Criminal law
R v Ng and another [2024] EWCA Crim 493, [2024] All ER (D) 62 (May)
The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held that the failure of the Crown Prosecution Service to field a prosecutor to conduct the defendants’ trial for assault, among other things, had not been capable of amounting to an abuse of process justifying a stay of proceedings. Accordingly, the court allowed the prosecution’s appeal, under s 58 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, against the terminating ruling, reversed the terminating ruling and ordered a resumption of the proceedings in the Crown Court. The court also gave guidance to judges facing difficulties arising out of non-attendance by trial counsel. On the substantive appeal, the court held, among other things, that: (i) there were two species (or limbs) of abuse justifying a stay, first, when a fair trial was not possible; and second, where it offended the court’s sense of justice and propriety, or public confidence in the criminal justice system would be undermined, for the defendant to be
