Barristers push for government to keep its promise over specialist rape courts

Barristers are calling on the government to honour its 2024 manifesto promise and open specialist courts to try sexual offences and domestic abuse cases.

In proposed amendments to the Courts and Tribunals Bill, the Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association suggest that rape, sexual assault and domestic abuse cases where the defendant is on bail be given priority and heard by the specialist court with a jury.

The courts would be ‘similar’ to the Nightingale court scheme set up during the pandemic and ‘would directly reduce the waiting times currently impacting vulnerable victims/complainants, unlike the government’s proposal to reduce jury trials’, the Bar Council said.

At its 2022 party conference, Labour pledged to introduce specialist rape courts in every Crown court. This year the government said it remained committed to fast-tracking rape cases.

Bar chair Kirsty Brimelow KC said: ‘There needs to be focus on the delays caused by slow police and delays in charging by the CPS. In rape cases, looking at median average, this is where most delay occurs. Instead of limiting jury trials, the government should focus on measures that have a direct impact on delays experienced by vulnerable witnesses. The government should do what it pledged and prioritise those cases of vulnerable people through a specialist court to reduce delays.’

Brimelow said the expedited trial scheme has helped reduce the waiting time between the first plea hearing and completion of the case. ‘Courts - even with capped sitting days and crumbling buildings - have been getting their backlogs down. Preston Crown Court has reduced the waiting time between the first plea hearing and completion of the case by 16%. The jury system is one of the only parts of the system which still works – let’s focus upon what will reduce delays now rather than hacking away at a constitutional cornerstone which reflects community participation in justice.’

Criminal Bar Association chair Riel Karmy-Jones KC said: ‘The issue of delays in sexual and domestic abuse cases has absolutely nothing to do with juries.

‘We could start improving the system for those serious cases now if, rather than wasting time on an un-evidenced ideological argument around the efficacy of juries, we started focussing on what matters: improving the investigation process, speeding up disclosure, prioritising these trials, and setting up specialist jury courts to hear them quickly. That is what will make a difference now.’