SPECIAL COURTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 July 1940, Page 5

SPECIAL COURTS

DISCUSSION IN HOUSE OF COMMONS . appeals against death SENTENCE. ' 1 review by judicial body. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, July 24. In the committee stage of the Emergency Powers Defence Bill, which provides for the setting up of special civil courts in areas where lor military reasons the ordinary procedure of civil justice may become unworkable, an amendment to P r ° vl ° e that where such a court inflicted the death sentence such sentence come under review by another judicial body before it was carried out, received support from all parts of the House. The Home Secretary, Sir John Anderson, said it was an invariable rule, though not subject to any statute, that in all cases where capital sentence was pronounced the sentence was considered by the Home Secretary before execution, whether there was an appeal OT The discussion, however, showed that members in all parts of the House felt that the Bill itself ought to provide what was regarded as a safeguard, ana after a debate the amendment was accepted by the Government and adopted. A further amendment in the name of Sir R. Acland was withdrawn after the Attorney-General, Sir Donald Somervell, had stated that, except in those rare cases where, under the existing law. it was in the public interest that trials should be heard in camera it was the Government’s desire that the proceedings taken before the special courts should receive full publicity. During a subsequent discussion on various points dealing with the constitution and status of the special courts, the Attorney-General stated that every endeavour would be made to secure that the president of the court should be a judge of the High Court or a legally qualified person of tne highest standing..The committee stage was concluded.