Explain and Comment on the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

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Explain and Comment on the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission [20]

June 2001

On 14 March 1991 the then Home Secretary announced the establishment of a Royal Commission on Criminal Justice to be chaired by Viscount Runciman of Doxford.

The Royal Commission was charged with examining the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in securing the conviction of the guilty and the acquittal of the innocent.

In making the announcement, the Home Secretary referred to such cases as the Birmingham Six and Judith Ward which had raised serious issues of concern to all, and the undermining of public confidence when the arrangements for criminal justice failed.  It was felt that the Home Secretary was not sufficiently independent from the Government in order to review cases fairly.

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The Royal Commission's report was presented to Parliament in July 1993.

It recommended the establishment of an independent body:

  • to consider suspected miscarriages of justice;
  • to arrange for their investigation where appropriate; and
  • to refer cases to the Court of Appeal where the investigation revealed matters that ought to be considered further by the courts.

The Criminal Appeal Act 1995 was subsequently passed, enabling the establishment of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent body (as opposed to what it was before prior to the CCRC under ...

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A good, comprehensive essay, summarising the role of the CCRC. The essay is a little dated now, however. The Commission has been criticized for the length of time it takes to examine cases, and the way it produces statistics. Further, the Innocence Network has recently issued a report on the effectiveness of the commission which might bear briefly mentioning: http://www.innocencenetwork.org.uk/ccrcreport 4 Stars