Review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland - CAIN

Review of Criminal Justice in Northern IrelandA Consultation Paper3.12 The Lord Chancellor is a Government Minister, the Speaker of the House of Lordswhen it is acting in its legislative capacity, and the senior judge when the House ofLords is acting in its judicial capacity. He exercises his executive functions inNorthern Ireland through the Northern Ireland Court Service, which is a separateand distinct civil service of the Crown. He is responsible for all judicial and mosttribunal appointments (see chapter 7).FUNCTIONS OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND COURT SERVICEThe main functions of the Northern Ireland Court Service are:• facilitating the business of the Supreme Court, county courts, magistrates’courts, coroners’courtsand certain tribunals;• giving effect to judgments to which the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981applies (i.e.enforcing money and certain non-money judgments obtained as a result of court orother tribunal proceedings on behalf of Government Departments, public bodies and otherorganisations and individuals);and• providing to the Lord Chancellor policy advice and legislative support in relation to his Ministerialresponsibilities in Northern Ireland, including civil and criminal legal aid.3.13 The existing organisation of criminal justice functions and the spread of politicalaccountability owes much to the arrangements for governing Northern Ireland since1972. The split in responsibilities also reinforced the essential independence ofdecision taking in key component parts of the system. Whilst appearingcumbersome the organisational arrangements have worked well. It is possible,however, to envisage other models for organising criminal justice functions,particularly in the context of devolving responsibility for some or all of the abovefunctions to Ministers responsible to the Northern Ireland Assembly at some pointin the future.3.14 In many other jurisdictions most, if not all, of the criminal justice functions,together with responsibility for civil and criminal law reform, are brought togetherwithin a single justice department. Some jurisdictions split responsibility forpolicing from other justice functions into a department of the interior, often withother regulatory functions, such as firearms and explosives control, and gaming,betting and liquor licensing. Others maintain the separation of responsibility forthe prosecution function to preserve and protect the independence of theprosecution process.3.15 In Northern Ireland’s small jurisdiction and with devolution it is possible toenvisage a number of models for delivering these services and determining therelationship between them. In addition, responsibility for a number of individualfunctions can be aggregated in different ways. For example the delivery of prisonservices and supervision in the community, together with the necessary co-operationand co-ordination between the functions, can be achieved through a range oforganisational structures. If structural and organisational changes were to be made,care would have to be taken to ensure that they provided for efficiency and15