On 25th February the government introduced the Courts and Tribunals Bill to Parliament.
The new Bill, largely based on recommendations from Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts (Part 1 and Part 2), aims to reform the criminal courts in England and Wales in order to tackle the rising backlog in cases in the Crown Court in particular.
RCEW have been campaigning for years for action to be taken to tackle the backlog in cases, which sees survivors of rape waiting disproportionately lengthy times for their cases to be heard, and often facing multiple delays. The government announced in late 2025 that they plan to make major reforms to the criminal courts, including removing the right to jury in some cases. The Courts and Tribunals Bill, if passed, will make these plans a reality. RCEW is clear that nothing less than radical action is needed at this stage, to alleviate the pressures on the Crown Court. The proposed changes to jury trials is one such radical action, but we are clear that more must be done to improve the criminal justice system for survivors of sexual violence and abuse in particular.
As well as changes to jury trials, the Bill also sets out several other proposals which, if implemented, will lead to better treatment and protection of survivors of sexual violence and abuse who choose to access the criminal justice system. Including:
- Restrictions on the introduction of so-called victim ‘bad character evidence’ – following our successful ‘Bad Experience Not Bad Character’ campaign, led by RCEW and partner organisations End Violence against Women Coalition, Centre for Women’s Justice, Rights of Women and Imkaan. At present, when a sexual violence survivor reports the offence to the police, we see that previous disclosures of rape and sexual violence they have made are used against them as evidence of their ‘bad character’, even when these previous experiences are completely unconnected to the case. This is a defence strategy to present the jury with an unfair or twisted narrative that the survivor is untruthful, when there is actually no evidence of this. This is an incredibly harrowing and re-traumatising experience and is often sprung on the victim without any warning during the trial. We fully welcome the government’s intention to end this practice.
- Restrictions on evidence or questions about survivors’ sexual history, compensation claims, which, as above, are tactics deployed by defence barristers to cast doubt on the credibility of survivors of sexual violence in particular.
- Improvements to the use of special measures (such as screens and video-recorded cross-examination)
We are also pleased to see that the Bill proposes to make available transcripts of proceedings in magistrates’ courts. RCEW are clear that full trial transcripts should be made available to all survivors, free of charge, to ensure that they have a proper record of proceedings that concern them, and to ensure better accountability of defence barristers – see recommendation 9 in our recent report, Living in Limbo. At present, survivors can access transcripts of sentencing hearings free of charge, but must pay thousands of pounds to receive a transcript of their trial in the Crown Court. Plans to make available transcripts in the magistrates’ court is an important step forward to full transparency in the courts.
RCEW have long supported the Open Justice for All campaign, which seeks to ensure this transparency. Founder, Charlotte, said:
“The Courts and Tribunals bill sees so many great changes to the criminal justice system with victims really at the core of it. We at Open justice For All, are especially pleased to see the inclusion of the recording of magistrates courts, something we have campaigned for, for the last three years.
"Victims deserve to have a record of what was said in their case, whether that is a crown or magistrates’ court, and this change will make a profound impact on them.
"My case was not recorded, which meant I didn’t and will never know what was discussed, what evidence was used and most importantly I was not able to hold those in charge to account. My outcome could have been different.
"Having a recording can aid in the understanding and ultimately the recovery as well as in the course of justice.
"We are checking with the government, that this means free sentencing remarks will now also extend to victims going through the magistrates courts.
"While this is a huge step forward, there is still more to do.
"We need to ensure that the recordings and transcripts are easily accessible and thus urge the government to ensure that the judges summing up will be made available free of charge to victims as well in lieu of a full court transcript”.
Maxime Rowson, Head of Policy & Public Affairs, says:
“Survivors of sexual violence and abuse have been let down by the courts for far too long – whether that be through repeatedly delayed trials, lengthy waiting times, or over-zealous and disproportionate questioning in cross-examination on issues that are not relevant to the case. We welcome the Courts and Tribunals Bill, and its intention to improve the criminal justice system. We will work to ensure the proposals introduced are as strong as possible to protect survivors.
"We are particularly pleased see new provisions to end the introduction of so-called ‘victim bad character’ evidence, following our successful campaign. Rape myths and misconceptions have no place in our society, and much less in our courts.
"We know that many survivors will never report to the police, but those who do deserve to be treated with nothing less than belief and respect. We must make sure that the journey through the criminal justice system is as easy and supportive as possible for those survivors taking it. We have a long way to go to make this a reality, but the provisions contained within this Bill are an important step forward.”