Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

moved Amendment No. 4: 4: After Clause 8, insert the following new Clause— ““Duration of non-jury trial provisions (1) Sections 1 to 8 (and Schedule 1) (““the non-jury trial provisions””) shall expire at the end of the period of two years beginning with the day on which section 1 comes into force (““the effective period””). (2) But the Secretary of State may by order extend, or (on one or more occasions) further extend, the effective period. (3) An order under subsection (2)— (a) must be made before the time when the effective period would end but for the making of the order, and (b) shall have the effect of extending, or further extending, that period for the period of two years beginning with that time. (4) The expiry of the non-jury trial provisions shall not affect their application to a trial on indictment in relation to which— (a) a certificate under section 1 has been issued, and (b) the indictment has been presented, before their expiry. (5) The expiry of section 4 shall not affect the committal of a person for trial in accordance with subsection (3) of that section, or by virtue of subsection (4) or (6) of that section, to the Crown Court sitting in Belfast or elsewhere in a case where the indictment has not been presented before its expiry. (6) The Secretary of State may by order make any amendments of enactments (including provisions of Northern Ireland legislation) that appear to him to be necessary or expedient in consequence of the expiry of the non-jury trial provisions. (7) An order under this section— (a) shall be made by statutory instrument, and (b) may not be made unless a draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I wish to speak also to Amendments Nos. 13, 14 and 15. This group of amendments provides that the system of non-jury trial in the Bill will expire after two years unless the Secretary of State makes an affirmative resolution order to extend it for a subsequent two-year period. I hesitate to use the shorthand term for what we are doing here but it is more rolling renewal than sunset because each two years is a separate period. The system of non-jury trial contained in the Bill has always been intended to address the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland, in particular the paramilitary and community-based pressures that jurors in Northern Ireland face. The Government have long made clear their commitment to return to jury trial in all cases in Northern Ireland as soon as the security situation permits. We believe that these amendments will help underline the exceptional nature of the system. The change will also give Parliament the opportunity regularly to debate these important issues. As I said, the system will lapse after two years unless an affirmative order is made. In order to do that a Minister must stand at the Dispatch Box and at least give some semblance of a review and assessment of what has happened in the previous two years. For the avoidance of doubt and to assist in our deliberations I should mention the relevance of Amendment No. 13, which provides that parts of the new clause extend to England and Wales as well as Northern Ireland. It is necessary because some of the other legislation containing references to the system that will need to be repealed on expiry will be legislation that extends to England and Wales; for example, the non-jury trial system in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. I add that for clarification of this little package of amendments. I beg to move.