Criminal law
R v Ng and another [2024] EWCA Crim 493, [2024] All ER (D) 62 (May)
The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held that the failure of the Crown Prosecution Service to field a prosecutor to conduct the defendants’ trial for assault, among other things, had not been capable of amounting to an abuse of process justifying a stay of proceedings. Accordingly, the court allowed the prosecution’s appeal, under s 58 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, against the terminating ruling, reversed the terminating ruling and ordered a resumption of the proceedings in the Crown Court. The court also gave guidance to judges facing difficulties arising out of non-attendance by trial counsel. On the substantive appeal, the court held, among other things, that: (i) there were two species (or limbs) of abuse justifying a stay, first, when a fair trial was not possible; and second, where it offended the court’s sense of justice and propriety, or public confidence in the criminal justice system would be undermined, for the defendant to be tried in the particular circumstances of the case; (ii)
