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Justice in Wales

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30 October 2019
Issue: 7862 / Categories: Legal News , Constitutional law , Legal aid focus
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Wales should have powers to appoint its own judges and run its own legal aid system, a major report chaired by former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, has concluded.

The Commission on Justice in Wales report, published last week after a two-year consultation process, also suggested treating the law in Wales as distinct from the law in England, giving the Welsh their own legal system.

Lord Thomas said: ‘The way that responsibilities are split between Westminster and Cardiff has created pointless complexity, confusion and incoherence in justice and policing in Wales.’

The Chartered Institute for Legal Executives said it shared the commission’s concern about the adverse effects of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on the legal aid system. It said its members were ‘increasingly dealing with legislation passed by the Welsh Assembly and judgments from Welsh tribunals which are distinct from their counterparts in Westminster and the courts of England and Wales, and we recognise that this divergence will only increase over time’.  

Issue: 7862 / Categories: Legal News , Constitutional law , Legal aid focus
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