Every Crown Court will have at least one dedicated courtroom for two years.
Specialist rape courts are to be rolled out across every Crown Court in England and Wales, under a government announcement aimed at prioritising rape and serious sexual offence cases. Each Crown Court will have at least one courtroom dedicated to these cases for the next two years, with the scheme supported by investment.
The government also intends to provide private entrances and waiting rooms, alongside facilities for pre-recorded evidence and remote observation of sentencing. Trials under the scheme will be given fixed dates rather than being placed on floating lists.
Kirsty Brimelow KC, Chair of the Bar Council, welcomed the announcement, describing specialist courts as a new approach to reducing court delays and delivering timely justice for victims, complainants and defendants.
She also called for domestic abuse cases to be included in the scheme alongside rape and serious sexual offences. The Bar Council said it has consistently called for specialist sexual and domestic abuse courts rather than restrictions on jury trials.
The announcement follows recommendations from the Law Commission last year on reforms to sexual offences cases as part of the government’s End-to-End Rape Review. According to the Bar Council, those recommendations included retaining juries and introducing specialist sexual offences courts within existing court buildings.
The Bar Council also noted that Labour’s manifesto had included a commitment to establish specialist courts at every Crown Court in England and Wales to fast-track rape cases. An amendment to the Courts and Tribunals Bill that would have introduced specialist courts was subsequently rejected at committee stage.
The Courts and Tribunals Bill is scheduled to return to the House of Commons for report stage and third reading on 13 October.
The immediate development for practitioners is the planned introduction of dedicated courtrooms, fixed trial dates and specialist facilities for rape and serious sexual offence cases across the Crown Court estate