Submitted on Friday 25th December 2020
Rejected on Thursday 31st December 2020
Current status: Rejected
Rejection code: irrelevant (see below for details)
Stop making victims of crime wait for justice.
. Change the law and guidance that allows extremely clinically vulnerable people to avoid facing Justice, under shielding advice.
. Make it mandatory that they attend court.
. If trials have to be delayed due to illness then they are rescheduled in the following month for sexual and violent crime
Currently the advice to defendants in the shielding category is that they can contact the court and ask for trials to be adjourned.
Their health concern of Catching Covid is put above the health and well-being of the victim.
There are currently over 50000 cases waiting in crown courts to be heard.
Victims of sexual offences and violent crimes are being made to wait years already for Justice pre pandemic, and repeated delays is traumatic to victims, leaving it likely that many cases drop.
You can't sign this petition because it was rejected. But you can still comment on it here at Repetition.me!
The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:
The guidance published by HM Courts & Tribunals Service is that you should not come to a court or tribunal hearing if your doctor has told you that you need to shield as you are clinically extremely vulnerable to coronavirus: www.gov.uk/guidance/what-to-expect-coming-to-a-court-or-tribunal#if-you-are-unwell-or-self-isolating
However, deciding what alternative arrangements to make, including whether to hold a remote hearing or postpone proceedings, is a matter for the courts, not the Government or House of Commons.
The law allows people to attend legal obligations even if they are self-isolating or shielding.
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