Swift and sure criminal justice system reform proposals

Swift and Sure Justice: the Government’s Plans for Reform of the Criminal Justice System is a white paper, published in July 2012, that sets out the Government's programme of reforms to the criminal justice system in England and Wales.

The Law Society agrees that it is in everybody's interests for criminal cases to be resolved swiftly, but this must be consistent with achieving a just result. While there are some reforms in this paper that we support, we are concerned by the overall emphasis on speed, and believe that focusing on processing defendants quickly may diminish the fairness of the criminal courts.

Download our response below.