Royal Commission on Criminal Justice

Last updated

The Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, also known as the Runciman Commission, was established in London on 14 March 1991 by the Home Secretary for the purpose of examining the English system of criminal justice and making recommendations as to changes that should be made in order increase the efficiency of the system and the effective justice inherent in the process. It took effect in 1993. The Commission was the continuation of Sir John May's inquiry into the false convictions of the Maguire Seven and extension to other miscarriages of justice. Viscount Runciman was the original chairman.

In particular, it was to examine:

  1. The behaviour of the police and supervising officers.
  2. Proper process of prosecutors
  3. Forensic science and the role of professional witnesses.
  4. The rights of the accused to a proper defence.
  5. The range of powers of the courts in the process, and if the balance is proper.
  6. The global efficacy of the process, including process in the right to appeal. [1]

The Royal Commission reported to Parliament in July 1993 and recommended the establishment of an independent body to:

As a result the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 established the Criminal Cases Review Commission as an executive non-departmental public body. [2] The total expenditure of the Royal Commission was £2 600 000.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court of Appeal (England and Wales)</span> Second most senior court in the English legal system

The Court of Appeal is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and second in the legal system of England and Wales only to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Court of Appeal was created in 1875, and today comprises 39 Lord Justices of Appeal and Lady Justices of Appeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Six</span> Irishmen falsely convicted for the Birmingham pub bombings

The Birmingham Six were six Irishmen who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory and quashed by the Court of Appeal on 14 March 1991. The six men were later awarded financial compensation ranging from £840,000 to £1.2 million.

Walter Garrison Runciman, 3rd Viscount Runciman of Doxford,, usually known informally as Garry Runciman, was a British historical sociologist. A senior research fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge Runciman wrote several publications in his field. He also sat on the Securities and Investments Board and chaired the British Government's Royal Commission on Criminal Justice (1991–1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miscarriage of justice</span> Conviction of a person for a crime that they did not commit

A miscarriage of justice occurs when an unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent people have sometimes ended up in prison for years before their conviction has eventually been overturned. They may be exonerated if new evidence comes to light or it is determined that the police or prosecutor committed some kind of misconduct at the original trial. In some jurisdictions this leads to the payment of compensation.

The court system of Canada forms the country's judiciary, formally known as "The King on the Bench", which interprets the law and is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. Some of the courts are federal in nature, while others are provincial or territorial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of the Philippines</span> Highest court in the Philippines

The Supreme Court (Filipino: Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the Korte Suprema is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on June 11, 1901 through the enactment of its Act No. 136, an Act which abolished the Real Audiencia de Manila, the predecessor of the Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M62 coach bombing</span> 1974 IRA attack in northern England

The M62 coach bombing, sometimes referred to as the M62 Massacre, occurred on 4 February 1974 on the M62 motorway in northern England, when a 25-pound (11 kg) Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb hidden inside the luggage locker of a coach carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel and their family members exploded, killing twelve people and injuring thirty-eight others aboard the vehicle.

<i>Dietrich v The Queen</i> 1992 Australian High Court legal aid case

Dietrich v The Queen is a 1992 High Court of Australia constitutional case which established a person accused of serious criminal charges must be granted an adjournment until appropriate legal representation is provided if they are unrepresented through no fault of their own and proceeding would result in the trial being unfair.

In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons to convicted persons. The royal prerogative of mercy was originally used to permit the monarch to withdraw, or provide alternatives to death sentences; the alternative of penal transportation to "partes abroade" was used since at least 1617. It is now used to change any sentence or penalty. A royal pardon does not overturn a conviction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission</span>

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, established by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

Actual innocence is a special standard of review in legal cases to prove that a charged defendant did not commit the crimes that they were accused of, which is often applied by appellate courts to prevent a miscarriage of justice.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and began work on 31 March 1997. The commission is the only body in its area of jurisdiction with the power to send a case back to an appeals court if it concludes that there is a real possibility that the court will overturn a conviction or reduce a sentence. Since starting work in 1997, it has on average referred 33 cases a year for appeal.

David Greenhalgh Jessel is a former British TV and radio news presenter, author, and campaigner against miscarriages of justice. From 2000 to 2010, he was also a commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

An innocence commission is a legal commission set up by a government for post-conviction review of cases, to try to ensure that wrongful convictions do not stand and that no innocent person is executed.

Sir John Douglas May, PC was a British Court of Appeal judge appointed by the British Government to investigate the miscarriages of justice related to the Maguire Seven and other miscarriages linked to IRA bombing offences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Justice (New Zealand)</span> New Zealand government ministry

The Ministry of Justice is an executive department of the New Zealand Government, responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice within New Zealand. It provides advice and support to a number of ministers, including the Minister of Justice; the Minister for Courts; the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations; the Minister Responsible for the Law Commission and the Attorney-General. Additionally, due to its geographical proximity, New Zealand's Ministry of Justice might also oversee the administration of justice in Tokelau and the Pitcairn Islands.

The Judicial Commission of New South Wales is an independent statutory corporation of the New South Wales Government that provides sentencing information and continuing education to and examines complaints made against judicial officers in New South Wales, Australia.

Nicola Maree Gobbo, sometimes known as Nikki Gobbo, is an Australian former criminal defence barrister and police informant.

The New Zealand Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent Crown entity that was set up under the Criminal Cases Review Commission Act 2019 to investigate potential miscarriages of justice. If the Commission considers a miscarriage may have occurred, it can refer the case back to the Court of Appeal to be reconsidered.

References

  1. "Royal Commission on Criminal Justice (Runciman Commission): Records". The National Archives. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  2. CCRC Website Archived 2007-07-02 at the Wayback Machine