The Law Commission's Recent and Forthcoming Work on Criminal Law Reform

The Professor Sir J. C. Smith Lecture

Delivered by Professor David Ormerod QC

Professor David Ormerod QC, etc – gave the third Professor Sir J. C. Smith lecture on Thursday 26 April 2018. The lecture was introduced by Professor Diane Birch, JC Smith Professor of Law in the School of Law, who remembered David Ormerod from his time at Nottingham and paid tribute to his illustrious career. Since leaving Nottingham, he has been Professor of Criminal Justice at Queen Mary University and is now Professor of Criminal Law at University College London. He was appointed a Law Commissioner in 2010 and became Editor of the Criminal Law Review in 2012.

In his lecture David Ormerod gave an intriguing 'insider's' account of the recent work of the Law Commission in the area of criminal law which was interspersed with many references to how Professor J C Smith was a major influence on his own work and that of the Law Commission. Back in the 1980s Professor Smith led a project on the codification of the criminal law for the Law Commission which is still cited today in leading textbooks, although it did not unfortunately make its way into the statute book. Professor Ormerod expressed some optimism that the most recent codification project of the Commission in the area of criminal law which he has led on the establishment of a new Sentencing Code will be enshrined in law and will prove to be a pioneering example for future codification projects. Professor Ormerod also referred to a number of other recent projects which are listed below.

One of the strengths of the Law Commission's work, which, in Professor Ormerod's view, was also influenced by Professor Smith who was a 'great listener', has been the pains it takes to ensure that its proposals go through a thorough consultation process so that when a final report is issued on a particular subject, it has been subject to exhaustive review by all the relevant stake-holders. In one of the lighter moments of the lecture Professor Ormerod referred to the firearms report of the Law Commission whose recommendations were implemented in the Policing and Crime Act 2017. He explained that one of the issues to be addressed was whether antique firearms were exempt from control and he recalled how in one of his lectures Professor Smith had brought an antique revolver into the lecture room and invited comment on whether it was a firearm.

The lecture was very well attended by over 100 students. After the lecture Professor Ormerod invited questions and a lively discussion followed the lecture.

Prior to the lecture there was a meeting of the Advisory Board for the Criminal Justice Research Centre (CJRC), chaired by His Honour Judge Gregory Dickinson QC. The Advisory Board includes chief officers from the police, CPS, the Bar, the Law Society, Legal Aid Agency, the Courts Service, the Probation Service, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and the Prison Service.

Co-directors of the CJRC, Professor John Jackson and Dr Vicky Kemp from the School of Law said that events like these are important in helping to establish links between the University of Nottingham and those who practise in the criminal justice system.