Effective intermediate courts require resources and safeguards, says CILEX

6 February 2024

CILEX (the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) backs the introduction of intermediate criminal courts – but only if systemic problems around funding, recruitment, training and courtroom capacity are addressed.

CILEX’s criminal law members broadly support the proposed intermediate courts detailed in Sir Brian Leveson’s independent review of the criminal courts aimed at tackling the current case backlog. The new courts would see cases too serious for magistrates’ courts but not serious enough for the Crown Court heard by a judge and two magistrates.

In its response to the review, CILEX says its practitioners are divided on whether the change will result in better justice for victims but considers that swifter justice will be beneficial. It argued for “assurances and safeguards to ensure that access to justice is maintained or increased” and highlighted the benefits of jury trials which “have been shown to provide a more equitable, and therefore more just, conviction”.

CILEX argues that if magistrates sitting in intermediate courts are given the power to hand down sentences of over two years, they need a suitable qualification. “This qualification could involve having sat in the magistrates’ court previously for a number of years or having other legal experience such as being a paralegal or having undertaken a Level 3-6 legal qualification.”

More investment is required to hire additional magistrates, given that their numbers have halved since 2010/11. Adequate legal aid funding will be needed, as well as investment in courtrooms and training court staff.

CILEX practitioners do not expect intermediate courts to make their practice easier – many think they will actually make the job of a criminal lawyer harder still. Initiatives such as pilots and lead-in training before wider rollout “will ensure that any impacts on already struggling practitioners and firms are minimised”.

CILEX opposes giving magistrates’ courts greater sentencing powers – this will “merely be a way of shifting serious trials which should be tried on indictment from the Crown Court backlog to the magistrates’ backlog. This would be a disservice to both defendants and to victims”.

More broadly, the response highlights considerable limitations when it comes to courts operating efficiently and productively. An inability to recruit and retain lawyers, lack of funding for court space, and a failure to enforce service level agreements with third parties such as companies which transport prisons to court, prevent maximum productivity being achieved.

CILEX also cautions that the number of sitting days is not representative of time actually used within each day, as the number of hours courts sit per day fell from 3.6 in 2017 to 2.8 in 2022.

CILEX president Yanthé Richardson commented: “Victims, defendants and all those working in the criminal justice system are currently being failed by systemic problems that have remained unresolved for years and have resulted in a backlog of over 73,000 cases.

“Cautiously, we support the creation of intermediate courts as a means of freeing up Crown Court time and bringing swifter justice for victims of crime but we are realistic about the challenges faced. Government will need to provide additional funding and resources if the benefits of this reform are to be realised.”

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ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Kerry Jack, Black Letter Communications on 07525 756 599 or email at [email protected]

Notes to editors:

CILEX (The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) is one of the three main professional bodies covering the legal profession in England and Wales. The approximately 18,000 -strong membership is made up of CILEX Lawyers, Chartered Legal Executives, paralegals and other legal professionals.

CILEX pioneered the non-university route into law and recently launched the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ), a new approach to on-the-job training that marries legal knowledge with the practical skills, behaviours and commercial awareness needed by lawyers in the 2020s.

The CPQ is a progressive qualification framework that creates a workforce of specialist legal professionals, providing a career ladder from Paralegal through to Advanced Paralegal and ultimately full qualification as a CILEX Lawyer. CILEX Lawyers can become partners in law firms, coroners, judges or advocates in open court.

CILEX members come from more diverse backgrounds than other parts of the legal profession:

• 77% of its lawyers are women
• 16% are from ethnic minority backgrounds
  • 8% are Asian or Asian British
  • 5% are Black or Black British
  • 3% are from a mixed ethnic background
• 85% attended state schools
• 33% are the first generation in their family to attend university
• Only 3% of its members have a parent who is a lawyer.
• 85% attended state schools
• 33% are the first generation in their family to attend university
• Only 3% of its members have a parent who is a lawyer.

CILEX members are regulated through an independent body, CILEx Regulation. It is the only regulator covering paralegals.