Permanence of Coronavirus Recovery and Reform Act measures: consultation analysis

8. Further Views

The final part of the main body of the consultation paper notes that the overall aim of proposals set out in the consultation is to modernise justice processes by enabling greater use of digital technologies. Views are sought on whether further legislative changes are required to modernise justice processes, and to support the future resilience, effectiveness and efficiency of the criminal justice sector.

Question 13: Out with the proposals outlined in chapters 1-6, do you think any further legislative changes are needed to support the modernisation of criminal justice procedures through greater use of digital processes in order to achieve our ambitions of an efficient and resilient criminal justice system?

Responses to Question 13 by respondent type are set out in Table 14.

6 of the 30 consultation respondents did not answer this question and are not included in the results presented above.

Around a third of those answering the question (8 of 24) felt that further legislative changes are needed to support the modernisation of criminal justice procedures through greater use of digital processes. Six respondents disagreed and 10 were unsure.

If you answered yes, please provide details of what those legislative changes might be.

Twelve respondents provided further comment at Question 13.

Respondents suggested a number of further legislative changes, primarily around conduct of court business by electronic means and digital productions, but also proposed other changes to regulation and practice. These are summarised below.

In relation to conduct by electronic means, the following suggestions were made.

• Remove the current requirement to have warrants “backed” as set out in the Summary Jurisdiction (Process) Act 1981, such that an electronic warrant issued by a recognised magistrate or clerk of court in England, Wales, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man will be accepted in Scotland.
• Consider use of website forms for general court documents to reduce the risk of human error, and achieve time and resource savings.
• Retain use of hard copies for service of formal documents such as complaints, indictments etc. or in relation to court appearances.
• Allow SCTS to print a hard copy from documents received electronically and for it to be treated as an original document.

In relation to digital productions, it was proposed that the current authentication scheme and associated court rules are updated to take account of expected use of body worn cameras to produce evidence in criminal cases. Specific reference was made to sections 279 and 283 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

Respondents also made the following suggestions.

• An advocacy respondent referred to what was seen as an “implementation gap” between current legislation, and the provisions taken forward and implemented in practice. This was described as a significant barrier to modernisation of criminal justice processes. It was also suggested that ensuring current legislation is fully implemented would enable a better understanding of any further legislative changes that may be required.
• Explore options around virtual court visits to help children and young people become familiar with the court room and processes.
• Use ongoing monitoring to ensure that justice processes are equally accessible to all parties, including the digitally excluded.
• Reinforce provisions to ensure data protection is not compromised by greater use of digital technologies.