More people could head to the Supreme Court to challenge their criminal convictions under Law Commission proposals to make the appeals system more effective and accessible.
The commission was asked by the previous government to review the law relating to criminal appeals and received over 150 responses to its call for evidence.
Opening a consultation today on potential reforms, criminal law commissioner Penney Lewis said the criminal appeals system not only ensures that miscarriages of justice are corrected, but that the criminal law is applied consistently and predictably. ‘As the Post Office scandal has demonstrates, anyone can be a victim of a miscarriage of justice. Our proposals seek to ensure that those who are wrongly convicted can effectively challenge their convictions,’ Lewis said.
Proposals include longer time limits to bring an appeal against a conviction or sentence and widening the scope of unduly lenient sentence referrals to include death by careless driving and animal cruelty offences.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has come under fire for its handling of the Andrew Malkinson case. The Law Commission’s task was limited to the legal framework governing the CCRC. The CCRC assesses the possibility of the appeal court upholding a decision. Instead of focusing on what the appeal court might do, the commission thinks the CCRC should form its own view on whether the conviction might be unsafe.
Currently, the Supreme Court cannot hear criminal appeals unless the High Court or Court of Appeal has certified that the appeal involves a question of law of general public importance. The commission says the UK’s highest court should have the final say on which cases it hears.
On the law governing compensation for victims of miscarriages of justice, the commission says requiring people to prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt is contrary to the principles of criminal and civil law, and says a person should be compensated if they can prove their innocence on the balance of probabilities.
The consultation closes on 30 May.
