ABSTRACT This article critically examines the value and scope of the cab rank rule in England and Australia. Despite the laudable non-discrimination principle underpinning it, the cab rank rule is subject to so many exceptions it is debatable whether the rule has any effect, positive or negative, on access to justice. On the other hand, when the rule is followed, it has the potential to unnecessarily distort the legal services market. Despite legitimate questions about its continued relevance, the paper argues that the rationale for the cab rank rule remains critically important in an age where most people are unable to afford private legal representation and are ineligible for public legal assistance. The cab rank rule could play a greater role in delivering access to justice for all, by ‘rebooting’ it as a limited universal service obligation to provide legal representation for all who genuinely need it but cannot obtain it privately. In practice this would involve the creation of a compartmentalised public cab rank in which all practising lawyers dedicate a small percentage of their billable hours to representing eligible clients for a regulated fee.

中文翻译：

---

重新启动出租车等级规则作为有限的普遍服务义务

摘要 本文批判性地考察了英国和澳大利亚出租车等级规则的价值和范围。尽管有值得称道的非歧视原则作为支撑，但出租车等级规则受制于如此多的例外情况，因此该规则是否对诉诸司法有任何积极或消极的影响尚有争议。另一方面，如果遵循该规则，则有可能不必要地扭曲法律服务市场。尽管对其持续相关性提出了合理的问题，但该论文认为，在大多数人无法负担私人法律代表并且没有资格获得公共法律援助的时代，出租车等级规则的基本原理仍然至关重要。出租车等级规则可以在为所有人提供司法救助方面发挥更大的作用，通过“重启”它作为一项有限的普遍服务义务，为所有真正需要它但无法私下获得它的人提供法律代表。在实践中，这将涉及创建一个分隔的公共出租车等级，其中所有执业律师将其计费时间的一小部分用于代表符合条件的客户收取规定费用。