Criminal defence practitioners—and indeed anyone who is concerned about preventing miscarriages of justice—will welcome the Law Commission’s recently published consultation paper on appeals in criminal proceedings.
National outrage at the wrongful convictions of many innocent sub-postmasters due to the Horizon scandal, and the appalling case of Andrew Malkinson, gives the Law Commission’s project added urgency. However, in truth, discontent with the current appellate system has been widespread for years.
Lessons from past reforms
One of the most frustrating aspects of all this is the very real sense that we have been here before. As far back as 1991, following public concern over the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of the Guildford Four, the Birmingham Six and others, the then government set up a Royal Commission to carry out a thorough review of the criminal justice system. A key recommendation of that commission was the creation of an independent body to review criminal convictions—the previous system, whereby post-appeal reviews were handled
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