The Justice Committee has published its report on the Courts and Tribunals Bill, setting out several issues with the bill.
The Committee pointed out several flaws in the government’s proposal to restrict the right to jury trial, in part because it “lacks a concrete evidential basis”. The Committee has also flagged the significant concerns around the potential equality impacts of the bill, particularly in relation to race.
In terms of the magistrates’ courts – which has a record high backlog of 379,437 cases – the Committee is unconvinced that it will be able to cope with the potential increase in caseload the bill would generate. The Committee has also warned against changes to magistrates’ sentencing powers and appeals.
Responding to the report, Bar Council Chair Kirsty Brimelow KC said: “We agree with the Justice Committee’s conclusion that it’s difficult to understand why the government has not sought to achieve a broader consensus both in and outside Parliament on these proposals before pushing ahead with them. This is particularly clear in the fact that there is a lack of evidence, modelling and planning to support the proposals as well as no apparent thought paid to the potential unintended consequences of the bill. It’s beyond time for the government to listen to all the concerns raised in this report and focus on reform that will actually deliver timely justice for complainants and defendants rather than wasting time and resource on restricting the right to jury trial.”