New Justice Bill 2024 Introduced To NI Assembly

Justice Minister Naomi Long has introduced the Justice Bill 2024 to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The new Bill contains a range of significant reforms to the justice system and delivers on several of the Minister's priorities for change.

The Justice Bill has four core aims:

• to amend retention periods for biometric material.

• to make changes to bail and custody arrangements for children and young people.

• to improve services for victims and witnesses; and

• to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aspects of the justice system.

Naomi Long said: "The Justice Bill is another step forward on our journey to reform and modernise our justice system, improving its operation and effectiveness, and making it a better system for all.

"The Bill will allow for the development of a framework for the retention of biometric material, including DNA and fingerprints.  This will mean such material will no longer be kept indefinitely and a review of current retained material will be carried out.  The Bill will also allow for the appointment of a new commissioner in Northern Ireland to provide important oversight of the new framework and review process."

The Minister is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people, as set out in its Strategic Framework for Youth Justice. This will be achieved through changes to existing legislation around bail, remand and custody for children.  The Minister said: "Custodial sentences for children are always a measure of last resort, and only when the offences necessitate them.  This new legislation will further protect those young people in custody by ensuring they are only held in a youth custodial facility, which is the appropriate place for their needs."

Minister Long also set out a number of amendments which have been agreed by the Executive for development for planned inclusion in the Bill at Consideration Stage.  These include:

• Provisions to transfer the powers and functions contained in section 43 of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to DOJ to manage the accreditation process for organisations wishing to deliver Restorative Justice.

• Provisions to amend rehabilitation periods in the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NI) Order 1978 to shorten existing rehabilitation periods and to allow more convictions to be able to become spent.

• Provisions to facilitate the wider use of video and audio-conferencing systems (commonly referred to as live links) within courts (criminal and civil) and tribunals, thereby allowing the cessation of reliance on similar provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020;

• Provisions to streamline arrangements for the maintenance and ease of understanding of the existing list of 1200+ sexual and violent offences that cannot be filtered from disclosure certificates by AccessNI;

• Provisions to allow for the repeal of vagrancy legislation (the Vagrancy Act 1824 and the Vagrancy (Ireland) Act 1847); and

• Provisions to tackle those who participate in or direct serious worganised crime.

In conclusion, the Minister said: "This is important legislation, which strengthens existing law and will have a real, tangible and positive effect on the justice system.

"I look forward to working with the Justice Committee and Assembly colleagues to ensure the provisions of this Bill are enacted this mandate."