§ Mr. Dribergasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive from the Interdepartmental Committee on the Court of Criminal Appeal a report, with recommendations, on the rules about loss of time by appellants what other matters are being considered by this Committee; and how soon he expects to be able to take action to implement the Committee's recommendations.
§ Sir F. SoskiceThe Committee's Report has been received and will be presented to Parliament and published as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made. I am not yet ready to make a statement on the recommendations contained in the Report.
The Committee's terms of reference were as follows:
To consider and report:—
- (1) Whether it would be in the public interest to transfer the hearing of all or some of the cases now heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal (namely appeals and applications for leave to appeal against conviction, appeals against sentence and references by the Home Secretary) to the Court of Appeal or some other Court; and if so as to the manner in which that Court should be constituted, the powers it should have and the procedure to be followed.
- (2) If in the view of the Committee the Court of Criminal Appeal should retain the whole or part of its current jurisdiction whether any and if so what changes are desirable
- (a) in the constitution, powers, practice and procedure of the Court;
- (b) in the system and procedure for giving notice of appeals and applications and in the functions and practice of the Criminal Appeal Office.