Lexis®Library update: The inquiry, Covid-19 and the criminal law, held its first public evidence session on 20 April 2021 and examined the design of coronavirus criminal offences, including the use of fixed penalty punishments. Also discussed by the Committee was the way coronavirus-specific laws are being policed and prosecuted and how these various laws can be appealed, challenged or contested in court.
In its first public evidence session the cross-party committee of MPs, which includes the former Permanent Secretary in the Government Legal Department, Sir Jonathan Jones, examined certain legislative and legal techniques including:
- the ‘made affirmative’ procedure which is a technique that allows for laws to be made quickly and for debate and the passing of them in Parliament to be done in retrospect
- ‘delegated legislation’ which is a way of passing laws without a full parliamentary bill being debated, and
- the ‘single justice procedure’ which allows for a suspect’s case to be dealt with in court without them being present
The inquiry can be accessed here.
Source: Experts and practitioners testify on the laws shaped to tackle Covid-19
This content was first published by LNB News / Lexis®Library, a LexisNexis® company, on 21 April 2021 and is published with permission. Further information can be found at: www.lexisnexis.co.uk.
