Recommendation 11

We are concerned that at present there is a significant gap within the inspection regime in the justice system. For example, there is no inspectorate that covers the civil and family courts. Nor is there one in respect of Coroners’ Courts—indeed, our Report on the Coroner Service recommended that the Ministry of Justice should establish a dedicated Coroner Service inspectorate. A new courts’ inspectorate could also inspect Coroners’ Courts. Any courts’ inspectorate would have to respect judicial independence by focusing on the administration of the courts as opposed to substantive judicial decisions. It would also need to learn the lessons from the limitations of the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Court Administration.