The Nightingale court was set up at a Monument conference centre
(Picture: ES/Tristan Kirk)A Nightingale Court set up in a Square Mile conference centre will be shut down in April, just six months after it was opened to help tackle the criminal justice backlog.
The ad-hoc court at etc.venues Monument has been hosting trials from the Old Bailey and Isleworth, Snaresbrook, and Harrow crown courts, working in tandem with another ‘Nightingale’ at Barbican.
Launched in September 2021, the Monument courthouse was spread over four floors of the conference centre and features two hearing rooms where jury trials could take place.
However HM Courts and Tribunals Service is due to pack up and leave the venue by April 7, in a move branded “disappointing” and “totally unjustifiable”.
The Ministry of Justice said a replacement for the Monument Nightingale is being sought, as London battles a chronic backlog of criminal cases.
Reacting to the news, London’s Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman said: “The Nightingale court at Monument has been working tirelessly to help tackle the backlog of crown court cases so this decision to close this court in the face of such massive case backlogs would be irresponsible and totally unjustifiable.
“Victims are being failed by being forced to face agonising waits - sometimes for years - for their day in court. These waits not only exacerbate trauma and prevent their recovery, but significantly increase the risk of victims withdrawing from the justice system altogether. This leaves offenders unpunished and places the public at great risk.
“I have been repeatedly calling on Government for more Nightingale capacity, not less, as London is struggling to deliver justice. More court capacity should include a dedicated court for sexual violence cases, to help prioritise some of the most vulnerable victims.”
Barrister Christine Agnew QC, who is leader of the South Eastern Circuit, confirmed the news in a bulletin to colleagues on Thursday: “Any of you fortunate enough to have attended the Monument Nightingale Court will be disappointed to learn that the lease of the building will expire in April.
“Cases will be listed there up until April 7, 2022 but not beyond. HMCTS are hoping to establish a replacement Nightingale Court upon the closure of Monument.”
The future of all 32 Nightingale Courts dealing with criminal cases across England and Wales - including four in London - is currently in limbo.
On the opening of the Monument Nightingale, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab promised to “pull on every lever to ensure the criminal justice system recovers as quickly as possible from the pandemic”.
As well as Monument and Barbican, ad-hoc courts are running at the Jurys Inn hotel in Croydon and Prospero House conference centre in Borough. It is understood these Nightingales are being kept open beyond March.
Extra space for criminal trials has also been created at the old Hendon magistrates court and within the Royal Courts of Justice, while a Nightingale family court is running in the Ministry of Justice headquarters in Petty France.
“We are in the process of identifying a new venue to replace the court at Monument”, said a Ministry of Justice spokesperson.
“Nightingale courts are just one part of our efforts to tackle the impact of the pandemic alongside greater use of technology, super courtrooms, increasing magistrates’ sentencing powers and unlimited Crown Court sitting days.”
The latest HMCTS figures show there is a backlog of 59,928 in the criminal courts, with many defendants, victims, and witnesses facing more than a year of delay before their case can be heard.
The removal of pandemic restrictions on courts is gradually bringing more hearing rooms back into use, and the MoJ has committed to unlimited judicial sitting days to tackle the backlog.
However the government estimates there will still be a backlog of around 53,000 cases in March 2025.
