In this week’s NLJ, John Gould, senior partner, Russell-Cooke, considers the ‘legislative shortcut’ taken by Parliament in bringing forward legislation to exonerate subpostmasters convicted via the inaccurate evidence of the flawed Horizon accounting system.
He writes: ‘Governments should never use parliamentary majorities to declare judicial outcomes without a judicial process. It doesn’t matter how convinced those voting are about guilt or innocence. As a principle, this is about as old and fundamental as any of the principles supporting the rule of law.’
While everyone would want to put right the glaring injustice suffered by the subpostmasters, and while the government has emphasised this remedy is an exception, it still creates risks, Gould argues. He points out: ‘At the very least, it creates a precedent of declaring exceptions. Exceptions have a habit of accumulating.’
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