankruptcy, and public shaming.
Careful manipulation of the legal system allowed the Post Office to continually squirm out of any responsibility on their part, accusing their own employees of stealing funds. This case, as was the case with that of Bleak House, ends with the ‘legal costs’ eating up any compensation the defendants may have been awarded.
Unfortunately for the contemporary citizen, the concept of Information Technology has also been added to the mix. The general approach of blind faith, over-reliance and supreme confidence in the efficiency of running IT in all levels of business is now paramount. This approach was given far more credence than the reputation or moral character of the postmasters who had in many cases devoted their whole lives to the Post Office.
The verdict?
After countless legal processes, the computer system was pronounced guilty as charged.
However, the legal system, which is a public service, permitted such totally unacceptable consequences to take place. It seems clear that the legal system is no longer serving the public, and so needs to be completely re-modelled in order to do so, instead of ruling in favour of the highest bidder.
Diane Grafton
