COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
THURSDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2011
ROOM 29, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present:
Lord Morrow MLA (Chairman)
Mr Raymond McCartney MLA (Deputy Chairman)
Lord Browne MLA
Mr Paul Givan MLA
Mr Alban Maginness MLA
Mr Conall McDevitt MLA
Mr David McNarry MLA
Ms Carál Ní Chuilín MLA
Mr John O’Dowd MLA
In Attendance:
Mrs Christine Darrah (Assembly Clerk)
Mrs Roisin Donnelly (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Mr Vincent Gribbin (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Mr Joe Westland (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Kevin Marks (Clerical Officer)
Apologies:
Lord Empey MLA
The meeting commenced at 1.37 p.m. in public session.
1. Apologies
Apologies are detailed above.
2. Draft minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2011
Agreed: The Committee approved the draft minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2011.
3. Matters Arising
The Committee noted correspondence from the Department of Justice providing additional information in relation to clause 5 of the Justice Bill on the number of speed detections made by the police and on the new speed awareness and young driver training programmes.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to include the correspondence in the Report on the Justice Bill.
4. Consideration of the Bill Report
The Committee considered a draft Report on the Justice Bill. No amendments were proposed.
5. Evidence session on changes to remuneration for defence counsel in relation to Crown Court cases with the Law Society of Northern Ireland
Elizabeth McCaffrey, Chairperson of the Access to Justice Committee, Piers McDermott, and Peter O’ Brien, from the Law Society of Northern Ireland joined the meeting at 1.54 p.m.
2.02 p.m. Mr Maginness joined the meeting.
The representatives of the Law Society briefed the Committee on their views on the Department of Justice’s proposed changes to remuneration for defence counsel in relation to Crown Court cases and answered questions from Members on issues including the likely impact of the proposed changes on law firms and on new recruits to the profession; the possible impact on access to justice; and the Law Society’s alternative proposals.
The Chairman thanked the representatives for the briefing and they left the meeting.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
6. Evidence session on changes to remuneration for defence counsel in relation to Crown Court cases with the Bar Council of Northern Ireland
Adrian Colton QC, Chairman of the Bar Council, Mr Mark Mulholland, Vice Chairman, Tony Nicholl, Goldblatt McGuigan and Martin O’Rourke, Chairman of the Criminal Bar, joined the meeting at 2.55 p.m.
3.44 p.m. Mr McNarry left the meeting.
4.07 p.m. Mr Givan joined the meeting.
Mr Alban Maginness declared an interest in relation to his occupation as a barrister.
The representatives of the Bar Council briefed the Committee on its views on the Department of Justice’s proposed changes to remuneration for defence counsel in relation to Crown Court cases and answered questions from Members on issues including the discussions between the Bar Council and the NI Courts and Tribunals Service; how the discrepancy in the budget figures for Legal Aid of £79 million and £75 million arose; the Bar Council’s alternative proposals; and the likely impact on barristers of the proposed changes.
The Chairman thanked the representatives for the briefing and they left the meeting.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
7. Consideration of proposals on changes to remuneration for defence counsel in relation to Crown Court cases
Robert Crawford, Head of Public Legal Services Division and John Halliday, Criminal Legal Aid Policy Advisor, NICTS, joined the meeting at 4.18 p.m. to provide further information on the issues raised by the Law Society and the Bar Council in relation to the proposals for changes to remuneration for defence counsel in relation to Crown Court cases and answered further questions from Members.
The Chairman thanked the officials for the briefing and they left the meeting.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to review the Hansard of the evidence sessions and to discuss the matter further in closed session at a future meeting.
The meeting was suspended at 5.10 p.m.
The meeting resumed at 5.33 p.m.
Present:
Lord Morrow MLA (Chairman)
Mr Raymond McCartney MLA (Deputy Chairman)
Lord Browne MLA
Mr Paul Givan MLA
Mr Alban Maginness MLA
Mr Conall McDevitt
Ms Carál Ní Chuilín MLA
Mr John O’Dowd MLA
In Attendance:
Mrs Christine Darrah (Assembly Clerk)
Mrs Roisin Donnelly (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Mr Vincent Gribbin (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Mr Joe Westland (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Kevin Marks (Clerical Officer)
4. cont’d Consideration of the Bill Report
The Committee considered a draft Executive Summary for inclusion in the Report on the Justice Bill. No amendments were proposed.
The Committee considered 2 amendments to correct drafting errors at paragraphs 763 and 764 of the draft report.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that the amendments should be incorporated into the report.
The Committee considered the draft Report on the Justice Bill.
Title Page, Committee Membership and Powers, and Contents Page
The Committee considered the Title page, Committee Membership and Powers, and Contents page of the Report.
“Question: That the Committee is content with the Title page, Committee Membership and Powers, and Contents page as drafted put and agreed to”.
Executive Summary
The Committee considered the Executive Summary of the report.
“Question: That the Committee is content with the Executive Summary (paragraphs 1 to 33) as drafted put and agreed to”.
List of abbreviations and acronyms
The Committee considered the List of abbreviations and acronyms used in the report.
“Question: That the Committee is content with the List of abbreviations and acronyms as drafted put and agreed to”.
Introduction
The Committee considered the Introduction section of the report.
“Question: That the Committee is content with the Introduction (paragraphs 1 to 16) as drafted put and agreed to”.
Key Issues
The Committee considered the Key Issues section of the report.
“Question: That the Committee is content with the Key Issues section of the report (paragraphs 17 to 154) as drafted put and agreed to”.
Consideration of the Bill by the Committee
The Committee considered the Consideration of the Bill by the Committee section of the report.
“Question: That the Committee is content with the Consideration of the Bill by the Committee section of the report (paragraphs 155 to 605) as drafted put and agreed to”.
New Provisions to be introduced into the Bill by the Department
The Committee considered the New Provisions to be introduced into the Bill by the Department section of the report.
“Question: That the Committee is content with the ‘New Provisions to be introduced into the Bill by the Department’ section of the report (paragraphs 606 to 639) as drafted put and agreed to”.
Clause by Clause consideration of the Bill
The Committee considered the Clause by Clause consideration of the Bill section of the report .
“Question: That the Committee is content with the ‘Clause by Clause consideration of the Bill section of the report(paragraphs 640 to 771) as amended put and agreed to”.
The Chairman advised that copies of the draft Minutes of Proceedings for the meeting on 8 February would be circulated to Members.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to contact the clerk with any amendments and was content that the Chairman then agreed an extract of the Minutes of Proceedings for 8 February 2011 to allow them to be included in the printed report.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that it was content for the Chairman to approve an extract of today’s Minutes of Proceedings to allow them to be included in the printed report.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to order the Report on the Justice Bill (NIA 41/10/11R) to be printed.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that an electronic copy of the Bill Report should be sent to all organisations and individuals who provided evidence to the Committee on the Bill.
The Chairman thanked the Committee team, Hansard and all other Assembly staff who assisted the Committee during its scrutiny of the Bill.
8. February Monitoring Round
The Committee noted information provided by the Department of Justice on the February 2011 In-Year Monitoring Round.
9. Proposal to make a Statutory Rule under powers conferred by the Mental Health (NI) Order 1986, as amended by the Criminal Justice (NI) Order 1996 and the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004
The Committee considered proposals for a Statutory Rule under powers conferred by the Mental Health (NI) Order 1986, as amended by the Criminal Justice (NI) Order 1996 and the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 to extend the maximum period for supervision and treatment orders from two to three years.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that it was content with the proposed Statutory Rule.
10 . Chairman’s Business
None.
11 . Correspondence
- The Committee noted information provided by the Minister of Justice on public consultation events on the proposals for a new Community Safety Strategy for Northern Ireland.
- The Committee noted a copy of correspondencefrom the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) to the Director of the NI Prison Service regarding the recent appointment of the Governor of Magilligan Prison.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to request a copy of the response from the Director of the NI Prison Service to CAJ on the matter.
- The Committee noted correspondence from the Department of Justice regarding the launch of the appointment competition for Independent Members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
12. Any Other Business
None.
13. Date and Time of next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 17 February 2011 at 2.00 p.m. in the Senate Chamber, Parliament Buildings.
5.54 p.m. The meeting was adjourned.
Lord Morrow of Clogher Valley MLA
Chairman, Committee for Justice
17 February 2011
8 February 11 / Menu
