MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
News Release (004/09) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 14
January 2009
New Coroners &
Justice Bill introduced to Parliament today
Modernisation of the coroners system and better protection for
witnesses during criminal investigations were amongst the new
measures announced by Justice Secretary Jack Straw in Parliament
today when he published the Coroners and Justice Bill.
The Bill is another element of the Government's drive to
deliver a fairer, more transparent and responsive criminal justice
system that puts the needs of victims at its heart.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:
"Putting the needs of victims and the witnesses of crime at
the heart of the criminal justice system is essential in order
that people's confidence is maintained and everyone is
reassured that justice is on the side of the law-abiding majority.
This Bill will make a significant contribution to our reform of
the criminal justice system."
Key measures include:
* reforms to the coroner system that will see the appointment of
a senior Judge to the new post of Chief Coroner for England and
Wales, new national standards for coroners' investigations,
new powers to transfer investigations from one area to another in
order to prevent backlogs for both military and non-military
inquests; and measures that ensure that coroners' verdicts
are accurate and based on all available evidence, even if the
evidence cannot be made public;
* The Bill includes revised proposals with strengthened
safeguards where non-jury inquests are deemed necessary on
national security or certain other grounds. Any such inquests
would have to be conducted by a High Court judge and the original
decision subject to judicial review.
* creating for the first time, a 'Charter for the
Bereaved' that will ensure that minimum standards of care are
given at every stage of the inquest process;
* additional support for victims and vulnerable witnesses of
crime through Investigation Anonymity Orders that will protect the
identity of witnesses from the moment they contact the police so
giving them confidence to come forward and giving them the support
they need to testify in court;
* the creation of a new Sentencing Council (to supersede the
existing Sentencing Guidelines Council) to better secure further
consistency and transparency in sentencing without compromising
the independence of the judiciary;
* a civil recovery scheme to help prevent criminals from
profiting from books and other publications about their crimes.
Jack Straw continued:
"The new legislation proposed today builds on the
Government's efforts to ensure fairness throughout our
society, including fairness in sentencing.
"The proposals for a new Sentencing Council seek to
implement the unanimous and majority recommendations of the
working party on Sentencing chaired by Lord Justice Gage. They
will not impinge on the independence of the judiciary: the council
itself will have a judicial majority. But once implemented they
will help strengthen progress on consistency and transparency of
sentencing and they will ensure that Parliament is better informed
about the resource implications of any decisions it makes on new
offences on new sentences."
The Coroners and Justice Bill also contains measures to:
* extend the driving bans of offenders who are also given prison
sentences to make them face the full consequences of the
punishment for their crime;
* extend Sentences for Public Protection to a greater number of
offences - particularly those relating to terrorism;
* give statutory authority to the principle that UK courts should
be able to take account of a defendant's previous convictions
- even where the conviction occurred overseas (in the European Union);
* extend existing powers that will allow legally-held knives that
are surrendered on entry to a court to be retained indefinitely.
Laws surrounding illegally-held knives in court buildings remain unchanged;
* strengthen inspection powers to improve public confidence in
the way that personal data is held and used;
* remove barriers, and strengthen safeguards, to effective data
sharing to support improved public services and the fight against
crime and terrorism;
* create an accessible appeals system for bereaved families
against coroners decisions and a system of medical examiners to
ensure independent scrutiny of death certificates;
* ensure that bail in murder cases may be granted only where the
Court is satisfied that there is no significant risk of the
defendant committing an offence whilst on bail which would cause
injury to another person; in addition, decisions on granting bail
in murder cases are limited to Crown Court judges;
* reform the law on homicide to ensure those who kill out of
anger face up to their crimes and the distress they have caused
the families of their victims; the existing partial defence of
provocation is too generous to those who kill in anger and poorly
tailored to killings in response to fear;
* extend the use of special measures in criminal proceedings
(such as the use of live video links and screens around the
witness box) so that vulnerable and intimidated witnesses can
give their best evidence;
* clarify the law so that there can be no doubt that encouraging
someone to commit suicide online is illegal; and
* measures to prevent criminals from profiting from the
publication of their memoirs.
Turning to the proposed reform of the coroners system, Jack Straw commented:
"Introducing a new Chief Coroner and new national standards
as part of our reforms to the coroners system will benefit the
families of the bereaved who use them. The Chief Coroner would
also have the power to transfer an investigation from one area to
another in order to prevent backlogs for both military and
non-military inquests with regard being given to the views of the bereaved.
"In a very small number of cases, very real security
concerns may mean that relatives cannot be told the exact
circumstances in which their loved ones died. We want to ensure
that this does not prevent an inquest from taking place.
"This Bill will make sure that sensitive information can be
considered, even if it cannot be made public, and will mean that
families, in these rare cases, can have absolute confidence in the
coroner's verdict."
Notes to Editors
1. Copies of the documents are available at:
* Coroners and Justice Bill: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/coroners-justice-bill.htm
* Murder, manslaughter and infanticide: proposals for reform of
the law: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp1908.htm
* Making sure that crime doesn't pay: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/criminal-memoirs.htm
* Charter for bereaved people: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/charter-bereaved.htm
* Sensitive reporting in coroners' courts: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/sensitive-reporting-coroners-courts.htm
2. For further information or to request an interview with a
Minister, please contact the Ministry of Justice Newsdesk on 020
33 34 35 36.
http://www.justice.gov.uk