Our strategy: 2021-2024

Building on the success of our Strategy 2017-2014, please find below the JUSTICE Strategy for 2021-2024. With a firm foundation in our history, this Strategy sets out our vision and outlines our ambitions for this four year period. It provides the basis for our work plans and priorities, and is a benchmark against which we measure our success.

This Strategy is elaborated in the context of four main social and political trends, which we believe will influence the direction of our work and developments within the justice system over the next four years.

First, a period of considerable economic struggle brought on by the consequences of COVID-19, compounded by the UK’s departure from the European Union. There will be limited funding from Her Majesty’s Treasury for the justice system and JUSTICE will be operating in a difficult funding environment.

Second, this Strategy will likely span four years of a Conservative government that has made significant manifesto pledges with respect to the operation of the justice system, including on constitutional matters, administrative redress, criminal justice, policing and human rights.

Third, growing social movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter, calling for urgent addressal of increasing racial and ethnic discrimination, inequalities and disproportionality in the justice system and for greater inclusivity and diversity within the system.

Finally, challenges brought by the pandemic have highlighted many existing limitations within the system, while providing an impetus for accelerated cultural change with respect to the use of technology and innovations with respect to access to justice.

You can read about our plans for JUSTICE looking ahead to 2024 in this document.

Policy Work

During this strategy period, we will strive to tackle urgent and important issues within the constraints of the social, economic and political climate indicated above. 

To achieve this, our working parties, briefings, and interventions will focus on the following themes.

Reform of courts and the impact of COVID-19:

We will continue to monitor the HMCTS Reform Programme, urging that it increase access and fairness in the courts and tribunals. We will explore and evaluate ways in which the integrity of the courts and justice process can be maintained as they adapt to the impact of COVID-19. We will lead thinking on which aspects of the COVID-19 response should remain, be revised or be discarded as courts ‘return to normal’.

User-centred justice:

The justice system must be comprehensible to all its users so that they can effectively participate and have confidence in it. Building on our 2019 Working Party Report Understanding Courts, we will focus on improving the experience and involvement of specific cohorts of users, such as children, victims of crime and vulnerable people to enable fair outcomes.

Our 2021 Working Party Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families will undertake a child-centred review of what families need from the Family Court when they seek help with child arrangements, with particular emphasis on domestic abuse victims and unrepresented litigants.

Effective routes of redress:

Routes of redress are becoming increasingly uncertain or unavailable as a result of shifting State powers and responsibilities. We will focus on ensuring privatisation, automation, and civil orders with criminal consequences do not inhibit effective challenge to decision-making through courts, tribunals and other complaints mechanisms.

Challenges to the courts and Constitution:

Independent and impartial courts are a central feature of the UK constitution. Safeguarding their integrity and remit amidst proposed reforms is crucial to the rule of law and ensuring access to justice.

We will pursue projects addressing proposed reforms to the operation of the Supreme Court, the role of judicial review, and amendment of the Human Rights Act. We will continue to examine judicial appointments, with a view to increasing judicial diversity.

Non-judicial decision-making:

At the start and end of court and tribunal processes, many public bodies and officials make significant decisions concerning individual rights and freedoms. Given the impact of these decisions on people’s lives, these require careful scrutiny.

In the first part of the strategy period, we will consider the processes for release from imprisonment through the Parole Board and Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Other work:

We will continue to follow up on past reports and policy work by capturing whether our activities and interventions have paved the way for desired outcomes. 

We will continue to collaborate and establish constructive relationships with diverse stakeholders within the justice system as we evidence, elaborate, and implement our work. 

We will seek opportunities to expand our work in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales in line with our above priorities, as relevant to those jurisdictions.

We will look to engage more closely with the International Commission of Jurists, using its network to strengthen our work, and supporting it as appropriate.  