From adversarialism to managerialism: criminal justice in transition

Abstract

The criminal justice system of England and Wales has been subject to a series of essentially ad hoc reforms that depart to a significant degree from its adversarial heritage and represent a threat to fair trial rights under Art 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Far from moving closer to the European ‘inquisitorial’ model, as has been suggested by some commentators, criminal procedure is becoming increasingly dominated by managerialist concerns. Intolerance to litigant control is motivated by the desire to increase efficiency and reduce cost, although the replacement of party autonomy in terms of control over the conduct of the case by state power over process corresponds to some degree to the descriptions, in the work of Mirjan Damaška, of the system favoured by ‘activist’ states. However, the financial crisis facing the new government means that the situation is unlikely to be alleviated should the extent of government activity be reduced.