Constitutional Change Proposed Without Evidence, Warns Bar Council
The Bar Council has issued a stark warning against government plans to remove the right to jury trial for thousands of cases, arguing the proposed overhaul lacks proper testing and evidence. Chair Barbara Mills responded to confirmation that the Ministry of Justice will next month respond to the first part of the Leveson review into criminal courts.
Untested Reforms Risk Further Damage
The controversial proposal involves creating a new intermediary court - the crown court bench division (CCBD) - which would handle certain offences without juries. While welcoming many recommendations in Sir Brian Leveson's report, the Bar Council regards this particular measure as a time-consuming constitutional change that requires legislative approval and depends on increasing court resources.
The government claims this new court could significantly reduce the 80,000-case backlog by 2029. However, Barbara Mills highlights that this assertion lacks supporting evidence since the model hasn't been properly piloted or thoroughly modelled.
Existing Inefficiencies Demand Immediate Attention
Instead of pursuing major constitutional changes, the Bar Council argues the focus should be on resolving current system failures that could make an immediate difference. Mills identifies several critical problems:
- Courtrooms sitting empty across the country
- Prisoners not arriving on time, causing delayed or cancelled cases
- System-wide resource shortages affecting proceedings from start to finish
The criminal justice system is not in crisis because of jury trials, Mills emphasises. She urges the government to first test whether efficiency reforms to the crown court estate, prisoner escort services and court technology would deliver improvements before implementing such significant changes.
At minimum, the Bar Council insists the CCBD should be properly modelled and piloted before dismantling a longstanding tradition that maintains public trust in criminal justice. Without addressing fundamental inefficiencies through a long-term plan, the current problems will persist regardless of structural changes.
