1,000 signatures reached
To: Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid
Save UK Justice
This campaign has ended.
The Criminal Justice System is under pressure: if we don’t take drastic measures now, it will surely break.
We demand Sajid Javid takes drastic action to Save UK Justice. We demand:
1. A properly resourced CPS - To protect the public with a robust and effective prosecution service.
2. No more cuts to legal aid - To ensure that justice is available to all.
3. Investment in digital disclosure - To maintain public confidence in justice.
4. Competitive pay and fees - To recruit and retain lawyers for a sustainable Criminal Justice System.
If you want to protect our Criminal Justice System too, I urge you to sign this petition.
Why is this important?
I am Roland Zollner, a barrister from Liverpool, who has retired from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
It is now almost a decade since the Government announced swingeing cuts to the CPS, the Courts, legal aid and the entire Criminal Justice System.
Real term pay-cuts of up to 42% are pushing lawyers away from criminal law towards more financially rewarding areas of practice. The explosion of digital evidence has put – as one FDA CPS member put it – “an almost intolerable burden on prosecutors”. Yet while disclosure has become more time-consuming since 2010, the budget of the CPS has fallen by 25% in the same period. As a result, 95.7% of prosecutors surveyed by the FDA now think the department does not have enough lawyers to deal with disclosure issues.
“Due to many years of underinvestment, our Criminal Justice System is crumbling.” – Christina Blacklaws, President of the Law Society
“A properly functioning Criminal Justice System is fundamental to the rule of law. It is a damning indictment of our times that those in power need reminding.” – The Secret Barrister
“Our system of justice, which was once held up as world-class, is now very sick. But it would not take much investment to put it right.” – Richard Atkins QC, Chair of the Bar Council
Help us put it right: sign the petition.