Bermuda has the opportunity to transform its legal aid system from a rigid structure into a dynamic one that responds to economic realities. To address the shortage of defence attorneys and the disparities Bermudians face in the judicial system, New Zealand’s innovative legal aid model provides a practical blueprint that the island can adapt to ensure justice remains accessible to all who need it.

The Legal Aid Office, while established to serve legal needs for the past 40 years, perpetuates rather than bridges the justice gap through its restrictive eligibility requirements. Its means test limits assistance to those with a net income of up to $18,000 per annum. This draconian threshold proves devastatingly inadequate and is a systemic failure that forces most Bermudians to navigate complex legal proceedings without representation.

The first step, among several to maintain a sustainable solution, lies in implementing an indexed threshold system that automatically adjusts legal aid eligibility based on economic indicators. Rather than maintaining a fixed income cut-off, this approach ties eligibility to economic conditions while incorporating sustainable funding mechanisms.

Here is how such a system could work in practice: using New Zealand’s proven model, Bermuda would set base eligibility at 45 per cent of median income — published in the Consumer Price Index — establishing an initial threshold of $31,607. Although this would not encapsulate all of the majority, adopting this model would further ensure the system accounts for individual circumstances as each legal matter naturally entails. This base threshold would then adjust through three key mechanisms:

• Family size adjustments would add 10 per cent per dependent, recognising that a single income often supports multiple people

• Case complexity factors would allow additional allowances of 15 per cent to 25 per cent for matters requiring specialised expertise or extended litigation

• Annual automatic adjustments would ensure thresholds maintain pace with Bermuda’s cost-of-living indices

Crucially, this system would include a graduated contribution scheme for those near the eligibility margins. Rather than creating a stark cut-off where someone is either fully eligible or completely ineligible, individuals slightly above the threshold could receive assistance while contributing a portion of costs on a sliding scale. This maintains fiscal sustainability while expanding access.

The administrative framework for implementation already exists. The Legal Aid Office has statutory authority to adjust thresholds through affirmative resolution procedures. Put simply, it holds the power to increase figures to main values, and can propose such an order be laid before the legislature (Parliament or National Assembly). This means the groundwork for reform can begin without requiring extensive new legislation.

Not only has the proposed model been upheld in a neighbouring commonwealth territory — strengthening the case for Bermuda to adopt a similar approach — but it has been also recognised as essential to meeting international human rights obligations. This precedent provides judicial validation of the system’s ability to address the types of access to justice barriers identified.

Implementation could proceed in measured phases. Phase one would establish the indexed base threshold and family size adjustments. Phase two would introduce the complexity supplements and graduated contribution scheme. Phase three would institutionalise the annual adjustment mechanisms.

New Zealand’s experience demonstrates that such reforms can be fiscally sustainable. The country’s graduated contribution model has helped to maintain budget stability while significantly expanding access to legal services. Within five years of implementation, New Zealand achieved a 40 per cent increase in assistance provided while keeping costs within initial projections.

Looking ahead, this indexed system would provide the foundation for broader reforms outlined in my article on how Bermuda can fulfil its international obligations by adopting court-tested solutions to remedy its arbitrary barriers to justice. However, the immediate priority is establishing this core framework that can respond dynamically to Bermuda’s economic conditions rather than remaining fixed regardless of circumstances.

Bermuda’s constitutional promise of justice cannot remain merely an aspirational ideal — it must be transformed into a practical and accessible reality for all citizens. The time for meaningful reform is now. Without meaningful reform, Bermuda fails its citizens precisely when they most need its protection. The solutions presented are not radical, but invite us to ask ourselves whether we have the moral courage to admit that a justice system accessible to only the very poor or the very wealthy is no justice system at all.

An indexed threshold system offers a proven path forward — one that balances expanded access with fiscal responsibility while creating sustainable mechanisms for legal aid delivery.

• Iyana Vhané, a Juris Doctor law degree candidate at Appalachian School of Law in Virginia, who has called Bermuda home since her visit at age 12, combines international legal experience from Australia and The Hague in her work to restore Bermudians’ access to both local and foreign counsel