In the Autumn of 2019 Scottish Government consulted on the content and format of the Letter of Rights given to people who are arrested and held in police custody. Revision of the Letter of Rights was a recommendation of the JUSTICE Scotland working party on Legal Assistance in the Police Station. We responded to the […]
Update on ‘What is a Court’ in response to the new HMCTS courts and tribunals design guide
October 31, 2019
In 2015, against the backdrop of austerity and the commencement of HMCTS’s Reform Programme, JUSTICE convened a Working Party which set out to assess the court and tribunal estate. Its aim was to make recommendations to reimagine how the estate could guarantee access to justice for all. In its 2016 report What is a Court?, […]
JUSTICE Human Rights Law Conference 2019
On Wednesday 16 October our annual Human Rights Law Conference took place at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. This year, we hosted discussions on a number of topics including free movement, air pollution, rape prosecutions, Brexit, judicial diversity and public inquiries. The conference opened with a morning Keynote Address, delivered by the Rt. Hon. Sir Nicholas Green, […]
JUSTICE submits a response to the CJC consultation on vulnerability in the civil justice system
October 14, 2019
On 11 October 2019 JUSTICE responded to the Civil Justice Council (“CJC”) consultation on vulnerability in the civil justice system. The preliminary report by the CJC sets out a range of proposed recommendations aimed at improving the experience of vulnerable people in the civil justice system, a number of which mirror those from our 2019 […]
JUSTICE submits evidence to the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice
October 9, 2019
In October 2019, JUSTICE submitted evidence to the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice, which was established by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Miscarriages of Justice. The aim of the Commission’s inquiry was to investigate the serious misgivings expressed in the legal profession, commentators and academics, about the remit of the Criminal Cases Review Commission […]
One-year update – Preventing Digital Exclusion from Online Justice
July 31, 2019
In June 2018, JUSTICE published its Working Party report, Preventing Digital Exclusion from Online Justice (“PDE”). The background to the Working Party was the ambitious £1.6 billion Reform Programme launched by HMCTS in 2016, aimed at reforming the justice system so that cases are increasingly resolved online. JUSTICE supported the Reform Programme, on the basis […]
JUSTICE submits response to the Sentencing Council consultation
July 18, 2019
On 9 July 2019, JUSTICE responded to the Sentencing Council consultation on its Sentencing Offenders with Mental Health Conditions or Disorders Guideline. Our 2017 Mental Health and Fair Trial report recommended that a sentencing guideline on mental health and vulnerability should be created. JUSTICE welcomes the Sentencing Council Guideline, which is a direct response to […]
Victor Nealon and Sam Hallam file application with European Court of Human Rights
July 9, 2019
On 30 January 2019, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the case of Hallam and Nealon v Secretary of State for Justice [2019] UKSC 1. It ruled that the statutory provisions governing eligibility for compensation of persons whose conviction for a criminal offence is reversed are compatible with the presumption of innocence […]
JUSTICE submits consultation response on the Online Harms White Paper
July 3, 2019
JUSTICE has provided a response to the Government’s Online Harms White Paper. Drawing on its Prosecuting Sexual Offences Working Party, chaired by HH Peter Rook QC. The Working Party concluded that preventing online offending from taking place must be a key part of the strategy in reducing the burden sexual offences are placing on the […]
JUSTICE response to Labour consultation
July 2, 2019
JUSTICE has provided a response to Labour’s Building an effective criminal justice system consultation. Drawing on its previous reports, the response highlighted JUSTICE’s belief that the criminal justice system must refocus its efforts to reduce offending, by placing a special emphasis on: (a) diversion from the criminal justice system; (b) effective participation; and (c) effective […]