Fraud (Trials Without a Jury) Bill

The Fraud (Trials Without a Jury) Bill 2007 was a proposed Act of Parliament introduced by the United Kingdom government. Its intention was to abolish trials by jury in complex fraud cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by amending section 43 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.^[1] The Bill was given its First Reading in the House of Commons on 16 November 2006.^[2] In a highly unusual move it was blocked by the House of Lords using a delaying tactic in March 2007. Lord Kingsland said:

On the substance of the matter, as your Lordships are well aware, jury trial has been a central component in the conduct of all serious criminal trials for about the past 700 years. Its contribution to the preservation of the liberty of the individual, and to the legitimacy of Government, is quite incalculable.^[3]

References

1. Fraud (Trials without a Jury) Bill
2. Hansard, Fraud (Trials without a Jury) Bill, 1st Commons Reading, 16 Nov Mar 2006 : Column 144
3. Hansard, Fraud (Trials without a Jury) Bill, 2nd Lords Reading, 20 Mar 2007 : Column 1152

External links

• The Stationery Office: History of the Bill
• The Bill as laid before the Commons
• Bill as brought from the Commons and ordered to be printed in the Lords