Justice needs juries

We fundamentally oppose the proposal to restrict the deeply entrenched constitutional principle of a jury trial. Our opposition is supported by the Bars of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. We continue to call for the government to focus attention on rebuilding our overstretched and resource starved justice system.

A win for justice: defeating the Crown Court Bench Division
Ongoing work on the Courts and Tribunals Bill
Invite your MP to your local court
Report the late delivery of prisoners to court

A group of barristers in their robes holding 'Justice needs juries' and 'Rheithgorau er mwyn gyfiawnder' signs outside the the Houses of Parliament

A win for justice

We have been successful in defeating the Crown Court Bench Division (the single judge court). In October, the Lord Chancellor Alex Norris MP announced that the government would scrap plans to curb jury trials. He said: “I have heard the strength of feeling on the proposals for increasing the number of judge-alone trials in the Crown Court and have made the decision to change course.”

Thank you for writing to your MP, signing our letter to the Prime Minister, and talking to politicians in robing rooms and setting out the Bar’s opposition. Every single interaction has made a difference.

Read Bar Council Chair Kirsty Brimelow KC’s blog looking back on the ‘Justice needs juries’ campaign that led to the change of policy.

Our work continues

Although we are pleased the government is listening to the expertise and experience of the Bar, there is still work to do. We remain concerned that a jury may be removed from hearing some fraud cases. We also object to other clauses in the Courts and Tribunals Bill, including increasing magistrates’ sentencing powers and removing the right to elect.

We have prepared a briefing for Peers for the Lords Second Reading of the Courts and Tribunals Bill which sets out our overall position as well as our detailed response to the different clauses in the Bill.

We support:

Specialist courts for rape and sexual offences11 (and consider adding in domestic violence offences).
Restrictions on the admissibility of evidence of ‘sexual behaviour’, compensation claims, and purported previous false allegations by complainants (Clauses 8-11).
New measures in respect of special measures directions (Clauses 12-16).
Repealing the presumption of parental involvement (Clause 17).

We oppose:

Removing a defendant’s right to elect Crown Court trial for all cases which are triable either way (Clause 1-2).
Introduction of judge-alone trials for fraud and related offences (Clause 4).
Increasing magistrates’ courts sentencing powers (Clause 6).
Reforms to appeals from the magistrates’ court (Clause 7).

Download our Peers briefing document

What you can do to support our campaign

1. Court visits

Invite your MP to visit a local Crown Court – we’ve had very positive feedback from the MPs who visited their local courts, and we can help you to arrange a visit for those who couldn’t attend. Email us at [email protected]
If you would like help getting in touch with your MP and arranging a visit, contact your Circuit Leader and please contact [email protected]

Download our MPs briefing document

2. Report the late delivery of prisoners to us

Barristers across England and Wales repeatedly tell us that significant delays are caused by the late delivery of individuals in custody to the court room. If your case in the criminal, youth or family court has been delayed because of this – report it to us.

Every time you experience a delay, please tell us about it by filling in our dedicated prisoner delay form. We are collecting reports from barristers until the end of November 2026.