THE RIGHT TO FAIR TRIAL IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS AND THE UNITED KINGDOM COURTS: LESSONS FROM THE PANDEMIC

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted how the United Kingdom criminal justice system operates, necessitating a balance between the right to a fair trial and the need to protect public health. The study critically assesses the effect of the pandemic-induced changes to criminal procedures on criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom, focusing on the actual application of the guarantees of a fair trial in the United Kingdom's domestic law and under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It reviews the historical and legal origins of the right to a fair trial, the emergency legislation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the transformation of the operation of the criminal courts during the pandemic through remote hearings, hybrid processes, and the introduction of digital case management. It also considers the main problems which have emerged from these reforms: the difficulty for effective defendant participation, the access and availability to lawyers, open justice, equality of arms, examination of the witnesses, and the significant surge in the backlog of cases in the Crown Court – which reached more than 60,000 cases during the pandemic period. The research also includes an analysis of judicial reaction, drawing on key UK case law and guidance, which show that, in the face of unprecedented operational challenges, courts have consistently treated procedural fairness as a non-derogable constitutional principle. The results showed that digital technologies contributed to judicial continuity and resilience, but were not possible to completely replace the procedural protections afforded by traditional in-person courtroom interactions in more complex criminal cases. The paper suggests that the next generation of criminal justice reform should include technological advances, clear statutory protections, increased court capacity and an all-encompassing framework for emergency situations to safeguard constitutional rights in the event of a future national emergency. Lessons from the pandemic will be very relevant to building a more resilient, accessible and rights-based criminal justice system in the United Kingdom.