A range of proposals to reform the North's legal system has been published by the Criminal Justice Review Group. The body, which was set up under the Belfast Agreement, listed 294 recommendations, including the removal of crown symbols from courtrooms but not court buildings.
The review, which was launched at a press conference in Belfast yesterday, includes abandoning the judges' oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth. Judges and barristers would also no longer wear wigs but gowns would remain.
The review group refrained from recommending that judges be banned from membership of exclusive organisations such as the Orange Order and the Freemasons.
It proposed there should be no change regarding displaying the royal coat of arms on the outside of existing courthouses and said the Union flag should continue to be flown from court buildings in line with the practice at other British government buildings.
But it said the inside of courtrooms should be free of symbols and the practice of declaring "God save the Queen" when judges enter some courts should end. It called for greater cross-Border co-operation in some legal functions and suggested the establishment of a group of criminal justice policy-makers from both sides of the Border.
A consultation period on the criminal justice reform proposals has begun. The review outlined new procedures in the appointment of judges. A panel for appointing judges would be set up if powers were devolved back to the Stormont Assembly. And if Westminster transferred justice responsibilities to Belfast, a department of justice would also be established.
It is hoped the judiciary would become more representative of the community as a whole but no quotas are recommended for raising the number of Catholic or women members.
The review recommends that at present the British Lord Chancellor continue to appoint judges but it calls for a person or persons to be named to oversee the procedure for fairness. If justice powers are devolved to Belfast, the responsibility for appointing judges would be transferred to an independent judicial appointments commission. It would be chaired by the North's Lord Chief Justice and would include lay and legal members. Their recommendation would have to be approved by the first and deputy first ministers. Selection would have to be based on published criteria.
Mr Brian White, head of the criminal justice policy division in the Northern Ireland Office, said the recommendations were about fairness, impartiality and securing the confidence of all parts of the community.
"We want to safeguard the independence of the judicial process and of the prosecution from influence by government or other interests," he said.
The report paid attention not just to the European Convention but to many other binding and non-binding human rights instruments, he stated.
"The report's recommendations are designed to enhance transparency and openness and increase public accountability and public understanding of the system."
The report also recommends training to raise awareness, especially among police officers, on the role of defence solicitors.