Translate the text from Welsh to English.



 
Yn ei araith allweddol gyntaf ers cael ei benodi’n swyddog cyfraith a phrif gynghorydd cyfreithiol Llywodraeth Cymru, dywedodd y Cwnsler Cyffredinol fod  canlyniadau polisi cyni Llywodraeth y DU wedi golygu bod Gweinidogion y DU yn rhoi mwy o bwyslais ar dorri costau gweinyddu cyfiawnder, yn hytrach na diogelu a chynnal hawliau pobl i gael mynediad i’r system gyfiawnder \- sy'n hanfodol er mwyn creu cymdeithas decach a mwy cyfartal.  
  
Ac yntau’n siarad yn Ysgol y Gyfraith,  Prifysgol Caerdydd, dywedodd Mr Antoniw: 

 
> "Mae'r system gyfreithiol yng Nghymru wedi cyrraedd croesffordd; ni fu mynediad i gyfiawnder a gweinyddu cyfiawnder ym Mhrydain erioed wedi bod mor brin a chyfyngedig ers diwedd yr Ail Ryfel Byd. Erbyn hyn, baich yw’r gyfraith i rannau cyfan o boblogaeth Cymru a'r Deyrnas Unedig yn hytrach nag arf grymuso a rhyddfreinio.  
>   
> "Fel y dywedodd Llywydd Cymdeithas y Cyfreithwyr ar y pryd, Andrew Caplen, mewn araith yn 2014, *‘the rule of law is rightly regarded as being the foundation of any democratic society. But the rule of law is meaningless if there is no access to justice. It is pointless to be granted rights if you have no way of enforcing them.’*
> 
>  "Mae diddymu cymorth cyfreithiol i’r mwyafrif o bobl ym maes cyfraith lles cymdeithasol, cyfraith teulu, tai a dyled, yn fwy na dim ond cyfyngu’n ar fynediad i gyfiawnder. Mae'r newidiadau a welwyd yn yr ychydig flynyddoedd diwethaf wedi rhoi diwedd ar y consensws ideolegol a wnaed yn 1945 rhwng pleidiau gwleidyddol ledled y DU mai hawl gymdeithasol a dynol sylfaenol yw mynediad i gyfiawnder sy’n gwbl hanfodol wrth greu cymdeithas decach a mwy cyfartal.  
> 
>  "Un o egwyddorion eraill mynediad i’r gyfraith yw y dylai llysoedd a  thribiwnlysoedd gael eu lleoli mewn cymunedau lleol gyda barnwyr, ynadon a chadeiryddion tribiwnlysoedd sy’n adnabod ac yn deall y gymuned. Mae’r cyhoeddiad diweddar bod deg o adeiladau llysoedd ychwanegol yn mynd i gau yn tanseilio’r egwyddor hon yn enbyd. Torri costau sydd wrth wraidd y bwriad i gau’r llysoedd hyn yn hytrach nag effeithlonrwydd wrth weinyddu cyfiawnder.”







Translation:


 
In his first major speech since being appointed as the Welsh Government’s law officer and chief legal adviser, the Counsel General said the consequences of the UK Government policy of austerity has resulted in UK Ministers placing a greater emphasis on cutting the cost of the administration of justice, rather than safeguarding and upholding the rights of people to access to the justice system – which is an imperative in the building of a fairer and more equal society.


Speaking at Cardiff University’s school of law, Mr Antoniw said:



> “The legal system in Wales is at a crossroads; in post war Britain access to justice and the administration of justice has never been so limited and restricted. Now, to whole sections of the Welsh and UK population, the law is an imposition and not a vehicle for empowerment and emancipation.
> 
> 
> “As the then President of the Law Society, Andrew Caplen, highlighted in a speech in 2014, *‘the rule of law is rightly regarded as being the foundation of any democratic society. But the rule of law is meaningless if there is no access to justice. It is pointless to be granted rights if you have no way of enforcing them.’*
> 
> 
> “The abolition of legal aid for the majority of people in the areas of social welfare law, family law, housing and debt, is more than a mere restriction of access to justice. The changes we have experienced in the past few years represent an end to the ideological consensus between political parties across the UK reached in 1945 that access to justice is a fundamental social and human right and an imperative in the building of a fairer and more equal society.
> 
> 
> “Another principle of access to the law is that courts and tribunals should be based in local communities with judges, magistrates and tribunal chairs who know and understand the community. The recently announced closure of another ten court buildings in Wales is another nail in the coffin of this principle. The closures are more to do with cost cutting than efficiency in the administration of justice.”