Unfitness to Plead Consultation Responses - Law Commission ...

Question 5: Should a jury be able to find that an unfit accused has done the
act and that there are no grounds for acquittal in relation to an act other
than that specifically charged?
In our view the purpose of this reform is not simply an overhaul of the law but also a
tidying up and clarification exercise for existing abnormalities. It would not be in the
interests of fairness, justice or our client group, if an unfit accused during the hearing
was found to potentially have committed another act other than that specifically charged,
to be acquitted for other acts without a separate hearing.
Provisional Proposal 12: Where the Secretary of State has referred a case
back to court pursuant to the accused being detained under a hospital
order with a section 41 restriction order and it thereafter becomes clear
beyond doubt (and medical evidence confirms) that the accused is still
unfit to plead, the court should be able to reverse the decision to remit the
case. (Paragraph 7.21)
Provisional Proposal 13: In the event of a referral back to court by the
Secretary of State and where the accused is found to be unfit to plead,
there should not be any need to have a further hearing on the issue of
whether the accused did the act. This is subject to the proviso that the
court considers it to be in the interests of justice. (Paragraph 7.21)
We agree with proposals above.
In summary we agree that there are adequate provisions through reforms already
carried out in this area to deal with the eventualities outlined in the proposals. We
therefore agree that there is no need to reform with respect to the above.
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