The Department of Justice this week published its latest research and statistical bulletin on case processing time for criminal cases across the Northern Ireland courts for 2022/23.

The average time for a case to be dealt with at all courts decreased by nine per cent to 206 days, but remained the second-highest figure recorded in the last five years, partly due to the pandemic backlog.

In the adult magistrates’ court, the average was 103 days for a charge case, down by five per cent on the previous year, and 254 days for a summons case, a decrease of 12 per cent on the previous year.

In the youth magistrates’ court, the average was 142 days for a charge case, down by two per cent, and 278 days for a summons case, down by a significant 26 per cent.

Sexual offence cases took the longest with an average of 757 days to complete — an increase of two per cent on the previous year, as well as the highest median figure recorded in the last five years — compared to motoring offences, which were the fastest at an average of 164 days.