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Court: Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Court considers how to approach disclosure exercise for purposes of appeal

R v Clarke [2017] EWCA Crim 37

Under the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, s 23, the Court can order the production of any documents necessary for the case before a single judge and allow this to be taken as evidence before the Court. There is a common law duty imposed on the Crown to disclose documents. The question arose as to whether the s 23 power of the Court applies to this common law duty where the duty is contested by the Crown on the basis of public interest immunity.

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Registration of French asset freezing order in England was not contrary to fundamental rights

A v Director of Public Prosecution [2016] EWCA Crim 1393

Whether the judge misapplied the Criminal Justice and Data Protection (Protocol No. 36) Regulations 2014 by refusing to cancel the registration of an order made by a judge in France, which restrained the disposition of the applicant’s assets up to a specified limit. Held: Permission to appeal against the judge’s decision refused. General guidance issued that in future Crown Court judges should refuse to challenges to overseas restraint orders which are directed at the substantive basis for making the initial restraint order.

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Principle of open justice upheld

Re Guardian News & Media Ltd [2016] EWCA Crim 58

The case concerned the media’s access to CCTV footage shown to the jury in the case of R v Kingshott. The media made a formal application to access the footage under CPR 5.8(7) and the common law principle of open justice however this was rejected on the basis that the risk of prejudice to the trial outweighed the open justice principle. The media appealed under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, s 159.

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