While a dispute over legal aid fees has been going on for some time, it is now apparent it is having a significant impact on the administration of justice in Northern Ireland.
Some estimates suggest there could be up to 1,000 cases waiting to be dealt with in the Crown Court, a number said to be growing by approximately 150 each month.
These cases include the most serious matters to come before the courts, including murder, sexual offences and assaults.
A letter from the Criminal Bar Association to members of the Stormont justice committee detailed the effect this is having on the day to day running of the judicial system.
According to the letter, courts are `sitting empty' and judges are `twiddling their thumbs.'
It is not just the lawyers and judges who are affected by this difficult situation.
It also has a negative impact on the victims of crime who are already facing an anxious time, defendants who may face lengthy periods in custody awaiting trial and also the police, probation officers and other services who are seeing their case loads mount with no end in sight.
In a sign of the gravity of the situation, a senior law lord has intervened to express concern at the stand-off and the severe disruption it is causing to the process of justice.
Lord Justice Weir said judges could see the increasingly adverse effect the continued disagreement was having on the administration of criminal justice and urged all sides to bring the matter `to an early conclusion.'
There is no doubt the issue of legal aid fees is a contentious one and there have been disputes in the past which have disrupted the process of justice.
However, the current row is clearly leading to unacceptable delays and it is in the interests of justice that a resolution is reached.
