Law Weblog

Lord Justice Hooper’s puppy, Nelson did his best to destroy all the work done by a committee that produced the protocol and three new practice directions concerning control and management of heavy fraud and other complex criminal cases by eating the disc containing the only copy of critical material

Nevertheless, the Lord Chief Justice was able to hand down the protocol and directions today.

Codification of procedure
The protocol and directions are the first step in the creation of a criminal procedural code. They make procedure rules more readily accessible than before. They bring together in one place rules previously contained in almost 50 separate statutory instruments.
Active case management
Written in plain English they give courts explicit powers and responsibilities to manage cases actively.
Overriding objective
They subject criminal procedure to an explicit and overriding objective that criminal cases be dealt with justly and to assist that end the judiciary are responsible for Case Management.
All trial courts affected
The rules apply not only to the Crown Court but also to the Magistrates’ Courts. It is the over-riding objective and Case Management, that go to the heart of the new culture that the rules promote. Case Management is already an established part of the Civil and Criminal Justice Systems. However, the extent to which cases were managed previously has very much depended upon the taste of the individual judge.
Plea and Case Management Hearings (PCMHs)
From 4 April judges will be required to exercise an extensive managerial role at the Plea and Case Management hearing, formerly a Plea and Direction Hearing (PDH) which is to take place for every case in the Crown Court.
Dealing with the case efficiently and expeditiously
Central to the Protocol is that no trial should be permitted to exceed three months or an outer limit of six months, save in exceptional circumstances. The Protocol is primarily directed towards cases which are likely to last eight weeks or longer. It should also be followed, however, in all cases estimated to last more than four weeks. This Protocol applies to trials by jury, but many of the principles will be applicable if trials without a jury are permitted under s. 43 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (certain fraud cases to be conducted without a jury).
The new rules are here