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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 4:01 am
Time: 4:01 am
Results for criminal courts (northern ireland)
1 results foundAuthor: Northern Ireland. Criminal Justice Inspection Title: Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service: An Inspection of the Adequacy of the Courts Estate Summary: An effective and efficient court estate is a critical dimension of the administration of justice in Northern Ireland. It also comes at a high cost. The value of the courts estate in 2010-11 was estimated at £203 million, with maintenance costs at an average of £1.5 million per annum, and requiring £44 million of capital investment in the last eight years. The broad aim of this inspection was to examine the adequacy of the current courts estate in meeting the requirements of court business and to consider the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) approach to managing its estate in addressing the future delivery of court business within a changing environment. The analysis of the current courts estate shows considerable variations in the quality of the facilities available. Using the NICTS own assessment criteria of the 21 court facilities in operation in Northern Ireland, five are assessed as ‘high quality’, eight assessed as ‘medium quality’ and eight assessed as ‘poor quality’. There are also significant variations around the utilisation of court venues and the cost of court business. All of this information points to the need for an estate strategy which considers the overall nature of court provision and the different options that might be suitable going forward. In an effort to address this issue the NICTS commissioned a consultancy report which highlighted a preferred option involving the development of three ‘super courts’ and six ‘satellite’ venues at a cost of £75 million. The development of the NICTS Estate Strategy has however, been overtaken by events including the devolution of policing and justice and the integration of the NICTS within the Department of Justice (DoJ). It is clear from discussions with officials that the amount required to address the strategic needs of the courts will not be available within the current financial climate and because of competing demands upon the DoJ capital investment programme. What is not clear is given that Plan A is not acceptable (the preferred option), what is Plan B? The current process of addressing the localised nature of ongoing maintenance and intermittent upgrading of facilities when monies are available, do not seem to Inspectors to be feasible, and run the risk of good money being poured after bad. It is essential that the NICTS and the DoJ address the strategic issue of the courts estate and identify a clear plan of action for the development of the estate now and in the future. Details: Belfaast: Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, 2012. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 23, 2012 at: http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/47/473220da-9885-4d8e-b27a-194ddcb36e80.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/47/473220da-9885-4d8e-b27a-194ddcb36e80.pdf Shelf Number: 125745 Keywords: Criminal Courts (Northern Ireland) |