Commission calls for justice to be "determined and delivered" in Wales
The Commission on Justice in Wales has called for the most radical overhaul of the country’s justice system in 200 years, saying "justice should be determined and delivered in Wales so that it aligns with its distinct and developing social, health and education policy and services and the growing body of Welsh law".
In its report Justice in Wales for the People of Wales, the Commission said it was two centuries since the Welsh justice system had been reviewed and its members had “unanimously concluded that the people of Wales are being let down by the system in its current state”.
It warned that alignment could not happen at present as justice remained controlled by Westminster and so was not integrated with other policy making as it was in other parts of the UK.
“There is no rational basis for Wales to be treated differently, particularly as Wales has its own long legal tradition,” the report said.
The Welsh Government had used its money to make up for central government cuts in spending on justice with the result that almost 40% of funding is contributed in Wales but allocated by the Westminster Government.
“This position is unsustainable when the Welsh Government has so little say in justice policy and overall spending,” the report said.
The commissioners found: “We are satisfied that the determination of justice policy and its delivery in Wales would, with good leadership and proper accountability, provide a much better system of justice focused on the needs of the people of Wales.”
Cuts to legal aid made in 2012 had left people in Wales without proper access to justice “with the consequent threat to the rule of law” with ‘advice deserts’ in rural and post-industrial areas and “a serious risk to the sustainability of legal practice elsewhere”.
Family justice presented a complex division between the responsibilities of the Welsh and Westminster governments, the report found.
It said there was “an unsustainably high increase in the number of children being taken into care in Wales, with significant variations between local authorities, with significant costs that “would be much better spent on support for children and their families to prevent problems arising”.
The costs to local authorities and the justice system were also significant, the report said. "Funds would be much better spent on support for children and their families to prevent problems arising. We welcome the Welsh Government’s recent initiative to hold local authorities to account for reducing the number of children in care, those placed out of county and those removed from parents with a learning disability. However, significant further action to tackle this issue is essential in both the short and longer term."
In relation to administrative justice the Commission said the proportion of challenges to decisions made by Welsh public authorities that are heard in Wales was low.
"The one element of justice administration which is devolved – the Welsh tribunals – needs to be seen to be fully independent from the Welsh Government and also needs a closer relationship with other bodies that review administrative decisions in Wales. The Welsh tribunals have been under-used as a means of enforcing Welsh legislation," the report said.
Mark Smulian
