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COURTS ACT HERALDS HISTORIC REFORMS TO THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Saturday 6 December 2003 at 11:07 pm | In News | Post Comment

Key features of the Courts Act include:
– Tough new fines enforcement system:
new ‘fines officers’ who will have discretion to vary payment terms
and will be able to impose sanctions (including vehicle clamping) on
defaulters who refuse to co-operate
powers to deduct from earnings and benefits
an ability to allow some fines to be discharged by unpaid work
a new offence of failure to provide information about offenders’ financial circumstances to the court
new powers to pilot innovative collection measures

– Unified Courts Administration (UCA) for the Court of Appeal, High Court, Crown Court, county and magistrates’ Courts. The UCA will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the courts, making the work of the courts more transparent, removing unnecessary duplication and ensuring greater consistency of approach across the courts.

– New Local Courts Boards will work in partnership with the agency to ensure that there is a strong local focus in the new unified courts agency. The new Boards will comprise at least seven members including two magistrates, one judge, two people with knowledge of the courts in their area (e.g. lawyers, victim support and citizens’
advice) and two representatives of the local community. With community representation, the Boards will be able to influence how the courts should be run in their area, having a say in decisions such as where courts are located and how the level of service for court users can be improved. Reflecting the needs of the community they serve, there will be greater local accountability in the new administration.

– New wider inspection regime for the organisation and administration of the courts. This will ensure efficient use of
resources, value for money and report on inefficiencies. It will also extend to the Crown Courts and county courts for the first time.

– Support improvements to case preparation and progression by providing for binding pre-trial rulings in the magistrates’ courts.

– Improve public perception of the courts through changes to modernise judicial titles. For instance, allowing females judges of the Court of Appeal to take the title Lady Justice rather than Lord Justice.

– Improve support for victims and witnesses and confidence in the criminal justice system through increased court security and new powers for court security officers.

– Strengthen civil courts’ power to award damages in personal injury cases in the form of periodical payments rather than a lump sum.

– Allow the courts to award costs against third parties whose seriously improper actions cause wasted costs, perhaps through the collapse of a criminal case.

– Establish new Rule Committees in order to deal with criminal and family business in a modern, streamlined way. The new Criminal and Family Procedure Rule Committees will bring an end to the different and fragmented ways for making those rules. They will consider the current practices and procedures within the criminal and family courts, then make rules with the aim of ensuring their simplification and modernisation. By placing responsibility with dedicated Committees, more consistent rules should be developed.

– Removal from the High Sheriffs of each county the personal responsibility for overseeing enforcement of most High Court writs and judgments and placing it in the hands of appointed High Court “enforcement officers.”

– Provisions to improve and underpin magistrates’ training and appraisal.

The Courts Act primarily implements the key courts related recommendations contained in Sir Robin Auld’s Review of the Criminal Courts in England and Wales (October 2001) and signalled in the White Paper “Justice for All” published on 17th July 2002.  More information here