Decade of cuts led to justice crisis

In a report, COVID-19 and the courts, into the impact on civil and criminal justice, published this week, the House of Lords Constitution Committee found courts and tribunals were ‘in a vulnerable position going into this period of crisis’ due to reduced funding, budget cuts and closure of court buildings in the preceding decade. These ‘pre-existing challenges exacerbated the devastating impact of the pandemic’, the committee found.

The committee called on the government to continue to invest in technology for remote hearings but to ensure access to justice and not to regard changes made in response to the pandemic as irreversible.

It recommended the government further increase the legal aid budget to meet challenges that arose during the pandemic, and to set out a plan to address the backlog in criminal, family and employment cases to reduce it ‘well below pre-pandemic levels’. It said this should include ‘plans to make maximum use of existing real estate, open more Nightingale courtrooms, increase the number of sitting days and increase the number of part-time and retired judges sitting. All of this will require additional investment by the government’.

Baroness Taylor, chair of the committee, said: ‘For justice to be done, and be seen to be done, considerable new effort and investment is required.’

Criminal court statistics for October to December 2020, published last week, revealed 56,827 outstanding cases at the Crown Court, a 49% increase on the previous year. Bar Council Chair Derek Sweeting QC said it was the largest backlog of cases for six years and warned the impact would be felt most by the victims, witnesses, defendants and other members of public who would have to wait years for justice.

Richard Miller, head of justice at the Law Society, said there is ‘an urgent need to maximise existing court capacity and judicial sitting days’. On technology, he said it might ‘make sense to continue remotely long-term, but a thorough investigation into the effect of remote justice on court users and justice outcomes is required before its widespread adoption’.