Background Part 3 - Appeals
79.Concerns were expressed in recent judgments of the Court of Appeal, and in the response of the senior judiciary to the consultation paper “Quashing convictions” (available at www.cjsonline.gov.uk/downloads/application/pdf/quashing_convictions_consult.pdf), about cases where the Court of Appeal had found itself obliged to quash convictions that were valid according to the law at the time of the trial. The problem had arisen where an appeal turned on a development in the law since the date of conviction and the case had been referred by the CCRC. The Court’s usual practice is to refuse an extension of time in which to appeal in “change of law” cases, but that solution is not available in cases referred by the CCRC since they are not subject to a leave requirement. Sections 42 and 43 respond to these concerns.