The Fraud (Trials Without a Jury) Bill 2007 was a proposed

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

introduced

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

John Reid. Its intention was to abolish

trials by jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...

in complex fraud cases in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

by amending section 43 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Bill was given its First Reading in the House of Commons on 16 November 2006. In a highly unusual move it was blocked by the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

using a delaying tactic voted on 20 March 2007.

House of Lords

Then Conservative

Shadow Lord Chancellor The Shadow Lord Chancellor is the member of the British Shadow Cabinet who shadows the Lord Chancellor, an office which has existed since the Norman Conquest. Since 2010, the officeholder has jointly held the title Shadow Secretary of State for ...

Lord Kingsland said:''Hansard''
Fraud (Trials without a Jury) Bill, 2nd Lords Reading
20 Mar 2007 : Column 1152 {{Quote box , quote = On the substance of the matter, as your Lordships are well aware, jury trial has been a central component in the conduct of all serious criminal trials for about the past 700 years. Its contribution to the preservation of the liberty of the individual, and to the legitimacy of Government, is quite incalculable. , source = Christopher Prout, Lord Kingsland

References

External links

2007 in British law English criminal law Proposed laws of the United Kingdom Corruption in the United Kingdom Fraud in the United Kingdom 2007 in British politics Juries in the United Kingdom