Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler said he would halt a new policy of means testing instituted by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) until Government's legal arm reviews it.

Before the new policy came into effect, Government would foot the legal bills of anyone the Commission deemed had a case. The new policy required those people to submit proof that they could not afford to represent themselves.

It sought to bring the parties in cases before the Human Rights Commission under the same scrutiny as those applying for legal aid in the court system.

But community activist Khalid al-Wasi (Raymond Davis) was ready to sue Government over the change and filed a Supreme Court writ. Mr. al-Wasi, a former chairman of the Commission's education committee, said the new policy was unjust and contrary to the Human Rights Act.

On Monday Mr. al-Wasi said he had suspended his suit pending a response from Mr. Butler. And yesterday Mr. Butler said that in light of the complaint "he has decided to ask the Human Rights Commission to withdraw the policy from further implementation to in order to allow the Attorney General's Chambers to conduct a thorough review of the matter".

Defending the policy, Mr. Butler said in a press statement that it was designed to "guide the distribution of the limited amount of funds they (the HRC) had available for legal aid for this purpose".

"The policy did not prohibit anyone from taking a case before the Commission, nor did it prohibit anyone from having a case heard by a Board of Inquiry," he said. "The policy was aimed at encouraging complainants with the financial means to support their own case so that more assistance could be given to the complainants who did not have the financial means."

In his statement, Mr. Butler admitted that while knew that the HRC was reviewing the issue, he was unaware that the new policy had been implemented until Mr. al-Wasi contacted the media to complain.

The Minister said that following the review by the Attorney-General's chambers, he will take a recommendation before Cabinet for their consideration.

Mr. al-Wasi could not be reached for comment last night.