Law Weblog

The Lord Chief Justice criticises use of out of court penalties

Thursday 4 February 2010 at 9:20 pm | In News | Post Comment The Lord Chief Justice has criticised the growing use of out of court penalties and called for a “material change” in the way they are used.

In his first report since becoming head of the judiciary, The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said he was ‘troubled’ by the growing use of out of court penalties.

Lord Judge became the latest high profile figure to express concern over the use of on-the-spot fines and cautions and said he was “troubled” by their increased use. He said some cases should have been brought before the courts.

It echoes comments from Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, and magistrates but, as the country’s most senior judge, Lord Judge’s comments will be seen by many as the most significant yet.

In his first report since becoming head of the judiciary, Lord Judge said:

“For some time I have been troubled by the increased use of fixed penalty notices, cautions and conditional cautions in cases that should have been brought before the courts.
I have said publicly that any assault which causes injury should be dealt with by a court.

Telegraph report here