COMMONS AMENDMENT (Hansard, 27 March 1956)

§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR

My Lords, this Amendment is also to the Title. It also is consequential to a later Amendment—in this case Amendment No. 4, which transfers the power to make rules of court under the Criminal Appeal Act, 1907, and rules under the Indictments Act, 1915, to the Supreme Court Rule Committee. At the moment there are other Committees in being—one appointed under Section 18 of the Criminal Appeal Act, 1907. Rules under Section 2 of the Indictments Act, 1915, are made, subject to my approval, by a rule committee which has its own constitution. We have found that the existing machinery is cumbersome and inconvenient, and therefore it is proposed to use instead the Supreme Court Rule Committee. This Committee consists of myself together with any four or more of the following—the Lord Chief Justice, 792 the Master of the Rolls, the President of the Probate Division, four other Judges of the Supreme Court, two practising barristers who are members of the General Council of the Bar, two practising solicitors, of whom one is a member of the Council of the Law Society and the other a member of the Law Society and also of a provincial law society. This Committee is appointed by me, and it is proposed that, for the purpose of powers transferred to the Committee by the new clause, I shall be authorised to appoint, in addition to the other members, two persons having special experience in criminal procedure, one being a practising barrister and the other a practising solicitor. We have tried to make it clear that we shall have people of experience in criminal matters, and we are also keeping the balance between the branches of the profession. I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in this Amendment.