Attorney General's Reference No. 2 of 2001

Judgments - Attorney General's Reference No 2 of 2001 (On Appeal from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division))

HOUSE OF LORDS

OPINIONS OF THE LORDS OF APPEAL FOR JUDGMENT

IN THE CAUSE

Attorney General's Reference No 2 of 2001 (On Appeal from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division))

[2003] UKHL 68

LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL

My Lords,

In exercise of his power under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1972 the Attorney General referred to the Court of Appeal two points of law on which he desired the opinion of that court. The points were these:

"(1) Whether criminal proceedings may be stayed on the ground that there has been a violation of the reasonable time requirement in Article 6(1) of the European Convention for the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms ("the Convention") in circumstances where the accused cannot demonstrate any prejudice arising from the delay.

(2) In the determination of whether, for the purposes of Article 6(1) of the Convention, a criminal charge has been heard within a reasonable time, when does the relevant time period commence?"

The first of these points raises a specific issue on the interpretation and application of the Human Rights Act 1998 and article 6 of the Convention, but also a more general issue which has given rise to difficulties and differences of opinion not only in the United Kingdom but in other jurisdictions around the world. These are important issues, on which compelling arguments to contrary effect can be, and have been, advanced. The second point raises an issue of less general importance but of practical significance to judges called upon to rule whether the reasonable time requirement has been breached.

The acquittal which entitled and prompted the Attorney General to exercise his power under section 36 came about in the following way. On 26 April 1998 there was a serious disturbance in an English prison. Thirty-two prison inmates barricaded themselves in an association room and caused some considerable damage to property. Prison officers were sent into the room to clear the barricades and regain control of the area. The inmates resisted the officers and there was considerable violence before order was restored. An investigation into the incident began on the following day, 27 April 1998. Potential defendants were interviewed by the police between 9 June and 1 July 1998. The police submitted their paperwork to the Crown Prosecution Service for advice on 27 July 1998. On 11 February 2000 informations were laid against 7 prisoners, one of them the defendant who has in this reference been called "the acquitted person". On 16 June 2000 the defendants were committed for trial in the Crown Court, where they were charged in an indictment containing a single count of violent disorder contrary to section 2(1) of the Public Order Act 1986. Trial in the Crown Court was fixed to begin on 29 January 2001. When the matter came before the court, counsel for the defendants (including the acquitted person) submitted to the trial…

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