Law School academic submits evidence for Ministry of Justice Tailored Review

23 January 2018

Dr Michael Naughton was invited to submit evidence for the Tailored Review of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, conducted by the Ministry of Justice.

Dr Michael Naughton, Reader in Sociology and Law, submitted evidence for a Tailored Review evaluating the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). The review will determine whether there is a continuing need for the organisation, and if so will carry out an investigation into the CCRC’s effectiveness as well as the measures in place to ensure compliance with good corporate governance.

The CCRC, established in 1995, investigates possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and refers cases that have been assessed as having a strong potential to be overturned to a relevant Court of Appeal.

Dr Naughton’s appraisal includes an analysis of the CCRC’s statutory functions, whether the delivery of these functions could be improved, its service to applicants and whether appropriate allocation of resources to cases is in place. To read Dr Naughton’s submission online please click here.

Submissions for the call for evidence closed on 14 January. The review is expected to take four months, after which the final report will be published on the gov.uk website.

Further information

Dr Michael Naughton is a Reader in Sociology and Law across the Law School and the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies (SPAIS), University of Bristol. He has broad interdisciplinary teaching and research interests, including the sociology of law, criminology, criminal justice and evidence law, and has researched and written extensively on “miscarriages of justice” and the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of the innocent.

For further information about the review of the Criminal Cases Review Commission please visit the Ministry of Justice website.