England: Lord Chief Justice welcomes report on mental health and fair trial

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Burnett of Maldon, has welcomed a report calling for action to guarantee the rights of people with mental health problems within the justice system.

The Mental Health and Fair Trial report from human rights group JUSTICE makes 52 recommendations which they say would help to identify and support suspects and defendants with mental ill health or learning disabilities, in order to ensure their right to a fair trial in England.

Lord Burnett (pictured), speaking at its launch, said: “Underpinning these proposals is a common thread – the concern that courts and the legal profession are not being provided with sufficient training and guidance to enable them to carry out their roles effectively, whether case management, trial management or sentencing.

“The report as a whole provides a rich seam of material, as indeed do all the reports provided by JUSTICE, for policymakers and others. I’m sure it will play a leading role in developing our approach to vulnerable defenders and witnesses. It is for that reason that I welcome its publication with great pleasure.”

JUSTICE director Andrea Coomber added: “JUSTICE has long been concerned that the criminal justice system is not suitably designed to accommodate people with mental health or learning difficulties.

“There are still fundamental problems with the criminal justice system’s response to vulnerability and too few people receive reasonable adjustments to enable them to effectively participate in their defence. But that is not to say that practitioners in the criminal justice system are not aware of the problem. We are impressed by the efforts being made to create an integrated criminal justice and mental health sector.

“We hope that this report will build on that and bring about change for some of the country’s most vulnerable people.”