Criminal trials

Courts and Tribunals Bill

The Courts and Tribunals Bill proposes significant reforms to the criminal justice system in England and Wales which are aimed at reducing backlogs and increasing efficiency. The most notable changes for criminal lawyers include the removal of the right to elect trial by jury, expanding the range of cases which can be tried in the magistrates’ court, removing jury trials for certain either-way offences, revising the process for making appeals to the Crown Court and introducing judge-alone trials for complex or lengthy cases. Practice Note: Courts and Tribunals Bill—key proposals for criminal courts reform outlines the key proposals impacting the criminal justice system in England and Wales and considers what the effect of the proposals might look like in practice and outlining some of the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed reforms.

Open justice and reporting restrictions in criminal cases

There is a general principle of open justice in the common law. The open justice principle that the administration of justice is carried out in public is both a hallmark and a safeguard of the rule of law:

1. •

   it encourages witnesses to come forward and...