Recommendation 12

Appeals from the magistrates’ court represent a small and declining proportion of overall Crown Court receipts, with only 0.4% of magistrates’ court decisions appealed in 2025. The Ministry of Justice’s own data does not support the premise that appeals make a material contribution to the Crown Court backlog, and we are not persuaded that this proves a sufficient justification for the scale of reform proposed. Whilst we recognise the impact that a rehearing can have on victims and witnesses, the high proportion of successful appeals suggests that the current right to a rehearing, which allows for both factual and legal issues to be reconsidered, plays an important role in correcting wrongful outcomes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 71)