Lord Thomas
of Cwmgiedd

The current split of responsibilities between Westminster and Cardiff has “created pointless complexity, confusion and incoherence in justice and policing in Wales”, Lord Thomas said, and powers over policing, prisons and the judiciary should be transferred to Wales.

It calls for “full legislative devolution, combined with executive powers” to empower the National Assembly for Wales to establish a separate judiciary up to the level of the Court of Appeal.

The report also recommends that the administration of justice in Wales should be unified and organised on the same basis as courts and tribunals in Scotland.

Although it says the legal professions should continue to be regulated on an England and Wales basis, it warns that it is “confusing that Welsh law and English law are held to be part of a single legal system, in contrast with Scottish law and Northern Irish law”.

Noting that “further divergence between Welsh law and English law is inevitable as the Assembly passes further law”, it says the “law applicable in Wales should be formally identified as the law of Wales, distinct from the law of England”.

The Commission on Justice in Wales was tasked with carrying out the first review of the Welsh justice system in over two centuries.

Members of the commission visited Scotland in May 2018 and Northern Ireland in September 2018 and April 2019 to examine the ways in which justice policy is made and justice is delivered in the other devolved areas of the UK.

The final 556-page report sets out key recommendations on access to justice, criminal justice, family justice, civil and administrative justice, knowledge and innovation and the Welsh language.

Wales should also be “put in a similar position to Scotland and Northern Ireland regarding the appointment of a judge to the Supreme Court”, it says.