Justice Oversight Commissioner Lord Clyde was pressed yesterday (Monday) by Sinn Féin and the SDLP for a clear timetable and accelerated changes to implement the new criminal justice plan.
Following Sinn Féin's meeting with Lord Clyde, Conor Murphy said that criminal justice was one of the key areas raised by his party in the negotiations with the British and Irish governments leading up to publication of the joint declaration.
He emphasised that there still needs to be movement, particularly on the transfer of powers to a local Assembly, if we are to achieve a criminal justice system that is fair, representative, accountable and commands the confidence of the entire community.
Mr Murphy said Sinn Féin was determined to ensure the required changes are put in place and that there is a clear time-table for implementing the new criminal justice plan.
He said: "Sinn Féin will monitor implementation to ensure that there is progress on the Judicial Appointments Commission and the mechanisms that ensure its representativeness; action to address the issue of judicial representativeness; the duty on the DPP to refer all cases of PSNI misconduct to the Police Ombudsman; and the duty of all criminal justice agencies to have due regard of international and human rights standards."
The SDLP, after meeting Lord Clyde, said they made clear to the Oversight Commissioner that he needed "to guard against people in the Northern Ireland Office and elsewhere who would try to frustrate or impede criminal justice change".
Alex Attwood outlined a strategy which, he suggested, would accelerate change. It included creating a panel of experts to monitor justice issues; publication of six monthly reports; rigorous scrutiny of the forthcoming Criminal Justice Bill; wide-ranging performance indicators for all changes; and a permanent office with independent staff.
Mr Attwood said these proposals mirrored the working of Tom Constantine (the Policing Over-sight Commissioner) and were benchmarks which should be faithfully followed.
Also the SDLP raised particular concerns with Lord Clyde about implementation of changes to the prosecution service, deepening north-south co-operation, and the content of the new criminal justice legislation.
