The review of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland was described as "damaging" and "unacceptable" by some unionists while the SDLP gave it a guarded welcome and Sinn Fein reserved judgment. The Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, welcomed the report as "a major contribution to the debate on criminal justice issues in Northern Ireland. "The report is wide-ranging, dealing with all aspects of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland except policing and emergency legislation. It takes forward an important part of the Good Friday agreement."
The White House also welcomed the report which it considers "an important part of the Good Friday Accord." A White House official said the publication "reminds us that with continued effort by the parties, remaining difficulties in implementing all aspects of the accord can be overcome, opening the way to resolution of the conflict in Northern Ireland once and for all."
The UUP pro-agreement MLA, Mr Duncan Shipley Dalton, said his party would use the consultative period to study the report. "It is a serious piece of work. A number of the proposals, such as the appointment of an attorney general for Northern Ireland and the setting up of a department of justice, have already been recommended to the review body by the UUP," he said.
Mr Shipley Dalton described the removal of British emblems from courtrooms as "sensible". The fact they remained in place outside courthouses indicated that the ethos of the British justice system would be maintained in Northern Ireland, he said.
But the anti-agreement Ulster Unionist MP, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, said the report was biased towards republicans and would only serve to undermine unionist confidence further.
"I believe the review will have the same impact as the Patten policing report and it could be extremely damaging at this very sensitive time," he said.
The criminal justice review was "a hammer blow to Northern Ireland's Britishness" and "a backward step" in the criminal justice system, according to a UUP Assembly member, Mr Peter Weir.
He said he was deeply concerned at moves to introduce the concept of restorative justice in Northern Ireland, as it simply opened the door to paramilitary involvement in the system.
A former DUP minister in the Northern Ireland Executive, Mr Nigel Dodds, described the review as "yet more appeasement of an insatiable nationalist appetite to destroy every vestige of the majority community's identity". Its proposed "politicisation" of the selection process threatened the independence of the judiciary, he added.
The SDLP welcomed the publication of what it termed a long overdue report. The party's justice spokesman, Mr Alex Attwood, said it was time to make the justice system in the North more accountable, representative and progressive.
"This may not be the giant leap forward that the SDLP would have wished, but it can be a major step forward if implemented quickly and with reworking of some details . . . We believe the consultation period should be as short as is reasonable with implementation following as quickly as possible," he added. The Sinn Fein MLA, Mr Gerry Kelly, indicated that his party would study the report carefully. "Nationalists and republicans will judge the report on its ability to deliver the sort of change that is clearly required," he said.
The Alliance Party welcomed the recommendations, particularly its endorsement of a Northern Ireland department of justice.
The Law Society of Northern Ireland described the document as "a far-reaching and formidable contribution" to the modernisation of the North's criminal justice system.
The Committee on the Administration of Justice welcomed, in particular, the establishment of an independent public prosecution service as well as the report's emphasis on human rights, but expressed concern that the implementation of many of the proposals could be dependent on the devolution of criminal justice powers to a reinstated Stormont assembly.