Member

In the Crown Court, any widening of the discontinuance power would require robust safeguards and clear oversight in order to maintain transparency and confidence in the system, avoid unnecessary disruption and ensure that the legitimate interests of both victims and defendants are properly balanced. We would, for example, need to think carefully about how this would affect child defendants. If proceedings were discontinued and then restarted after the defendant has turned 18, that young defendant would then be prosecuted as an adult through no fault of their own.