Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

As I rise to speak on this Bill for the first time, let me say that I will be dealing with Clauses 1 to 12. Although I know that my noble friend Lord Rooker will have made himself available to talk to any Peers who wish to do so, should there be any issue on this part of the Bill that any Member of the Committee thinks it would be helpful to have a word with me about outside the Committee, I shall be happy to do so. Amendment No. 1 seeks to put on the face of the Bill a statement creating a right for all defendantsto be tried in Northern Ireland, except where the provisions of the Bill apply. I hope that he and the noble Lord, Lord Lester, will forgive me for saying that the effect of that statement would be to enable jury trials in all cases except where a certificate had been given under Clause 1. That would mean that even defendants in the magistrates’ court in Northern Ireland, which deals with nearly all criminal cases without a jury, would be able to opt for jury trial and it would not be possible to apply for non-jury trial under either the Criminal Justice Act 2003 or the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004—which applies to another exceptional category of case. In fact there is a more fundamental objection, which is that the amendment is unnecessary. As the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, confirmed in moving the amendment, regardless of whether the amendment is made, the presumption will be for jury trial in all indictable offences in Northern Ireland—for the first time in 35 years—when the Diplock courts system comes to an end on 31 July of this year. Non-jury trial will be the exception and will arise only within the strict requirements of the Bill or the other provisions to which I have drawn attention. The noble Lord asked about the number of cases that could be affected. It is not easy to give a definitive answer or firm predictions. He rightly referred to a number of cases since 1999 where jury tampering has been reported. But it is important to bear in mind that those cases have been reported in the context of the current system in which Diplock trials exist. In all cases where a Diplock trial would have been ordered there would not have been any question of jury tampering because there would not have been a jury. So I do not think that one could draw from that figure a conclusion on the numbers. The number of cases dealt with by Diplock trial has been declining. It is worth emphasising the key point, which I understood was common ground, that although the factors that led to the establishment of the Diplock system may have reduced, they still exist; and the risk of those factors, including intimidation of juries, remains enhanced in Northern Ireland compared with other parts of the United Kingdom, as the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, stated in his independent report. I understand the view of the noble Lord, Lord Avebury. The presumption will be reversed by the Bill, or at least there will be a presumption for jury trial unless there are special circumstances, and the Government have made clear their intention to return to jury trial in serious criminal cases as soon as the security situation allows. However, what fundamentally lies behindthe Bill is that we need to be sure that the justice system can provide fair trials in good time, in line with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which means that there will be cases in which, in order to have a fair trial, it will be necessary to do it without a jury. The important point that will run throughout my remarks on this part of the Bill is that the European convention, and therefore the Human Rights Act, guarantees a right to a fair trial, not a right to a jury trial. I know that the noble Lord cannot do anything other than withdraw the amendment today, but I hope that he will reflect and not bring it back.