Monday Message 02.03.26

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus Pawb!

In the Monday Message this week:

  • St David’s Day Message from Christopher Rees KC, Leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit
  • The Courts and Tribunals Bill 2026
  • Removal of the Sitting Days cap and Criminal Justice Reform
  • Advanced International Advocacy Course 2026 – Keble College
  • Judicial Reverse Mentoring Scheme 2026 – Barrister volunteers needed
  • Forthcoming CBA Events
  • Farewell and thanks to Chloë Ashley, outgoing CBA Secretary

 

 

 

St David’s Day message to all from the Wales and Chester Circuit

Happy St David’s day to all members of the criminal bar and all members of the Wales and Chester Circuit. St David’s Day marks the beginning of Spring. The daffodils are flowering. It is a time of hope and renewal. Hope is certainly needed for all of us Welsh rugby fans.
It is in a spirit of hope and determination that members of circuit will continue the fight against the Government’s misguided proposals to reform the criminal justice system and restrict the right to trial by jury.
Many members of circuit travelled to London for the Save our Juries event in Parliament. We also hosted MPs at Cardiff Crown Court, Swansea Crown Court and Chester Crown Court as part of the Bar Council’s initiative to educate MPs about the workings of the Criminal Justice System. Although we have a modest backlog of cases on circuit, it is not comparable to other areas of the country. We believe that close co-operation between the bench and bar on circuit has helped keep the backlog under control.
We all know that what is needed is investment, not restrictions to jury trial. We will be channelling our famous Welsh hwyl to ensure the Government get that message loud and clear.

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus to you all

Christopher Rees KC
Leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit

Neges Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Oddiwrth Cylchdaith Cymru a Chaer
Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus i hôll aelodau’r bar troseddol a holl aelodau Cylchdaith Cymru a Chaer . Mae Dydd Gwyl Dewi yn dynodi dechrau’r Gwanwyn. Mae’r cennin pedr yn blodeuo. Mae’n amser gobaith ac adnewyddu. Yn sicr,  mae eisiau gobaith arnom ni cefnogwyr Rygbi Cymry!
Mewn ysbryd gobaith  a chymhelliant bydd aelodau’r cylchdaith yn dal i frwydro yn erbyn  argymhellion camarweiniol y  llywodraith i ddiwygio trefn cyfiawnder troseddol a chyfyngu’r hawl i prawf gan rheithgor.
Teithiodd llawer o aelodau’r cylchdaith i ddigwyddiad “ Achub ein Rhreithgorthau” yn y senedd yn Llundain.  Hefyd, fe gynhaliwyd dygwyddiadau yn Llysoedd Coron Caerdydd, Abertawe a Chaer fel rhan o flaengaredd  Cyngor y Bar i addysgu Aelodau Seneddol am gweithrediadau  y drefn cyfiawnder cyffredinol. Er fod gennym ol –grôniad cymedrol ar y cylchdaith, nid yw yn gymharol i ardaloedd eraill y wlad. Rydym yn credu mae cyd – weithio agos rhwng y fainc a’r bar ar y cylchdaith sydd wedu helpu i gadw’r ol –grôniad o dan rheolaith.
Rydym ni gyd yn gwybod mae buddsoddiad nid cyfyngu’r hawl i prawf gan rheithgor sydd eisiau. Mi fyddwn yn sianeli ein Hwyl Cymreig Enwog i sicrhau fod y llywodraeth  yn clywed y neges yn uchel ac yn glir.
Christopher Rees KC (CB)
Arweinydd Cylchdaith Cymru a Chaer

The Courts and Tribunals Bill 2026 and Criminal Justice Reform

The Courts and Tribunals Bill 2026 was published last week, together with the Impact Assessment.

The Bill can be read here.

The Impact Assessment can be read here.

The key measures in the Bill include:

  • Removing the right to elect Crown Court trial.
  • Removing the right to trial by jury from cases where the likely sentence is 3 years or less, and replacing it with trial by Judge alone.
  • Applying these changes retrospectively to cases which are already listed for trial by jury.
  • Increasing Magistrates’ maximum sentencing powers to 18 or 24 months’ imprisonment.
  • Removing the automatic right of appeal from the Magistrates’ Court to the Crown Court.

Let there be absolutely no doubt: the Criminal Bar Association is fundamentally opposed to the proposed restrictions on the right to jury trial.

Our survey last year showed that the overwhelming majority of criminal barristers (approximately 90%) are against these proposals. That is our mandate, and we shall follow it. Nothing has changed.

The CBA will continue to campaign, together with our colleagues from the Bar Council, the Circuit Leaders, the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association, the LCCSA and many others, to oppose the attack on trial by jury.

Over the next few weeks, we will be taking the fight to where it matters: Parliament.

None of these changes are in the gift of the Justice Ministers, David Lammy MP and Sarah Sackman MP alone. These proposals will have to carry the day first before the House of Commons, and then before the House of Lords. We know that there is opposition from a growing coalition of MPs from the Labour backbenches, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, SNP, Greens and Reform, and tellingly from our Northern Ireland MPs who know only too well the pitfalls of trial by Judge alone.

We have strong support in the House of Lords from peers of all parties and from non-aligned members, and we are continuing to engage with them all to bolster our opposition to these Draconian measures.

The CBA are not against reform.

Our position is not a knee-jerk opposition to reform of all kinds. Our position is informed by our collective knowledge and experience of the criminal justice system. We know what parts of the system are precious to justice, democracy and the rule of law. We know what parts of the system are outdated, broken and in need of change. We know what measures will work in practice, and what measures are simply going to add extra burdens, increase delays, and heartache to the complainants, victims, and the accused.  We know what radical, practical steps can and should be taken right now to make a difference to the scandalous backlogs in our courts, and delays in the criminal justice process.

We support the reclassification of more offences as ‘summary only’. We support maintaining the 2024 increase in Magistrates’ Court sentencing maximum from 6 months to 12 months (but no more). We support the inclusion of a permission test for appeals to the Crown Court against sentence. We support increasing the discount for guilty pleas to 40%, the use of ‘blitz courts’ and robust triaging / case management of the trials, by prosecutors and judges, to ensure that the only cases which are going to trial are those where it is absolutely necessary.

Our response to the measures in the Bill.

In outline, the CBA’s position on the reforms is as follows:

The CBA supports retention of existing rights to trial by jury.

  • Juries reflect our modern society. Judges do not.
  • Juries are a safeguard against prejudice. Power is not concentrated in the hands of one person. The process of deliberation ensures that bias is exposed.
  • The public have greater confidence in the verdicts of juries.
  • This proposal has been mis-sold on the promise of ‘swifter justice for victims’. Even on the figures in the Impact Assessment, the overall time saving on Crown Court workload is about 3.5% (the IFG says 1% to 2%). That means rape complainants/victims, who are currently waiting a year for their case to be heard, might see delays brought down by about a week.
  • The cases in scope are not minor offences. These are cases where the likely sentence is 18 months’ to 3 years’ imprisonment. That is life changing.

The CBA supports retention of the 12 month maximum prison sentence in Magistrates’ Courts (but no more).

  • Increasing maximum sentences to 18 or 24 months means that Magistrates’ Courts will be trying more serious, more complex cases. There is a risk of injustice.
  • The trial procedure in the Magistrates’ Court is designed as a summary process to try minor offences. The Impact Assessment shows that the Government assumes that each of these more serious, more complex cases will be tried within just 4 hours. Either that is rough justice, or the Impact Assessment is wrong.
  • Entitlement to legal aid in the Magistrates’ Court is more limited. Defendants in serious cases will be unrepresented, leading to slower trials. Complainants/victims and witnesses will be cross-examined by the alleged perpetrator.
  • The Impact Assessment is grossly over-optimistic. It assumes that work which currently occupies 24,000 sitting days in the Crown Court (heard by professional judges) can be transferred to the Magistrates’ Court and processed within 8,500 days.
  • The Impact Assessment highlights a real risk that there may be insufficient magistrates to deliver the additional 8,500 sitting days required.

The CBA supports retention of the automatic right of appeal against conviction from the Magistrates’ Court.

  • The overwhelming majority of our members were against the removal of this automatic right.
  • The right of appeal is an essential safeguard. Approximately 42% of appeals are successful.
  • The proposed new scheme is more burdensome and complex, with multiple stages and multiple hearings. The existing scheme is fairer, swifter and works well.

If not this, then what?

  • increased sitting days;
  • blitz courts;
  • robust triage and case review;
  • increased credit for guilty pleas;
  • increasing the hours-per-day sitting time by fixing broken technology and the flawed prisoner transport system.

The CBA has consistently put forward these alternatives, and we strongly supports the reforms to bring them into effect.

We have set out our response to the proposals in greater depth in our ‘Nutshell Guide to the Courts and Tribunals Bill 2026’, which you can read here. 

We have set out our comments on the Impact Assessment in an explainer which you can read here. 

Much has been written already about the flaws in the Government’s proposals. If you need further material, we suggest the following:

  • For a detailed critique of the proposals, we recommend the paper submitted by HH Geoffrey Rivlin KC, the former resident judge at Southwark Crown Court, to the Justice Select Committee here.
  • For a detailed discussion of confidence in the verdicts of juries, we recommend the article by Professor Michael Zander KC (Hon) in the Criminal Law Review [2026] Crim LR 150 here.
  • For the arguments on the quality of decision making by Juries, we recommend the article by former CBA Chair Chris Henley KC ‘Trial by Jury or the Wisdom of One’ here.
  • For further arguments on the Courts Bill generally, see the JUSTICE briefing paper here.

Sitting Days and Criminal Courts Reform – The progress which has been made

The publication of the Courts and Tribunals Bill overshadowed the good news about the criminal justice system this week.

The week began with the Government’s announcement that, in conjunction with the Senior Judiciary, they will lift altogether the artificial cap on sitting days in the Crown Court.

We congratulate the Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy MP, for securing the extra funding from the Treasury which was necessary to make this happen. In the spirit of St David’s Day, there is a very apt Welsh phrase: chwarae teg; fair play. In barely 6 months in post, David Lammy has both raised the cap then abolished it altogether. The CBA has been calling for this change for years, and we are grateful that the Government has finally listened.

We have our part to play too: in the months ahead, we are going to have to roll up our sleeves to take on the additional work. We are going to have to recruit both established lawyers and new pupils to work as criminal barristers. The Government have offered matched funding for pupillage, and we must make use of that opportunity.

The CBA and the Bar Council are continuing to work with the Government and CPS to secure additional funding to attract talented lawyers back to criminal practice. That funding is essential to our collective need to recruit and retain criminal barristers for both prosecution and defence work.

It is also clear from the announcements this week that the Government will be moving forward with the recommendations in Part 2 of Sir Brian Leveson’s Review of the Criminal Courts. We welcome that change.

The claim that these measures will only work if they go hand in hand with the axing of jury trials and the removal of other cherished rights is pure, political puffery. None of the practical measures in the Part 2 Review report – which we support – are in any way dependent on the creation of Judge-only trials.

South Eastern Circuit Tim Dutton CBE KC Advanced International Advocacy Course 2026

The 2026 course will take place from Tuesday 25th August until Saturday 29th August 2026 (concluding at 17.00 hrs).
The Criminal Bar Association are once again offering funding for up to five of their members practising as barristers in publicly funded work, covering the cost of attending the course. Each scholarship is £2,000.00, and is available to members who are three years’ post pupillage and under seven years’ call.

To apply for a scholarship from the CBA for the 2026 course, applicants should complete both the course application form and the CBA scholarship form and submit them to the Circuit Admin Office here.

The course aim is to encourage and develop the highest standards of advocacy amongst practitioners in England and Wales. It is demanding and intensive, and previous courses have been accredited by the Bar Standards Board, including 33 CPD hours and nine advocacy hours.

The course takes place at Keble College, Oxford, and participants must attend each day of the course.

Full details and the scholarship information are available here.

Judicial Reverse Mentoring 2026 –Application Information for Mentors

The Judicial Reverse Mentoring scheme (JRM) fosters greater judicial understanding of the experience of individuals from backgrounds currently underrepresented within the judiciary and the specific barriers they face in accessing a career in law and the judiciary. ​

The mentor role on this scheme is open to currently practising legal professionals from backgrounds currently underrepresented within the judiciary who are 10 years or fewer post qualification/call.

The scheme is aimed at those who would like to take part in making a positive impact on the judiciary by fostering a greater understanding of the experience of individuals from underrepresented groups in accessing a career in law and in the judiciary. The scheme also enables you the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the judiciary.

The deadline for applications is 24th March with further information here. 

Events

CBA Annual Dinner at Lincoln’s Inn
Friday 22nd May 2026
Members may wish, before booking an individual ticket, to check with their Chambers Administrator, as many sets arrange block bookings and can add names to a list.

CBA Spring Conference at the IET, Savoy Place
Saturday 18th April 2026
Our programme and full line up will be published this week.

And finally…

Our thanks to Chloë Ashley, outgoing CBA Secretary

We would like to extend our deepest thanks to the inimitable Chloë Ashley for all she has done during her tenure as Secretary. Chloë has been instrumental in representing the Association and views of the criminal bar, advocating for improvement on fees, wellbeing and policy. She has fought tirelessly to communicate the importance of retaining jury trials and improving efficiencies both to members of Parliament and the press.

Chloë has engaged with Parliament, contributed to consultation responses, addressed the press including The Times, and provided evidence to Select Committees. Throughout a period of sustained strain upon the profession, she has been a visible and steady voice. Her commitment to wellbeing has been equally significant. During the Days of Action in 2022, she was among those working alongside Faisal Siddiqui, Mark Watson and Aaron Dolan who were instrumental in establishing the CBA Hardship Fund.

Chloë’s time in office engenders hope that there remain many in this profession who still care about the future and about improving working conditions for all.

On behalf of the membership, our judiciary, our Circuits, our Executive Committee and its subcommittees, from Aaron and from us personally: Chloë, thank you. We are profoundly grateful for all that you have done.

Warm congratulations to Matilda Robinson-Murphy of 2KBW who now steps up as CBA Secretary for 2026/27, and Maya Chopra of Farringdon Chambers who takes over from Matilda as Assistant Secretary.

The final words this week go to Chloë, in a departing message marking her time as Secretary. Chloë’s words are both poignant and powerful.

It has been a privilege to serve in a role at the heart of the CBA’s work on professional culture, wellbeing and systemic improvement across the criminal Bar. It has also been a sobering vantage point from which to observe both the fragility and the resilience of the system we are entrusted to serve.
We practise at a time of sustained and acute pressure on every part of the criminal justice system. Chronic under-investment, crumbling court infrastructure, intolerable delay, diminishing real-terms remuneration and the steady attrition of experienced practitioners have combined to create a crisis which is no longer episodic but structural. The consequences are borne not only by those who work within the system, but by complainants, defendants and witnesses- and, ultimately, by public confidence in the rule of law.

Behind those abstractions lie human consequences. Talented junior practitioners continue to leave publicly funded criminal work, not for want of commitment, but for want of sustainability. The pipeline of future leaders of this profession- and of the judiciary- depends upon a viable and respected criminal Bar. Without it, the system will not merely struggle; it will diminish.

Most troubling of all is the incremental encroachment upon the right to trial by jury- a right that is not a procedural ornament but a constitutional safeguard. Proposals which seek to dilute or sidestep jury trial in the name of expediency must be recognised for what they are: responses to systemic failure that risk sacrificing principle for short-term administrative relief. Efficiency cannot be permitted to eclipse fairness. Once eroded, constitutional protections are seldom restored in full.

Trial by jury is not an historical indulgence. It is the means by which the citizen participates directly in the administration of justice and by which the state’s power to prosecute is held to account. It is a visible expression of the compact between the individual and the state. To curtail it in response to administrative strain risks normalising temporary expedients as permanent constitutional settlement.

The criminal Bar has never resisted reform for reform’s sake. We understand the need for modernisation, for proportionality and for responsible stewardship of public funds. But reform must strengthen- not recalibrate beyond recognition- the essential architecture of justice. It must enhance, not imperil, the right of every citizen to a fair and public hearing before an independent tribunal and, where Parliament has long decreed it, before a jury of one’s peers.

The criminal Bar will always engage constructively with those who seek genuine reform. But we cannot-  and should not- acquiesce in measures that weaken the foundations of justice under the guise of efficiency.

My time as Secretary has reaffirmed a simple but enduring truth: the criminal Bar’s greatest strength lies in its members and in our shared commitment to its future. We are independent practitioners, but we are not isolated actors. Our collective voice matters. Our unity matters. Our willingness to defend fundamental principles- courteously, firmly and without apology- matters.

The months ahead will require more than resolve; they will require engagement. They will require the profession to speak with clarity and, where necessary, to stand firm in defence of fair remuneration, sustainable practice and the preservation of constitutional safeguards, including the right to trial by jury.

I leave this role confident, not because the challenges are small, but because the commitment of the profession is great. I urge colleagues across the Bar- of every call, every practice area and every circuit-  to lend their full support to the CBA and to its officers. The defence of our system of justice is the shared responsibility of us all.

Unity and principle will be essential if the criminal justice system- and the rule of law upon which it rests- is to retain public confidence.

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