Draft Criminal Justice (Procedures) (Jersey) Amendment Law 202- (P.38/2026): amendment (P.38/2026 Amd.) – Children’s Rights Impact Assessment

1)  Name and brief description of the proposed decision

The subject of your CRIA may be a proposed law, policy or proposition and in accordance with the Law is referred to in this template as the decision'

• What is the problem or issue the decision is trying to address?

• Do children experience this problem differently from adults?

What is the problem or issue the decision is trying to address?

The Draft Criminal Justice (Procedures) (Jersey) Amendment Law 202- (P.38/2026): Amendment makes a single amendment to the Draft Criminal Justice (Procedures) (Jersey) Amendment Law 202–, itself an amendment to the Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 2018, the Bail Law, Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence Law, and the Royal Court Law.

The Amending Law makes changes to criminal procedure including changes to the court's ability to waive the need for a defence case statement where the accused person has legal representation. This Amendment would remove that single component and leave the rest of the Amending Law materially unchanged.

Do children experience this problem differently from adults? No.

2)  Which groups of children and young people are likely to be affected?

Groups of children could include early years, primary or secondary education; young adults; children with additional learning needs; disabled children; children living in poverty; children from particular ethnic backgrounds; migrants; refugees; care experienced children and LGBTQ+ children

In all likelihood, none. The only change to the outcome of the Amending Law will be that a court will not gain the new power to allow a person to fail to submit a defence case statement if they have a legal representative. That was always expected to be a very rare occurrence which would only ever be an issue in exceptional circumstances. The change applies to all courts, including the Youth Court, but there is nothing in the Amendment that would have particular effect on children.

3)  What is the likely impact of the proposed decision on children and on their

rights?

• Identify any potential positive OR negative impacts and include indirect impacts on children and their rights as described in the UNCRC

• Will different groups of children be affected differently by this decision?

Again, most likely none. In the (entirely theoretical) circumstances where a child, advised by a lawyer, refused to submit a defence case statement (effectively keeping their defence a secret until the trial), the court would still be able to draw an adverse inference' from that decision, as they do now. This has been the normal state of affairs since 2018.

4)  Is a full Children's Rights Impact Assessment required?

If you have identified impacts on children and their rights, a full CRIA should be completed. If no impacts are identified then a Full CRIA is not required, but please explain your rationale and how you reached this conclusion

No.

No provision in the Amendment Law directly changes rights, entitlements, duties, thresholds, or interventions specific to children.