CRIMINAL LITIGATION

The Criminal Cases Review Commission should not normally refer a conviction to the Court of Appeal on the basis of a change of law. A defendant seeking leave to appeal out of time is generally expected to point to something more than the fact that the criminal law has changed.

If the appeal is effectively based on a change of law, and nothing else, but the conviction was properly returned at the time, after a fair trial, it is unlikely that a substantial injustice occurred.