Criminal Law Reform Now Network

Lead Research Organisation: University of Birmingham
Department Name: Law School

Abstract

The Criminal Law Reform Now Network (CLRNN) represents the creation of a new and flexible route for academics and other legal experts to take the lead in collaborative criminal law reform projects: proposing topics; defining policy recommendations; team-writing reports; and working with reform institutions to take recommendations forward.

Academics and other legal professionals have always played a valuable role in reform of the criminal law, both through critique of the current law as well as advocating or consulting upon reform options. However, established roles/routes of this kind come with significant restrictions - they may be reserved within a small pool of consulted experts; they may be restricted by the questions consulted upon; they may arise only once or twice in a life of a reform project; and in almost all cases, the start and end point for the consulted expert is defined narrowly. Without rejecting established routes, the CLRNN identifies and facilitates an alternative. Here, having proposed an area in need of critical attention, project specific teams of experts will work collaboratively over the full life of a project, creating reform recommendations, and communicating these directly to target reform institutions.

The CLRNN operates a cyclical structure, establishing new projects as others end. Following an open-call and meeting, the first two projects have been selected:

1) Review of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA): When we consider the speed of technological change, including personal devise use and the increasingly sophisticated threat from hacking, it is little wonder that this 27 year old statute requires attention. Despite some amendment, proposers of this topic highlighted the potential need for a 'public interest' defence within the legislation (potential legislative reform), litigation surrounding the meaning of 'authorised' computer use (potential legislative reform), inconsistent sentencing of offenders (potential reform of sentencing guidelines), as well as a number of other precise concerns.

2) Review of the Private Prosecutions Regime: The potential for an individual or private group to instigate criminal proceedings (ie, as opposed to the state) operates a peculiar role within the current law, and has developed without systematic or principled review. Here, proposers were keen to explore the various ways private prosecutions are discontinued (eg, through CPS intervention and court practices), the involvement of police in investigation, the application of evidential rules, and so on. There is agreement that the law and practice in this area are inconsistent and can lead to unfairness, and so there is clear scope for reform recommendations: focusing potentially on legislation, CPS and Police practice, and court practice.

The CLRNN aims to unlock the potential of individual researchers whose reform ideas may not otherwise gain wider recognition, as well as creating an inter-disciplinary forum for testing those ideas with experts from across the relevant area (eg, including academics, practitioners, members of special interest groups, and so on). The CLRNN will not be tied to a single topic or institution, but will rather consider working on reform proposals across the criminal law piste (eg, substantive, procedural, evidential, sentencing), as long as a clear public need can be demonstrated, we can build a team with the relevant expertise, we are clear about the reforming institution targeted, and we believe that there is a real prospect of creating positive change.

We will create a cyclical self-sustaining Network that will continue to operate on new topics well beyond the life of our initial funding. Members of the CLRNN will be able to contribute through Project Team membership (when a project focuses in their area of expertise), evaluative comment at symposiums, as well as facilitating links and contacts relevant to project impacts.

Planned Impact

The CLRNN is academically conceived as an outward looking collaborative project, both in terms of our research partners (eg, legal practitioners and other relevant experts), as well as our ultimate audience (eg, target reform institutions, as well as the public and press). Through collaborative reform projects, we aim to create practical and theoretically sound reform recommendations to be published widely, but crucially, we will also be working closely with the relevant reform institutions to maximise the chances for those recommendations to be taken forward.

Relevant impact therefore includes:

* NON-ACADEMIC PROJECT PARTNERS - Core to the CLRNN model is collaboration between academics and other legal experts across every stage of a project, and CLRNN Committee member Simon McKay (Barrister) has been particularly good at bringing practitioners into the Network. Within the first two CLRNN projects, for example, we already have a range experts committed to events: including legal practitioners, computer experts (including former hackers), public interest group representatives, and representatives from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Like their academic partners, these experts are attracted to the CLRNN as a flexible and open route into reform projects that they care about; as well as the opportunity to work with academics who may have a greater theoretical appreciation of the field. For both sides, it is about developing a project over a period of time with experts who think about the same problem in different ways, and to debate routes forward;

* TARGET REFORM INSTITUTIONS - There are numerous institutions involved in criminal legal reform, from the primary law debated in Parliament and the courts to the guidelines and procedures developed by the Sentencing Council, CPS, Police and others. Each of these rely on legal research and recommendations to pursue their roles effectively, and each may be targeted within a CLRNN Project. Our first two projects, for example, are likely to involve recommendations for changes to primary legislation (targeting Parliamentary reform), issues of sentencing consistency (targeting the Sentencing Council), as well as prosecution procedures (targeting the CPS, Police, and the National Cyber Crime Unit). The clear advantage for these groups is to receive fully worked reform recommendations from a multi-disciplinary expert group, and a CLRNN Committee willing to work with them to take those recommendations forward (both during and after the research and writing stages of a project);

* BROADER PUBLIC AND PRESS - All CLRNN projects will be conducted and published openly, and summarised for a broader public audience (eg, Reports, summaries, video talking-heads, website material, etc). The public have a strong interest in positive reforms to the criminal law, as well as seeing and understanding the collaboration of experts to achieve them. Therefore, as well as a consultative resource, the public becomes a central target for impact - in the drafting and dissemination of materials, and in the realisation of our recommended reforms. The press will be vital here as a way of communicating our work; with the CLRNN Committee working with the press for mutual assistance;

* OTHER JURISDICTIONS AND DISCIPLINES - The CLRNN represents a new and exciting structure for collaboration and policy development, and it is already a system that is being bought into by a range of experts across our first two projects and beyond. The opportunities offered here are extremely attractive, to both academic and impact beneficiaries and partners. It is also a structure that can be exported: to other criminal law jurisdictions (eg, we are discussing with Scottish academics), and to other legal disciplines (eg, our initial conferences in 2016 included 'Public Law Reform Now', and a possible network is under discussion).

Publications

10 25 50
 
Title Short video clip promoting Reform of the Criminal Misuse Act 1990 - in collaboration with the University of Birmingham PER team 
Description Short information film about the need for reform of the CMA 1990 legislation. Produced in consolation with the UoB PE team, and shared across multiple social media platforms, as well as showing on a reel at the Westminster launch event. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2020 
Impact Increased awareness and engagement. 
URL https://twitter.com/bhamlaw/status/1219918277096415232?s=20
 
Description We have created a network of legal experts, academic and practicing, that is able to identify, research and produce excellent reform materials. We have demonstrated the potential of the network in its first four projects (Computer misuse, Private prosecutions, Deception and sexual consent, and Sentencing and illegal drugs), established close working relationships with the Law Commission and the Justice Committee, and created a Network structure that will continue indefinitly.
Exploitation Route Our completed projects will continue to inform policy debate and reform. The network will also continue, taking on new projects and providing members with collective platform for reform focused research and dissemination.
Sectors Government

Democracy and Justice

URL http://www.clrnn.co.uk
 
Description It is easiest to split the reporting of this between our four projects, and evolving collaboration with the Law Commission: o CLRNN1. Reforming the Computer Misuse Act 1990: This project ran from 2017-2020, and has made recommendations for reform of computer hacking related offences, defences, sentencing, prosecutorial guidance, and related civil penalties. We have had some initial impact success in changes to CPS prosecution guidance, and following extensive lobbying work (co-ordinated with industry supporters the Cyber-Up Campaign) we have prompted a formal Home Office Review of the statute (ongoing). Our impact work on the project has recently been extended by Follow-on funding from the AHRC. We will continue to engage with government and the Home Office Review of Computer Misuse in particular. It is quite reasonable to predict that we will achieve substantive reform of the current statute through parliament in 2022/3. o CLRNN2. Reviewing Private Prosecutions: This project began in 2018 and will complete in 2022, making recommendations on costs, regarding disclosure, and for a new inspectorate based in the Attorney General's Office to maintain better oversight of private prosecutions. Our work here is of general legal concern, and we have worked closely with the Justice Committee in sharing evidence at various points, but has become particularly pertinent following the Post Office scandal where unregulated private prosecutions have led to one of the biggest cases of wrongful convictions in British legal history. We are coordinating with the statutory inquiry into the Post Office, and expect our concerns about private prosecutions to feature in the inquiries final report and recommendations. Our expert team has created an excellent report that is being finalised for publication in 2022. In its response to the Justice Committee review of private prosecutions, featuring evidence from the CLRN Network, the Ministry of Justice has stated its intention to work with us to identify an appropriate inspections regime. o CLRNN3. Reforming the Relationship between Sexual Consent, Deception and Mistake: This project began in 2020 and is expected to report in late 2022. There is general agreement that the law is this area is poorly conceived and unfair in its application - distinguishing forms of deception that will or will not vitiate sexual consent - but there is very little consensus on an appropriate way forward. Breaking from our typical format, we have commissioned ten leading academics in the area to produce short (4000 word) policy summaries of their preferred approach, and collated these with introduction and guidance into a consultation report (published 2021). Following consultation, an agreed Network position will be established within a final report. The future of this project will be particularly interesting, with the potential to impact the law directly through the courts (i.e. common law progression), as well as the potential to influence statutory reform. On the latter, the Law Commission has an interest in purposing its own project on this topic, and we have discussed the progress of our project with the Commission at regular intervals. o CLRNN4. Reforming the Regulation of Drugs: This project will launch in 2022, but we are already establishing relevant partnerships with parliamentary, charity, and academic organisations. There is considerable potential for this project, conceived around a review of sentencing practices (i.e. an area where we believe the CLRN Network can provide genuine value through our research, and where there is a realistic prospect for reform). o Law Commission Collaboration: We have established firm collaborative links with the Law Commission as a valuable ally in pursuing our reform ambitions. This link - through combined events and regular meetings - provides us with excellent insight into the reform agenda of government and civil service, as well as a route for promoting new ideas and initiatives. The link also provides credibility for the CLRN Network, both when contacting Home Office or other actors, as well as when we ask for considerable work from our members and collaborators (i.e. it is essential that they should see a clear route to impact that they could not easily recreate themselves). Expanding and formalising our collaboration with the Law Commission represents a core aim for the CLRN Network over the next 5 years. This includes both collaboration on 'smaller' ideas/projects, linking to the Commission through an expanded CLRN Network blog, as well as formalising collaboration on larger reform projects.
Sector Government, Democracy and Justice
Impact Types Policy & public services

 
Description CLRNN 'Reforming the Computer Misuse Act 1990' report influencing policy debate at APPG roundtable on cybersecurity
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Response to Home Office Call for Information - CMA Review 8th June 2021
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/computer-misuse-act-1990-call-for-information/computer-m...
 
Description Update to CPS guidelines on Legal Guidance, Cyber / online crime, Youth crime with regard to the Computer Misuse Act 1990
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact No direct citation, but CPS guidelines were updated on the date the report was launched (and shared with relevant stakeholders).
URL https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/computer-misuse-act
 
Description Criminal Law Reform Now Network: Follow-on Impact (Computer Misuse Act)
Amount £14,284 (GBP)
Funding ID AH/W004283/1 
Organisation Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2021 
End 08/2022
 
Description Initiated collaborative work with Law Commission 
Organisation Law Commission
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution CLRNN committee members have arranged to have regular meetings with members of the Law Commission in order to update each other on work in progress, reform plans and priorities, shared interests, and future possibilities for the Network to contribute to projects under 14th Programme of Law Reform.
Collaborator Contribution Information sharing and discussing feasibility and importance of certain projects.
Impact No formal outputs to date, though members of the Law Commission have been attending CLRNN events and will continue to do so.
Start Year 2021
 
Description NCC Group | Cyber Security | Software Escrow Services 
Organisation NCC Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The NCC Group run an active 'CyberUp! campaign' - Making the UK Computer Misuse Act 1990 fit for the 21st century - that makes an industry-led case for law reform in line with our own research into the CMA 1990. Our independent expert report has provided significant support to the NCC campaign, adding specific calls for law reform.
Collaborator Contribution The NCC Group run an active 'CyberUp! campaign' - Making the UK Computer Misuse Act 1990 fit for the 21st century - that makes an industry-led case for law reform in line with our own research into the CMA 1990. The NCC Group provided comments on drafts of our final report, and provide a parallel business case for law reform that buttresses our work.
Impact Reforming the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (2020)
Start Year 2019
 
Description 'Reforming the Computer Misuse Act 1990' report launch, Westminster 22 January 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Alex Chalk MP, acting as our Parliamentary sponsor, agreed to host the launch of CLRNN's first report at the Palace of Westminster on 22 January 2020. We agreed to share the event with the cybersecurity industry-led CyberUp campaign, which increased our impact and reach, as well as the overall number of attendees. Overall, approximately 60 people attended the event, including politicians, legal experts and practitioners, representatives from the CPS, NCSC, cybersecurity and intelligence companies and agencies, former defendants in CMA cases, and others. It was useful to confirm the mutual interests of academics, legal professionals, civil servants, and industry professionals.

The event opened with speeches from Alex Chalk MP, Dr John Child, Simon McKay QC, and Ollie Whitehouse, CTO of NCC Group. Attendees said they very pleased with the networking opportunity and that many useful connections were made.

Print copies of the report were freely available, as were copies of the policy brief and other CMA-related information.

Impact to date
1. The event was picked up by the national press, as well as a wide range of industry publications (details elsewhere).
2. We have received positive feedback and enquiries from attendees, and others who learned of the report through colleagues or press coverage.
3. John Child has been invited to speak on the reform recommendations at the Midlands Cyber Security Expo in April 2020.
4. We have been invited to organise a roundtable discussion by Khalid Mahmood MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tackling Terrorism to discuss potential reform of the CMA 1990 as a means to safeguard national security and increase intelligence capacity. Discussions underway.
5. We are also in discussion with policy managers at the Home Office to engage with a multi-stakeholder strategy meeting in the near future.
6. We continue to engage with the campaign agencies and industry bodies via NCC Group.
7. We have initiated discussion with members of the Sentencing Council with a view to setting up a meeting.
8. We have initiated discussion with members of the CPS with a view to setting up a meeting.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/22/clrnn_computer_misuse_act_reform_call/
 
Description @CLRNNetwork Twitter channel 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact CLRNN Twitter channel, managed by Dr John Child, promotes Network and related events, shares news and views on criminal law reform, shares opportunities for engagement.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018,2019,2020,2021
URL https://twitter.com/CLRNNetwork?s=20
 
Description CLRNN 'Reforming the Computer Misuse Act 1990' report influencing policy debate at APPG roundtable on cybersecurity 18 January 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Dr John Child and Dr Laura Noszlopy were invited to this APPG roundtable debate with cyber specialists, legal scholars, and parliamentarians. John Child was repeatedly called upon to explain key legal points and make practical recommendations for reform during the discussion. The CLRNN report - Reforming the Computer Misuse Act 1990 - was shared with all attendees and has been forwarded on to the relevant Ministers.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL http://www.appgcybersecurity.org/events.html
 
Description CLRNN Future Projects symposium, 21 September 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact In addition to inviting proposals from CLRNN followers, the Network made an open call via social media channels to invite legal practitioners and scholars to make short presentations on areas and issues that they consider ripe for reform. Each speaker had a 10 minute slot followed by a plenary with questions and friendly scrutiny. The proposals were then considered by the CLRNN committee in a later meeting, and two projects were chosen: Deception and Sexual Consent (led by Paul Jarvis, and already launched) and Drugs Legislation (led by Melissa Bone, John Child, and Rudi Fortson QC, to be launched later in 2021). Another direct outcome of this event was the recruitment of Melissa Bone to the CLRNN committee.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description CLRNN new project launch: Sexual Consent and Deception. 23 November 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Led by Paul Jarvis of 6KBW College Hill, CLRNN's next project was launched on 23 November 2020 (synopsis below). A good number of legal experts have signed up to produce succinct proposals for legal remedies and reforms to improve this difficult and controversial area of criminal law. The CLRNN committee will then debate the merits of each, and develop an agreed position on reform recommendations to be presented to policy makers in the report. The report is scheduled for completion in November 2021.
Synopsis: The 'Supplementary and general' provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, namely sections 73 - 79, contain a definition of consent that applies to the offences under Part 1 where a lack of consent is a component of the crime, and a number of presumptions, both evidential and conclusive, about when consent will be absent for the purposes of those offences. Where sexual activity has been procured by deception, and the issue arises as to whether that sexual activity was consensual or not, the Court of Appeal in R (Monica) v DPP [2019] QB 109 held that certain deceptions are capable of vitiating consent to sexual activity, but they are limited to deceptions as to the identity of the defendant or as to the nature or purpose of the sexual activity. Analysed in this way, deception is a concept that operates outside of the definition of consent in the 2003 Act; it is a factor that pushes against a person's consent and could overturn it depending on whether the person who consented was deceived in either of those two ways. In recent years the courts have created a canon of case law that has strained to explain in a coherent way what the nature and purpose of sexual activity is.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Formal evidence submitted to the Justice Committee on Safeguards in Private Prosecutions (Dr Jonathan Rogers, 1-7 July 2020) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Dr Jonathan Rogers, representing CLRNN, submitted evidence both written and verbal to the Justice Committee. This submission in part influenced the Committee's report on Safeguards in Private Prosecutions, published 12 October 2020: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmjust/497/49702.htm
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL http://www.clrnn.co.uk/media/1020/evidence-to-justice-committee-private-prosecutions-clrn-1-july-202...
 
Description Interview for national news coverage (The Guardian) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact As a result of a coordinated PR effort, John Child and Simon McKay were both interviewed by Owen Bowcott, Legal affairs correspondent at The Guardian.
We were delighted to make the front page of the online edition, despite other major international cyber news stories breaking on the same day. We don't know the precise number of readers reached, but the article was prominently placed for the day, was tweeted and retweeted, and remains available online.
The story was also picked up by several trade publications and blogs.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jan/22/cybercrime-laws-need-urgent-reform-to-protect-uk-...
 
Description Multiple public engagement impacts through press and social media channels 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact CLRNN coordinated a multi-pronged media and public affairs campaign to raise the profile of the CMA reform report via multiple platforms. We engaged the services of University of Birmingham Communications and PER teams, and coordinated efforts with the two PR and public affairs consultancies hired by our industry partner, to develop a core press release, which generated news output nationally and internationally. We also coordinated a social media campaign through multiple channels, including a short film created at UoB to promote the project.

Details below:

1) Press coverage, including:
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jan/22/cybercrime-laws-need-urgent-reform-to-protect-uk-says-report

The Register: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/22/clrnn_computer_misuse_act_reform_call/

Computer Weekly: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252477141/Computer-Misuse-Act-crying-out-for-reform

IT Pro: https://www.itpro.co.uk/policy-legislation/computer-misuse-act/354600/computer-misuse-act-putting-critical-uk

The Daily Swig: https://portswigger.net/daily-swig/the-uks-computer-misuse-act-is-crying-out-for-reform

Government Computing Network: https://www.governmentcomputing.com/security/cybersecurity/clrnn-cma-report

MSN.com: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/cybercrime-laws-need-urgent-reform-to-protect-uk-says-report/ar-BBZc6WK

Telecom Paper: https://www.telecompaper.com/news/uk-cyber-defences-at-risk-from-outdated-computer-misuse-act-study--1323659

Washington Latest: https://washingtonlatest.com/cybercrime-laws-need-urgent-reform-to-protect-uk-says-report/

Haber Lutfen: https://haberlutfen.com/outdated-laws-put-uks-cybersecurity-at-risk-report/

Security Brief EU:
https://securitybrief.eu/story/uk-s-cybersecurity-laws-crying-out-for-reform

UoB research perspectives:
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/cyber-security-uk-election.aspx

2) Twitter activity with reach across cyber industry and law professionals: https://twitter.com/clrnnetwork?lang=en-gb

3) Targeted LinkedIn campaign via John Child's account

4) Short film developed by UoB: https://twitter.com/i/status/1219918277096415232

5) John Child blog in Birmingham Research Perspectives: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/cyber-security-uk-election.aspx
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://twitter.com/clrnnetwork?lang=en-gb
 
Description Participation at the CyberUp! Campaign Impact Update 28 January 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Update on the campaign to convince parliamentarians to reform the Computer Misuse Act 1990, led by CyberUp! campaign and using the recommendations published in the CLRNN report of January 2020. Dr John Child explained and clarified points of law and reform recommendations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.cyberupcampaign.com/news/blog-nobody-is-arguing-against-reform-a-summary-of-recent-debat...
 
Description Private Prosecutions Project - Launch Event - 19th April 2018 - UCL 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Full day symposium at UCL to discuss the scope of the Private Prosecution Project, with experts from across academia, practice and beyond. The event was followed by a scoping document, put together by the Criminal Law Reform Now Committee and Project Lead, which provided a structure for authors to be assigned.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Report Scrutiny symposium, 6 May 2019, University of Birmingham 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Full day symposium held at University of Birmingham to scrutinise draft chapters of the CMA reform report. Academics, legal and cyber professionals attended to discuss presentations given by each of the chapter authors (drafts also circulated in advance). Discussion generated new information and angles, useful critique and confirmation, as well as suggestions for future networking and engagement. We also identified and invited a team of expert editors to check the later drafts of the report for accuracy.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Scrutiny symposium for the Private Prosecutions project - online, 29 January 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Introduced by project lead, Dr Jonathan Rogers, this symposium invited another four expert speakers - Sandip Patel QC (Aliant Law), Stephen Wooler (formerly CPS), Gareth Minty (Private Prosector's Association), Paul Jarvis (6KBW) - to initiate a lively debate on the most appropriate strategies to reform of current legislation and processes around private prosecutions. The 26 attendees had access to draft chapters for the forthcoming project report, and there was broad participation from a range of senior lawyers and other practitioners in the field. Outcomes included recruitment of expert editors, and some new perspectives on reform recommendations. (Had been scheduled to take place at Cambridge but was moved to Zoom due to Covid.)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021