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Select Committee · Justice Committee

Private prosecutions: safeguards

Status: Closed Opened: 23 Jun 2020 Closed: 31 Oct 2022 8 recommendations 1 conclusion 1 report

This inquiry examined the safeguards that exist for private prosecutions brought by organisations who act as the investigator, prosecutor but are also the victim of the alleged offence. It looked at: Whether existing safeguards are enough to limit the potential for private prosecutions by large organisations to cause miscarriages of justice The merits of additional … Show more

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
9th Report: Private prosecutions: safeguards HC 497 2 Oct 2020 9 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
1 Recommendation 9th Report: Private prosecutions: safeg… Acknowledged

The startling figures on the scale of the Post Office’s prosecutions, together with concerns raised...

The startling figures on the scale of the Post Office’s prosecutions, together with concerns raised by the Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in relation to the RSPCA in 2016 and reports that the number of private prosecutions is rising, justify a proactive approach to examining the effectiveness of the … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government shares the Committee's concern regarding the rise in private prosecutions and notes that the RSPCA's role as prosecutor is currently under discussion with the Attorney General's Office.
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Ministry of Justice
2 Conclusion 9th Report: Private prosecutions: safeg… Acknowledged

It is a strength of the current system that it enables corporate victims of crime...

It is a strength of the current system that it enables corporate victims of crime to pursue justice when public authorities decline to intervene. The lack of a prosecution can represent injustice just as much as a prosecution wrongly brought. However, in a modern criminal justice system whether an offence … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government agrees that private prosecutions brought by victims, whether corporate or individual, still play a valuable role when public authorities cannot prosecute every worthy offence.
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Ministry of Justice

Correspondence

6 letters
DateDirectionTitle
1 Nov 2022 To cttee Letter from Gareth Johnson MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justi…
18 Jan 2022 To cttee Letter from James Cartlidge MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Just…
8 Dec 2021 From cttee Letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, dated 25 November 2021…
22 Jul 2021 — Evidence from Post Office on Private prosecutions safeguards
24 Jun 2020 To cttee Letter from Helen Pitcher, Chairman, Criminal Cases Review Commission on Post O…
24 Jun 2020 To cttee Letter from Sir Robert Neill MP, Chair, Justice Committee to Helen Pitcher, Cha…