Local community to gain role in running of courts system

Measures to ensure that local people have a say in how their courts are run have been unveiled today by Courts Minister Chris Leslie.

New regulations, developed following a consultation which was published today, set out the framework for 42 community focused Courts Boards in England and Wales.

Each Courts Board will consist of seven members - one judge, two magistrates, two people with knowledge or experience of how the courts operate in their area (e.g. lawyers, victim support and citizens' advice) and two people who are representative of their local Courts Board area.

The Courts Boards will have a statutory duty to "scrutinise, review and make recommendations" about how local courts are run, where they are located and how the level of service for court users can be improved. They will not be involved in any judicial decisions, like sentencing, but will fulfil an advisory role to identify and meet local needs.

There will be a total of 294 appointments to the 42 Courts Boards across England and Wales and adverts will appear in both the national and regional press.

Mr Leslie, who today published the new regulations and report – 'Courts Boards: Constitution and Procedures A Response Paper' – said the Courts Boards would provide "vital local input" to ensure that the courts administration is run in a way that "meets the needs of the local community".

He added: "It is important that we identify people with the right skills and abilities to become members of Courts Boards. They should represent the rich diversity of the local communities served by the courts. This will increase public confidence in how the courts are run.

"The draft legislation and post consultation report are an important step towards delivering the new unified courts agency."

The Courts Boards will work in partnership with the new unified courts agency, which begins its work in April 2005. For the first time, all courts in England and Wales will come under one administrative roof.

This will end the long-standing division of responsibilities between magistrates courts - run by 42 local Committees - and the Crown, county and higher Courts, which are run by the Court Service.

(gmcg)