Prompted by a
suggestion earlier this week from a solicitor acquaintance of a Royal Commission to look into the Criminal Justice System, Procedure, Rules, Access to
Justice and Legal Aid, including family and civil legal aid
I have been giving the matter a lot of thought.
It
seemed to me (as a non-lawyer), that such a Royal Commission might want to
suggest some really radical changes to our justice system. Perhaps some of the following might be worth
consideration:
1. A
system where everybody has access to justice without regard to their race,
religion, nationality, wealth or position in society.
2. One
where people who are at risk of losing their children, homes, liberty or
livelihoods can be represented by qualified lawyers without being forced into
penury; and where people have to represent themselves in court because they don’t
have access to a lawyer thus wasting huge amounts of court time and leading to
miscarriages of justice.
3. Perhaps
consider providing qualified interpreter services to ensure that those for whom
English is not their first language are not prevented from giving evidence in
their defence or being witnesses for the prosecution.
4. Where
the laws of the land are made and drafted by people who have a long proven
involvement in the in law. Maybe even
assisted by people with similar experience.
5. The
commission might even want to consider providing the police with sufficient
resources that they might first accurately record and investigate crimes and
allegations of crime to fully establish the facts, and bring charges against
perpetrators so that victims of crime might feel they are safe. Also that those people falsely accused of
offences might not be the subject of erroneous prosecution.
6. They
could also consider having a department that would prosecute on behalf of the Crown. Funded properly and with qualified staff reinforced
in their endeavours by able support staff.
7. Maybe
a system where humane imprisonment is a punishment for crime and a place where
rehabilitation can begin, rather an incarceration where isolation, neglect, further
punishment or indoctrination can take place.
8. What
about a properly funded probation service that can really contribute to
rehabilitation and help the stop the cycle of recidivism.
9. Or
even a system where people have the right to challenge the government or other
public bodies if they have really got it wrong and decisions could be assessed
for their legality by highly qualified judges; and where impecunious challengers
or, say charities, would get public funding if necessary.
Wait a minute, this is all
sounding a bit familiar. Oh that’s right
it’s what we used to have here in the UK before governments began interfering
with it.
