The Second Reading debate on the Courts and Tribunals Bill is taking place tomorrow. The Government hopes for a speedy passage of this legislation through Parliament, perhaps even before the May elections according to some Labour MPs. That seems a fairly improbable outcome given that it contains some of the most far reaching changes in the justice system for a generation, and is likely to be strongly opposed in both Houses of Parliament. If it is not passed by the end of the current session of Parliament, likely to be in late May, there is a procedure for “carrying over” the Bill into the next Parliamentary session. Given the Prime Minister’s somewhat uncertain future, and the Bill’s unpopularity, it is by no means inevitable that that would happen.
The central and most contentious provision in the Bill is to abolish trial by jury for all but some of the most serious offences. The objections to this appalling proposal have been well-articulated by others, including the Labour MP Karl Turner, and here by The Secret Barrister.
But it also contains other less publicised changes to criminal procedure, all of which are designed to ensure that more people are convicted more quickly and that having been convicted they have less chance to appeal. The Courts Minister Sarah Sackman describes this as improving justice for “victims.”
Her implication is that defendants can never themselves be victims, and that their rights can thus be sacrificed if this achieves more convictions. Continue reading “It’s not just about juries: The Courts and Tribunals Bill will institutionalise injustice in the Magistrates Courts”