Mallon says overhaul of justice system is too slow

The Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, has warned that any British government reneging on proposals to overhaul the criminal justice system could destabilise Northern society.

In Armagh yesterday Mr Mallon said a fair and impartial justice system was essential to ensure community confidence in the institutions of state. He expressed concern that, the British government might attempt to dilute the proposals of the Criminal Justice Review (CJR).

"The issues of policing and criminal justice lie at the very heart of the Good Friday agreement. Changes in these areas are central to realising its vision of human rights for all," he said.

"We must create an effective and efficient system of justice that is responsible to the community's concerns and which encourages its involvement," Mr Mallon told a Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission conference on criminal justice reform.

In a 440-page document containing 294 proposals published in March the CJR group chiefly called for an independent prosecution service and a new judicial appointments system.

Mr Mallon welcomed the proposals but complained that some reforms were being needlessly postponed until justice was devolved to the Executive. "If a judicial appointments system is such a good idea, why not set it up now?" he said.

He also queried why the review did not propose a prison ombudsman, as in Britain, and expressed suspicion that the British government would ignore some of the recommendations.

Mr Mallon said he wanted a judiciary that was "representative - and trusted by - all of the community that it serves", and a "prosecution system that works hard to provide answers to victims if charges are not brought".

The new system must: offer rehabilitation, not just punishment; help to make the streets safe for everyone; it must be a system with which everyone can identify; and provide laws that "are fair, to help the battered wife, the troubled teenager and the parolee making a new start".

"Overall, I believe that the Criminal Justice Review offers a good chance of achieving these goals. But above all this will depend on the commitment of government to implementation, to the translation of the recommendations of the review into concrete actions," Mr Mallon said.

"As we have seen from the Police Bill it is that process of translation of principle into practice that is most vulnerable. For it depends too much on those who have resisted change for so long, for those for whom there is no greater pain than the pain of a new idea.

"The new democratic institutions depend for their survival on the commitment of government to justice," Mr Mallon said. "Renege on that commitment and I fear for the stability of our society and its new institutions. But demonstrate that commitment and be sure that our new society will grow and prosper to the benefit of all. That is the choice."