The maxim that justice delayed is justice denied is very familiar to those working in the criminal justice system.
The latest Ministry of Justice figures illustrate the starkness of the situation. At the end of June 2026, there were 80,829 open cases in the Crown Court. This is the highest figure in the Home Office's series of reporting and a 3% increase on the previous year. 23,706 of those cases had been open for at least a year – another record the system wishes it had not broken and a mountainous climb from fewer than 19,450 the year before.
Against that background, a new Practice Direction on Listing in the Criminal Courts took effect on 1 October 2026. It creates the first National Listing Framework applying across the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts in England and Wales and aims to reduce delay, to better apportion resources and to encourage more robust case management.
The human impact of delay
The framework’s central principle is that listing priority should reflect the likely impact of delay on participants and the fairness of proceedings. Courts must consider factors including the seriousness of the offence, custody, vulnerability, the wellbeing or recovery of victims, witnesses and defendants, and whether delay may affect the quality of evidence.
Triage and tiers
Every Crown Court trial case will be allocated to one of seven Priority Tiers. Tier 1 includes cases involving a death and cases involving a highly vulnerable participant. Tier 2 includes cases where delay may damage evidence, prevent effective participation, involve significant contested evidence or where the time estimate exceeds five days. Tier 3 generally covers other cases requiring lay witness evidence, while Tier 4 covers cases based predominantly on investigator or police evidence.
Other Tiers are reserved for High Court Judges, those allocated to Terrorism or Economic Crime lists.
Those in the first two Tiers (and in Tiers 5-7) will be given a fixed date – where, when listed, there is high confidence that the court and judge will be able to commence the trial on that date.
Those in Tiers 3 and 4 will be given a flexible date – where there is a reasonable expectation that trial can be accommodated within the identified period.
What does this mean for complainants and defendants?
The hope is that this new guidance begins to deal swiftly with a backlog that is harming the fairness of criminal proceedings, as well as causing misery to those waiting for justice.
More immediately, there is an expectation that teams will assist the court at an earlier stage with information to determine the case's priority, as well as estimates for trial length.
There is also greater emphasis on judicial oversight of case management. Trials not reached due to a lack of court time must now be listed before a judge for further directions and parties may be held to account when playing their part for effective case management.
Each development means complainants and defendants will be under pressure at an early stage to provide as much information as possible about their case, so that timing decisions about trials are well informed.
Other changes coming into force
In addition to the new practice direction on listing, the courts are also implementing new guidance on remote participation in criminal proceedings. The framework attempts to ensure consistent use of remote participation, and it is likely to become a greater feature in improving the efficient use of court resources.
Criminal proceedings inevitably involve considerable stress and concern for all parties involved. The hope is that this new guidance alleviates some of that stress in dealing with the backlog that delays justice in criminal courts. Our specialists have considerable expertise in supporting individuals and organisations through proceedings.
