When a catastrophic event or systemic failure results in death or injury, the justice system must provide a framework to understand what happened and to prevent recurrence. This Working Party of JUSTICE, which publishes its report When Things Go Wrong: the response of the justice system, on 24th August 2020, seeks to address the erosion […]
JUSTICE submits response to the Scottish Sentencing Council consultation on sentencing young people
August 21, 2020
JUSTICE recently submitted a response to the Scottish Sentencing Council’s consultation on its proposed guideline for sentencing young people. We broadly welcome the proposed changes set out by the draft guideline. We consider that the guideline will be useful in ensuring that sufficient regard is paid to the unique circumstances of young people at the […]
Nealon & Hallam v Secretary of State for Justice
August 6, 2020
The Appellants have applied to the European Court of Human Rights for the court to review whether the test for compensation for miscarriage of justice that applies in England and Wales violates the presumption of innocence protected by Article 6(2) ECHR. JUSTICE has sought permission to intervene and is awaiting whether the Court will hear […]
Justice Committee Inquiry on Youth Justice
July 21, 2020
On 14 July 2020, JUSTICE submitted evidence to the Justice Committee Inquiry into Children and young people in custody. The focus of the evidence was on the ongoing work we are undertaking with our working party on Racial Disparity in Youth Justice. As we have investigated the issue, five themes have emerged, which consider need […]
JUSTICE Human Rights Law Conference 2020
July 20, 2020
This year our JUSTICE Human Rights Law Conference was held virtually over Zoom in the evenings of Monday 6 July to Thursday 9 July. We hosted discussions on a number of topics including COVID-19 related challenges, the climate crisis, the EU Withdrawal Bill, deprivation of liberty and privacy. The Conference opened with a Keynote Address […]
JUSTICE submits evidence to inquiry on private prosecutions
July 17, 2020
In July, the House of Commons Justice Committee launched an inquiry to assess the sufficiency of safeguards surrounding the use of private prosecutions in the criminal justice system. The inquiry will focus on cases brought by large organisations against individuals when the organisation is also the alleged victim of the offence. Concerns relating to the […]
Protected: JUSTICE Human Rights Conference 2020
July 2, 2020
JUSTICE Statement
June 10, 2020
The killing of George Floyd has triggered an outpouring of grief and anger for Black communities. For hundreds of years, the Black community has endured personal, institutional and systemic racism in this country as in many others. In their pain and peaceful protest, we stand with Black and ethnic minority communities. JUSTICE’s mission is to […]
Home Office consultation on pre-charge bail
June 8, 2020
On 29 May 2020 JUSTICE responded to the Home Office consultation on pre-charge bail. JUSTICE recognises the concerns raised with the current regime, namely that: pre-charge bail is not always being used by the police in circumstances where it would be appropriate to do so; there has been a significant reduction in the use of […]
JUSTICE co-signs letter on disproportionate use of police powers during lockdown
June 1, 2020
StopWatch, OSJI and Liberty last week wrote a letter to the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon. Matt Hancock MP regarding disproportionate use of police powers during lockdown restrictions. JUSTICE signed this letter. The letter states: “We – a diverse coalition of human rights, racial equality, community, faith and health organisations – write in advance […]