Litigant in person

In England and Wales, a litigant in person is an individual, company or organisation that has rights of audience (this is, the right to address the court) and is not represented in a court of England and Wales by a solicitor or barrister. Instructing a barrister and not a solicitor, for example through the Public Access Scheme, however, does not prevent the party on whose behalf the barrister had been instructed from being a litigant in person.[1]

It is possible nevertheless for litigants in England and Wales to obtain free legal advice and in some cases representation from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).

The term litigant in person is also used in the similar (but separate) legal systems of Irish law and Northern Irish law.[2][3]

The equivalent in Scotland is a party litigant and in the United States is pro se legal representation.

  1. ^ "Agassi v Robinson (Inspector of Taxes)(No.2)Court of Appeal (Civil Division)". www.dipublico.org. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Guidelines for Litigants in Person" (PDF). The Courts Service of Ireland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Litigants in person in Northern Ireland - Ulster University". Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.