It was two years ago this week that the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) - the independent body set up to investigate miscarriages of justice - first opened its doors to the public.

Since then, its offices have been deluged by 2,325 applications alleging criminal justice wrong-doings.

To date, 700 cases have been completed, 13 have been heard by the Court of Appeal, and nine convictions have been quashed.This week, the Home Affair Committee published its first report on the CCRC's progress.

It was a mixed response, noting a 'good start' with the reversal of long-standing miscarriages, and the skill of caseworkers, but also claiming 'major problems' which required extra funding and a review of the way the CCRC operated.The commission resides on the 21st and 22nd floors of an office block overlooking central Birmingham.

It is an appropriate home for the CCRC, established on the recommendation of a Royal Commission following a series of miscarriages of justice which badly shook the criminal justice system, including the notorious Birmingham Six case.

The CCRC had the unenviable task of taking over from a discredited Home Office unit and many, those both within and outside the legal profession, were understandably cynical about it.But two years on, the views have moderated.

Solicitor Glyn Maddocks, who specialises in miscarriage cases at south Wales firm Gabb & Co, admits to a 'pleasant surprise' and says the new body is doing a 'reasonable job'.

Malcolm Fowler, chairman of the Law Society's criminal law committee, gives it 'ten out of ten' for effort and commitment.

He adds that colleagues, including some 'hard-bitten and cynical practitioners', have been won over.

The dedication and integrity of the 28 case review managers - mainly young solicitors and barristers - is noted by practitioners.

Mr Maddocks gives the team 'top marks' for their 'enthusiasm, freshness and non-partisanship'.Looking back on the CCRC's early days, chief executive Glenys Stacey, admits to a 'stressful' first few months.

The 14 commission members had to extricate themselves from their jobs which, for most, meant decamping from London to Birmingham.

Case review managers had to be recruited and trained, and new IT installed to process applications.A long queue of cases had already formed, because the commission inherited around 300 cases from the defunct Home Office and Northern Ireland Office units.

Top priority was given to the old case load, which included notorious miscarriages that had been festering for years, such as James Hanratty and Derek Bentley.

Now they are resolved or are being dealt with, which Ms Stacey says is 'good news for us and good for the criminal justice system'.

The Hanratty case was referred to the Court of Appeal just this week.However, a backlog of fresh allegations of judicial blunders began to grow from the start.

Ms Stacey reckons applications are piling up at the rate of four or five a day, but are resolved at just two a day.

She says the 700 cases comple ted to date represent a 'very good record'.

But the CCRC is painfully aware of the problem of delayed justice; in the commission's bid for extra resources last year, it argued that the 'initial wave of cases might well submerge it'.

This week's Home Affairs Committee report bluntly branded the delays as 'unacceptable'.This year has started well for the CCRC with the government committing an extra £1.28 million to be spent on adding 12 case review managers to the existing team of 28.

However, how far this will go to wiping out the backlog is unclear.

Ms Stacey will not be drawn, but she says the increased staff and their growing experience and competence make for a 'hopeful picture'.

On present strength, it takes two and a half years to consider an application for review.

After that, it is in the hands of the courts.Every extra day a justified application sits idle at the CCRC is another day in prison for an innocent prisoner.

The effect is traumatic for the wrongly convicted, says Campbell Malone, a sole practitioner in Manchester representing more than 20 applicants to the commission.

One of his clients, Eddie Gilfoyle, who was convicted for the murder of his wife in 1993, last month became the 13th applicant to have a case referred to the Court of Appeal.

Family and supporters have orchestrated a high profile campaign to overturn his conviction and in 1996, Channel 4's Trial and Error programme investigated Mr Gilfoyle's case uncovering additional evidence to suggest his conviction was unsafe.

'He's angry and distressed that it has taken so long.

It's a damaging process,' says Mr Malone.

Every day more cases come in, he says, and every day there are more prisoners with a deepening sense of frustration.Glyn Maddocks, who has 30 clients alleging miscarriages of justice, claims the commission is being overly cautious in deciding which case should be referred to the appeal court.

'They shouldn't be usurping the Court of Appeal,' he contends.

'They should not be wanting 100% certainties to go to the courts, but should allow [the appeal court] to decide.' He also questions the commission's policy on prioritising cases.

One of his clients has been in prison for 20 years - 'a boy when he went in' - and he wants to know why that does not appear to matter.

A number of practitioners have concerns about the commission's perceived willingness to tackle high profile - and in many cases concerning people who are dead - miscarriages at the expense of others.

Surely those serving sentences are more deserving than those who have been hanged, maintains Birmingham sole practitioner Timothy Gascoyne, who is in charge of the duty solicitor scheme in the city.Campbell Malone and Malcolm Fowler both describe the CCRC as a 'victim of its own success,' says Mr Fowler.

'They've demonstrated they can do it and so people come to them.' He hopes the government will deliver the necessary continuing commitment.

'If you've created a body capable of delivering, then you must face up to the logic of what you have created.

It must not be denigrated or the morale be allowed to slip away.'But the commission also has a message for the profession.

Only one in five applications is supported by a lawyer, and yet the assistance of a helpful solicitor benefits not only the applicant but also the commission.

Last year, the commission agreed with the Legal Aid Board to extend funding cover and released a training video for solicitors, and this year it intends to step-up the campaign with more initiatives.For more details, contact the commission on telephone: 0121 633 1800.