The House of Commons Select Committee on Justice is today, 10
March 2021 launching a Parliamentary Inquiry into how the
criminal law has been changed and applied to deal with the
Covid-19 pandemic. The design and enforcement of the various laws
that have been brought into force will be considered by the
crossbench Committee.
Since the onset of the pandemic the Government has created a
number of criminal offences to ensure compliance with
restrictions such as the banning of groups of people meeting
outside households.
Many of these offences empowered the police to issue Fixed
Penalty Notices which, if not paid, could lead to a defendant
risking criminal prosecution. More recently, the Government has
changed the law to enable the ‘single justice procedure’ to be
used to decide cases involving Covid-19 offences. The single
justice procedure means cases can be dealt with directly by
magistrates and, if the defendant pleads guilty, without the
defendant present.
In launching the inquiry, the Committee is seeking the views of
interested and expert parties as well as people who may have been
directly affected by the new laws. In particular, the Committee
is seeking views on:
· The process under which Covid-19 offences have been created
· The design of the offences, including the use of Fixed Penalty
Notices and the relationship between the new offences and
existing criminal law
· The checks and balances in place to review the way these
offences have been policed and prosecuted, including the role of
the Crown Prosecution Service
· The role of the courts, including the use of the single justice
procedure and the way in which Covid-19 offences and Fixed
Penalty Notices can be appealed, challenged or contested in
court.
The Committee will welcome written evidence up to 2355 HRS on
Friday 16 April. It also plans to hold two oral evidence
sessions, with a variety of witnesses, and intends to publish its
report before the end of the summer Parliamentary session, with
the precise date to be communicated in due course.
