§ Mr. Whitakerasked the Attorney-General to what extent the number of criminal appeals and applications for leave to appeal has increased since the Criminal Appeal Act, 1966; and whether he is satisfied that the present number of courts and staff of the Registrar in the Criminal Division of the Appeal Court are sufficient.
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§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Criminal Appeal Act, 1966 came into force on the 1st October. The number of notices of appeal or applications for leave to appeal received between the 7th October and the 2nd December of this year was 920, compared with 764 and 525 for the corresponding periods in 1965 and 1964 respectively. Since the Act came into force there have been sufficient courts available for all cases to be listed for hearing as soon as they are ready. The staff of the Criminal Appeal Office has been strengthened during the last year and, in view of the recent increases in the volume of appeals coming before the court, it will be strengthened further and the position will be carefully watched.
§ Mr. Whitakerasked the Attorney-General what information he has as to the length of delay in the hearing of appeals and applications for leave to appeal in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).
§ The Attorney-GeneralIn respect of the 38 applications listed for hearing and finally disposed of during the first week in December, the average interval between receipt of notice of application and final disposal was 96 days, the shortest interval being 17 days and the longest 158 days. The corresponding figures for the 26 appeals disposed of during the same period were 116 days, 23 days and 232 days.