§ Vera BairdTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what action he has taken to remove circuit judges from the list of those permitted to try rape cases in the last two years. [134939]
§ Mr. LeslieSection 75 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 states that the Lord Chief Justice, with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor, can, by means of a practice direction, determine the cases or classes of cases suitable for allocation to High Court Judges, Circuit Judges and Recorders. From time to time successive Lord Chief Justices have issued such practice directions. In October 2001, the current Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, issued a practice direction entitled 'Directions by the Lord Chief Justice for the Classification of the business of the Crown Court and Allocation to Crown Court Centres'. This Practice Direction again determined that all High Court Judges and those Circuit Judges and Recorders, approved for that purpose by the Senior Presiding Judge, with the concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice, can hear rape cases.
Judges trying rape cases are, of course, under constant public scrutiny. Where problems about judicial conduct become apparent to the Court of Appeal, the papers are referred to the relevant Presiding Judge, or to the Senior Presiding Judge personally. Any complaints, as well as any information suggesting possible inappropriate judicial behaviour, are immediately investigated, and reports in the media of judicial behaviour which, if correct, would give rise to concern,
392W
§ Mr. LeslieThe Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the final court of appeal for the independent Commonwealth countries listed in the first column of the table, as well as for the United Kingdom overseas territories and Crown dependencies. The table shows the number of appeals from the countries concerned disposed of by the Judicial Committee in each of the five years up to 2002. Some of these appeals were disposed of without a hearing.
are checked for correctness and completeness by the Presiding Judges. It is, of course, open to the Lord Chief Justice, acting on his own initiative, or on the recommendation of the Senior Presiding Judge, to remove any individual authorisation. The Lord Chief Justice has not had occasion to do this in the last two years.