I rundown of a key piece of legislation; what are its aims and how will it affect you? This edition we look at the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill.
Name Criminal Justice and Courts Bill
Type Government Bill
Aims The Bill makes wide-ranging reforms to aspects of the justice system, including sentencing; cautions; prisoners’ release and recall; and the detention of young offenders. It also creates new offences for juror misconduct, changes the conduct and funding of judicial reviews, and amends the law on extreme pornography.
Coverage UK-wide, with individual clauses relating to legislation and bodies covering constituent countries.
Position The Bill has passed committee stage, following its fifth House of Lords reading on 30 July.
How might it affect me? Young offenders’ institutions (YOIs) will have to focus on routine and education, whilst secure colleges overseen by the Youth Justice Board are established as a new form of youth detention.
The Bill also tackles problems within the police which have caused much damage to public perceptions. Theresa May announced on 22 July that within the Bill, the Home Office would be creating a new offence of police corruption, as part of her drive to foster a culture of honesty and integrity across our police forces.
In this catch-all bill, bogus whiplash claims are also targeted. The fee charged by medical professionals for an initial whiplash report will be slashed from the current £700 to £180, in an attempt to put the brakes on a growing compensation culture.
What they're saying It’s the judicial review process that has raised the most concern among legal professionals. “If approved by Parliament in its current form, Part 4 of this Bill will make it harder for individuals and organisations to challenge the legality of the exercise of public power,” says a Bar Council spokesperson.
Applicants will only be allowed a protective ‘cost capping order’ once permission to apply for judicial review has been granted. And ‘interveners’ are also in the crosshairs, with proposals that charities and NGOs which intervene on proceedings may be ordered to pay the other side’s incurred costs.
On Wednesday 30 July, cross-bencher and human rights barrister Lord Pannick highlighted his opposition to the tightening of judicial reviews in the House of Lords, asking: “Where is the evidence of any mischief that these clauses are designed to remedy?”
What next? The Bill will now move on to its report stage, where further line-by-line examination will take place.