Response to recommendations for the judiciary in the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts

Sir Brian Leveson made a number of recommendations for the judiciary to consider in his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. The judiciary has published a summary of its response to those recommendations.

The response relates only to those recommendations (or those parts of them) that concern the responsibilities of the Lady Chief Justice in her office as the President of the Courts of England and Wales and Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales. These responsibilities, set out under section 7 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, include the maintenance of appropriate arrangements for the training, guidance and deployment of the judiciary, and for the allocation of work within the courts.

The Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, said:

“While criminal justice policies are a matter for Government and Parliament; the judiciary is committed to playing a full and active part in bringing down the backlogs and modernising how the criminal courts operate. 

“Recommendations from Sir Brian Leveson related to changes to the listing of cases and enabling greater remote access to courts are already underway, led by judges working with organisations across the criminal justice system.  We have carefully considered all of the other recommendations and I thank Sir Brian Leveson and his team for their engagement with the judiciary during his review.

“As Head of Criminal Justice for the judiciary, I would also like to record my gratitude to the judiciary, including the magistrates, to the legal professions and to HMCTS court staff who continue to work tirelessly in the criminal courts across England and Wales.”