*/
The winning essay is ‘A fiction of defendant participation: Single Justice Procedure offences should be moved to the civil jurisdiction’ by Hal McNulty
Brief summary
Through the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), defendants have become so marginal in their own criminal trials that it calls into question the state’s compliance with Article 6 of the ECHR.
How and why did you pick this topic?
This past year I have been reading Tristan Kirk’s articles in The Standard in which he tells the stories of people convicted through the SJP. Our criminal justice system is drastically under-resourced and overstretched, so ways to make efficiency savings are very attractive to lawmakers. But the SJP does this by cutting protections for defendants. I wanted to find a way to keep these savings that would not disadvantage the accused.
The full essay is reproduced below.
Hal McNulty is the winner of the Bar Council's Law Reform Essay Competition 2024.
Brief summary
Through the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), defendants have become so marginal in their own criminal trials that it calls into question the state’s compliance with Article 6 of the ECHR.
How and why did you pick this topic?
This past year I have been reading Tristan Kirk’s articles in The Standard in which he tells the stories of people convicted through the SJP. Our criminal justice system is drastically under-resourced and overstretched, so ways to make efficiency savings are very attractive to lawmakers. But the SJP does this by cutting protections for defendants. I wanted to find a way to keep these savings that would not disadvantage the accused.
The full essay is reproduced below.
The winning essay is ‘A fiction of defendant participation: Single Justice Procedure offences should be moved to the civil jurisdiction’ by Hal McNulty
The Bar Council continues to call for investment for the justice system and represent the interests of our profession both at home and abroad
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
AlphaBiolabs has made a £500 donation to Sean’s Place, a men’s mental health charity based in Sefton, as part of its ongoing Giving Back initiative
Q&A with Tim Lynch of Jordan Lynch Private Finance
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Little has changed since Burns v Burns . Cohabiting couples deserve better than to be left on the blasted heath with the existing witch’s brew for another four decades, argues Christopher Stirling
Six months of court observation at the Old Bailey: APPEAL’s Dr Nisha Waller and Tehreem Sultan report their findings on prosecution practices under joint enterprise
Despite its prevalence, autism spectrum disorder remains poorly understood in the criminal justice system. Does Alex Henry’s joint enterprise conviction expose the need to audit prisons? asks Dr Felicity Gerry KC
With automation now deeply embedded in the Department for Work Pensions, Alexander McColl and Alexa Thompson review what we know, what we don’t and avenues for legal challenge
It’s been five years since the groundbreaking QC competition in which six Black women barristers, including the 2025 Chair of the Bar, took silk. Yet today, the number of Black KCs remains ‘critically low’. Desirée Artesi talks to Baroness Scotland KC, Allison Munroe KC and Melanie Simpson KC about the critical success factors, barriers and ideas for embedding change
