Independent report

Update on approach and engagement: December 2023

Published 5 December 2023

The Independent Review has two parts, and I intend to deliver my recommendations on Disclosure by summer 2024 and Fraud Offences by end of February 2025.

As I embark on Part 1 of the review, I want to share details of my intended approach to fully understanding the problems and identifying the right solutions. My examination of the disclosure regime goes much wider than fraud and economic crime alone. The challenges of disclosure, intensified by the significant proliferation of digital material, impact many areas of the criminal justice system and touch all offences, albeit that those challenges are exacerbated in certain crime types, including Fraud and Rape and Serious Sexual Offences.

In undertaking my review, I am keen to start by speaking with those with real world experience of navigating the current regime. To identify and recommend the most effective solutions, I shall consult widely across investigators, prosecutors, and defence professionals and I am undertaking a series of meetings and visits to gain those insights. I shall also engage with the judiciary as appropriate. Alongside this I am establishing two advisory panels to support my work:

• A Practitioners Panel, each of whom have been selected for their specific skills and experience within a key area to be considered. Members will include leading prosecution and defence representatives, former law commissioners and academics.

• A Representatives Panel, that will bring together the expertise of organisations, that uphold the disclosure regime, across the criminal justice system and the representative bodies for the legal profession.

I know the review has sparked a great deal of interest from all parts of the criminal justice community and I am very grateful for the numerous direct approaches and positive engagement that I have received so far. However, in the pursuit of impartiality and to ensure that the review can report in a timely and efficient manner, I am exploring options so that members of the legal professions who wish to contribute views can do so, even where I am unable to meet them directly.

I am also grateful to JUSTICE who have agreed to host roundtable discussions on disclosure with a cross section of the criminal justice community in early 2024. I wish to also extend my thanks to Anita Clifford and Alex Davidson for their assistance as junior counsel to the review and to my Secretariat Team for their continued support.

I look forward to working with you all in undertaking this challenging and valuable endeavour.

Jonathan Fisher KC

Chair, Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences