An overview of our role The Commission is an independent public body set up to review possible miscarriages of justice and decide if they should be referred to an appeal court.
It was set up as a non-departmental body on 1 January 1997 and took over responsibility from the Home Office and Northern Ireland Office for reviewing suspected miscarriages of justice on 31 March 1997.
The Commission has jurisdiction over criminal cases at any Magistrates’ or Crown Court in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Our main job is to review the cases of those that feel they have been wrongly convicted of criminal offences, or unfairly sentenced.
We do not consider innocence or guilt, but whether there is new evidence or argument that may cast doubt on the safety of an original decision.
 Once we have completed our investigations into a case, we can refer it back to the appropriate appeal court for re-consideration.
We cannot consider civil cases or any cases in Scotland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (new window) has jurisdiction for such cases in Scotland.
We have wide-ranging investigative powers and can obtain and preserve documentation held by any public body.
We can also appoint an Investigating Officer from another public body to carry out inquiries on our behalf.
Our statutory role and responsibilities are set out in the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and are defined as:
- Reviewing suspected miscarriages of justice and referring a conviction, verdict or finding or sentence to an appropriate court of appeal where it is felt that there is a “real possibility” that it would not be upheld.
- To investigate and report to the Court of Appeal on any matter referred to the Commission.
- To consider and report to the Secretary of State on any conviction referred to the Commission for consideration of the exercise of Her Majesty’s prerogative of mercy.
Although entirely independent of Government, we have also agreed wider objectives with our sponsor department, the Home Office. These are:
- Ensuring that all cases are dealt with effectively and expeditiously
- Delivering services in ways appropriate to stakeholder needs
- Promoting public understanding of the Commission’s role
- Enhancing public confidence in the criminal justice system
Victims of crime: We are mindful of the impact that the review of cases can have on the original victims of a crime and their families. We have a policy setting out the circumstances in which victims are informed about case reviews and the process for doing so. This policy can be found in the Publications section of this Web site (Victims of Crime - CCRC contact with victims). We contributed to the Government's Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (new window), which sets out the services that victims can expect from the criminal justice system. The code was published in October 2005 and becomes law in April 2006. Section 15 of the code contains details of the specific responsbilites of the Commission. We continue to work with others who have an interest in our work to further consider this important issue.
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