英国政府放弃限制陪审团审判计划 皇家法院积案近8.1万件
据路透社报道，英国政府10月4日（周日）宣布，放弃前任政府提出的限制陪审团审判计划——该方案原拟对可能判刑低于三年的案件取消陪审团审判，以缓解法院积压。司法大臣亚历克斯·诺里斯（Alex Norris）表示，政府决定“改变路线”。
数据显示，截至6月底，英格兰和威尔士皇家法院待审的陪审团案件积压已近81,000件，约为2020年的两倍。案件排期漫长，被害人与被告双方都面临数年等待，司法系统的处理能力备受质疑。
刑事大律师协会主席安德鲁·托马斯（Andrew Thomas）对放弃该计划表示欢迎，但指出陪审团制度仍面临其他方面的威胁。大律师公会主席柯斯蒂·布里梅洛（Kirsty Brimelow）则对另外两项动向表示担忧：扩大治安法官的量刑权限，以及取消被告选择陪审团审判的权利。
陪审团审判被视为英国普通法传统的重要组成部分。政府表示将另行提出加快案件处理、削减积压的方案。
来源：路透社10月4日报道。
UK Government Drops Plan to Restrict Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 81,000
The UK government announced on Sunday 4 October that it is abandoning a plan, inherited from its predecessor, to restrict jury trials — a proposal that would have removed juries from cases likely to attract sentences of under three years in an effort to cut court backlogs, Reuters reported. Justice minister Alex Norris said the government was changing course.
By the end of June, the backlog of jury cases awaiting trial in the Crown Courts of England and Wales stood at nearly 81,000 — roughly double the 2020 figure. Long waits for trial dates have left victims and defendants alike facing delays of years, raising questions about the justice system's capacity.
Andrew Thomas, chair of the Criminal Bar Association, welcomed the decision but warned that jury trial remains under threat from other directions. Kirsty Brimelow, chair of the Bar Council, voiced concern about separate moves to expand magistrates' sentencing powers and to remove defendants' right to elect jury trial.
Jury trial is regarded as a cornerstone of the common law tradition in England and Wales. The government says it will bring forward other measures to speed up cases and reduce the backlog.
Source: Reuters reporting, 4 October.
图片来源：伦敦中央刑事法院（老贝利）的正义女神像，David Hillas 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0（Wikimedia Commons）
