header-logo header-logo

Criminally in need of reform?

28 July 2023 / Jon Robins
Issue: 8035 / Categories: Opinion , Criminal
printer mail-detail
132294
Other countries must exercise caution when drawing inspiration from the UK’s Criminal Cases Review Commission, Jon Robins argues

A decision by the New South Wales Attorney-General in June to pardon a mother for the murder of her children has prompted calls in Australia to introduce their own version of our Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). The CCRC, set up in 1997, was the first ever miscarriage of justice watchdog and over its short life has proved a popular legal export. There are similar bodies in Scotland, Norway, and New Zealand, and Canada is looking at introducing one.

Improving accuracy

Kathleen Folbigg served 20 years for the murder of three of her infant children and the manslaughter of a fourth child, but will now be spared the rest of her 30-year sentence. In June, I took part in a debate on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)’s Law Report programme, presented by lawyer Damien Carrick. He pointed out that the campaign to exonerate the mother took two investigations and ‘the unprecedented involvement’

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
back-to-top-scroll