Article 14
205. The United Kingdom wishes to add the following information about the right to be tried in England and Wales without undue delay (art. 14, para. 3 (c)).
Section 22 of the Prosecution of Offenders Act 1985 gave the power to make regulations in England and Wales limiting the maximum time allowed to the prosecution to complete a stage on proceedings (overall limit) and limiting the period during which an accused might be held in custody awaiting completion of a stage in proceedings (custody limits). Ministers decided to introduce custody limits first, because of the overwhelming need to reduce the delays for defendants held in custody.
206. Following the successful completion of field trials in 1985-1986, statutory limits were introduced in four counties on 1 April 1987. The limits were 56 days from first appearance to summary trial or 70 days to committal in the magistrates court; and 112 days from committal to arraignment in the Crown Court. (Exceptionally, a longer limit to committal was set for the West Midlands because of particular problems in the Birmingham area, but this is being progressively reduced.) The introduction of statutory limits appeared to be successful and Ministers decided that uniform custody limits should be introduced nationally, but should be phased in in three stages so as to minimize the pressure on the criminal justice system. The burden of implementing custody limits falls on the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and the impact on the resources of the CPS was an important consideration.
207. On 1 April 1988, custody limits were extended to Wales and to nine English counties including Greater Manchester. On 1 June 1989, limits were extended to a further 23 counties including North, South and West Yorkshire. Only London and eight counties in the South-East are now outside the limits, and discussion on the phasing-in of limits to these remaining areas are taking place with the CPS and the police with a view to completion in 1990.
208. The results of monitoring so far suggest that under 5 per cent of cases are currently exceeding the limits. Reductions in waiting time have occurred, and the continuing progress in the West Midlands shows that significant improvements are possible. It is probably true that at the moment time-limits directly affect only a small number of cases. Indirectly, however, they have created a disciplined framework and established the presumption that delays will not be tolerated.
209. In Scotland, under the provisions contained in section 101 (2) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 as amended by section 14 (1) of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, an accused person cannot be detained in custody for more than 80 days on a warrant committing him for trial without being served with an indictment. Failure to serve an indictment within that period will result in his release from custody. An accused person must be brought to trial by the time he has spent 110 days in custody; if not, he must be liberated and, once liberated, cannot be tried for the offence concerned. An extension of the 80-day or 110-day ruling may be granted by a High Court judge provided there is a reasonable excuse for the delay, e.g. illness of the accused or of the judge or any other sufficient cause which is not attributable to any fault on the part of the prosecution. Either party has