London- The UK government on Tuesday tabled a new set of judicial reforms in Parliament that will scrap jury trials for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years to fast-track the process and clear a mounting backlog of trials in England and Wales.

UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who is also the Secretary of State for Justice, told the House of Commons that new“swift courts” are necessary to tackle an“emergency” within a“crumbling” judicial system that the Labour government inherited from the former Conservative-led administration.

Jury trials for the most serious crimes such as rape, murder, aggravated burglary, blackmail, people trafficking, grievous bodily harm and serious drugs offences will continue to be guaranteed by law.

“This government inherited a justice system in crisis – victims are waiting far too long to get their case to court, and even more are being let down by a system that allows nefarious defendants to try and game the system,” said Lammy.

“The crumbling system we inherited has resulted in a Crown Court backlog of nearly 80,000 and rising. Justice delayed is justice denied. This is not acceptable. Today I have set out a bold blueprint for a modern justice system that works for – not against – victims – one that is faster, fairer and finally capable of giving brave survivors of crime the justice they deserve,” he said.

Lammy described his reforms as“bold” while admitting that it will take time to“turn the tide on the rising backlog”.

“But these measures are necessary to tackle the emergency in our courts. We are putting victims before tradition for tradition's sake and fairness before those who want to game the system,” he said.

Under the changes, new 'Swift Courts' will see cases with a likely sentence of three years or less heard by a judge alone – a move estimated to take 20 per cent less time than a jury trial.

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