U.K., Nov. 6 -- UK Parliament issued the following news:
Members of the House of Lords begin their detailed examination of the Court and Tribunals Bill in committee stage on Tuesday 10 November.
The Courts and Tribunals Bill aims to make structural changes to the operation of the criminal courts in England and Wales. It will remove the right of defendants to elect for Crown Court trial in triable-either-way cases, and reforms the appeals process from the magistrates' courts to the Crown Court. It introduces a new mode of trial by judge, allowing certain financial cases to be tried without a jury.
The bill will also implement reforms to the law on evidence and procedure in sexual offence prosecutions. Furthermore, it will introduce technical and administrative reforms including provisions relating to magistrates' expenses, and amendments clarifying the naming of the Central Criminal Court.
Line by line scrutiny
Committee stage is a thorough examination of the individual parts (clauses) of the bill.
Starting from the front of the bill, members work through the clauses in order, considering changes (amendments) to the wording or proposals for new clauses.
Two days of committee stage have been scheduled so far:
Tuesday 10 November.
Monday 16 November.*
(*schedule is subject to change and extra dates may be added).
Proposed changes
Members speaking on day one of committee stage will consider amendments to the bill on subject including:
rules and limitations regarding judge-only trials
oral judgements within one week of verdict
custodial sentences in magistrates' courts
defendant appeals process and application
jury equity and protection for advocates
transport of persons in custody.
How to follow
Watch live on Parliament TV from 3.15pm.
Read the Lords Hansard transcript (available from three hours after the debate).
Explore further information
Find out more about the bill in the House of Lords Library briefing .
What's happened so far?
Second reading
A thorough debate on the key topics of the bill took place during second reading on Tuesday 27 October.
Image: Michael D Beckwith / Pexel
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
