The government’s latest criminal justice reforms could be a recipe for disaster, says Andrew Keogh
It is not only the mandated right to legislate that governments enjoy, but also a duty to pass laws that improve the lot of citizens. One must therefore be careful before jumping in to criticise the 68th piece of criminal justice legislation since 1997. The Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill is a mixed bag of reforms with many having the appearance of being designed in haste—always a recipe for disaster as far as criminal justice legislation is concerned.
The impact of the reforms on the legal aid budget is staggering and estimated in the regulatory impact assessment as being in the order of £2m per annum. It remains to be seen, given that the Ministry of Justice is the sponsoring department for the Bill, how this will be funded, except via further cuts in scope of remuneration levels.
SENTENCING AND CONVICTIONS
Part 2 of the Bill deals with sentencing. In reality the Bill simply seeks to correct the perceived mistakes enacted in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, a piece of
