Response to Consultation Revising Attorney General's Guidelines and the CIPA Code of Practice

After a year of consultation and research the Attorney-General produced a review in November 2018 which bluntly said "no one who has regular professional involvement with the criminal courts can have avoided the conclusion, often from painful experience, that for too long the system of disclosure has not operated effectively enough.” It concluded that there was nothing wrong with the legislation - just the way it was applied. In February 2020 a consultation on revising the A-G’s Guidelines and the CPIA Code of Practice was published with a deadline to respond by April 22nd. 25 Bedford Row has responded and, whilst welcoming the revisions, has pointed out the remaining flaws in the system and the weaknesses in the revisions. You can read our response here.