It will cover the powers of the Court of Appeal, including; the authority to order a re-trial or substitute a conviction for another offence; and whether the ‘safety test’ used where a conviction is ‘unsafe’ makes it difficult to correct miscarriages of justice.
It will cover the test used by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the Attorney General’s powers to refer a case to the Court of Appeal because the sentence is 'unduly lenient', and the Crown Court’s powers for a new trial.
It will also look at the laws on retention and disclosure of evidence for a case, including after conviction, and retention and access to records of proceedings.
Professor Penney Lewis, Law Commissioner, said: ‘The appeals system has faced calls for reform in recent years―often marked by conflicting views on the areas of law that should be changed.’
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