Criminal Court Charge Review
Today the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Michael Gove has announced that the criminal court charge that was only imposed as recently as April this year will be abolished with effect from 24th December. He stated:
“The courts take money from offenders in a number of ways, including fines, the victim surcharge, compensation orders, prosecution costs and the Criminal Courts Charge.
This array of penalties, fines and charges is complex and confusing. I have therefore asked my department to review the entire structure, and purpose, of court-ordered financial impositions for offenders, in order to bring greater simplicity and clarity to the system.”
He has requested a review of the system regarding financial penalties with the basic principle being that those who have broken the law should bear some of the costs of running the criminal courts. He expressed concern that the Criminal Court Charge had not necessarily achieved this fairly.
