Writing in NLJ this week, Michael Zander KC, NLJ columnist and emeritus professor at LSE, examines the Courts and Tribunals Bill following its Commons passage.
Plans to double magistrates’ sentencing powers to 24 months remain, alongside concerns about court capacity and legal aid. Different means tests could leave defendants without representation when cases move from the Crown Court to magistrates’ courts.
Ministers point to recruitment, uncapped Crown Court sitting days and investment in technology. MPs want assurances that magistrates can absorb the workload.
An independent review will examine racial and socioeconomic disparities, rather than the legislation’s impact on backlogs.
Zander identifies the right to elect as ‘the crux’. Removing that reform would extinguish the Bill’s slim hopes of significantly reducing backlogs, he argues, predicting ministers will resist retreat.
