The Leveson Review - A Brief Analysis

On 9 July 2025, Part 1 of the Leveson Review (“the Review”), an independent review of the criminal courts, was published having been commissioned on 12 December 2024 by the Lord Chancellor.

The 378-page Review considers how the criminal courts could be reformed to ensure cases are dealt with proportionately and how they could operate as efficiently as possible.

Part 1 of the review focuses on policy and Part 2, which will be published later this year, will focus on efficiency.

It has been well documented in recent years that the criminal court system in England and Wales is in crisis, with significant backlogs which were exacerbated by the pandemic and the resulting delays which inevitably followed.

The Review contains a large number of recommendations, but flowing throughout is the theme that the current system is severely underfunded and currently broken and in need of an overhaul.

Sir Brian Leveson, a retired senior judge, was required to take a fresh look at the current problems which face the criminal courts and the high-level headline findings from Part 1 of his Review are as follows:

• Establishment of a New Crown Court Division: The Review proposes the introduction of a dedicated division within the Crown Court where a judge sits alongside two magistrates to hear either way (cases where defendants currently have the option to choose trial by magistrates or by jury in the Crown Court) offences.
• Restriction on Crown Court Election: The Review proposes the removal of the right of defendants to elect for trial in the Crown Court for offences which carry a maximum sentence of two years or less.
• Reclassification of Offences: The Review proposed the reclassification of certain either way offences so they are triable only in the Magistrates’ Court; the result of this would be the streamlining of case allocation and a reduction in Crown Court caseloads.
• Judge-Only Trials for Complex Fraud: The review proposes to permit serious and complex fraud cases to be tried by a judge sitting alone, without a jury, to improve efficiency and ensure specialist handling.
• Optional Judge-Only Trials for All Defendants: The Review proposed to extend to all Crown Court defendants the right to opt for trial by judge alone, providing an alternative to jury trial where appropriate.

Comment

Colette Kelly, Partner in Regulatory and Criminal, comments:

“The Leveson Review is welcomed in its thorough analysis of the current problems and concerns to be found within the criminal courts at this present time.

“There is no easy fix to be found, and any suggestions and improvements will require time and money to be invested into a system that is severely wanting.

“The main headlines in relation to the significant changes to “trial by jury” cases need to be carefully considered given this long-standing tenet of justice within the criminal courts of England and Wales”

It is clear to see the predicament Leveson has been faced with in making these recommendations. As he states in the report:

“I don’t rejoice in these recommendations but I do believe they’re absolutely essential.

“Do I want to curtail jury trial? Would I like to? No … But I would ask that the report be judged not on what I am undoing, but on what I am trying to protect.””

However, the radical proposals to remove the right to a trial by jury for some offences and for trial by a judge alone for serious and complex fraud cases do not address the crisis.