Crime Bill
Sections of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill are “unnecessary and undesirable” and would “undermine the operation of the courts”, the Bar Council and the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) claim.
The Bill seeks to amend the test applied by the Court of Appeal when considering an appeal against conviction, including cases where there has been an abuse of the investigative or prosecution process. It also proposes extending the powers of non-legally qualified case workers to conduct trials for serious offences in magistrates’ courts.
Sally O’Neill QC, chairman of the CBA, says: “Cases involving contested facts, issues of law, and serious allegations with imprisonment as a possibility, should be conducted by properly qualified advocates who are subject to independent regulation otherwise there will be an increased risk of miscarriages of justice.”
Bar chairman, Tim Dutton QC, says cl 42 of the Bill attempts to amend the test applied by the Court of Appeal when considering an appeal against conviction.
“It is in part unnecessary and undesirable because it will alter the role of the Court of Appeal from a court of review to a tribunal of fact. It does not recognise the way in which the rules of criminal appeals currently operate. It will increase cost and delay,” he says.
