Criminal Justice and Courts Bill – Clause 53: Interveners and costs

On Thursday 27 March 2014 the Committee discussed Clause 53 to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill.

Valerie said:

“It is not clear what apparent mischief the Government are trying to prevent, other than to interfere with the workings of the court. We ought to remember the dictum, ‘Be ye ever so high, the law is above thee’, but the Government appear to be saying, ‘Be ye ever so high, the Government are above thee.’”

“The court invites the interveners to intervene and more often than not, they bear their own costs. An intervener saves the court costs, because they can provide some of the information that the court requires but that the litigant in person cannot provide. We have a wonderful, renowned legal system that uses the expertise of both our lawyers and our jurisdiction. People come from abroad to use it and we heard evidence that the system is worth approximately £2 billion to the economy. With this clause, we undermine that at our peril. I urged the Government to remove the clause.”

More information about the Public Bill Committee on the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill can be found here: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2013-14/criminaljusticeandcourts/committees/houseofcommonspublicbillcommitteeonthecriminaljusticeandcourtsbill201314.html