Disclosure is key to defending successfully in criminal cases. Narita Bahra & Don Ramble summarise the latest update to AG Disclosure Guidelines 2024.

Disclosure update: Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure 2024

The new Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure 2024 are available here. The Guidelines were published on 29 February 2024 and are effective from 29 May 2024.

In publishing these new Guidelines, the Solicitor General, Robert Courts KC MP, said:

“A robust and fit-for-purpose disclosure regime is essential for an effective criminal justice system and maintaining public trust. This has been demonstrated by high profile prosecutions, such as the Horizon scandal where disclosure has not been undertaken properly.

But advances in modern technology have substantially increased digital materials and created significant challenges for investigators, prosecutors and defence practitioners alike – especially in complex cases and fraud investigations.

It is right that we address these challenges and strengthen the disclosure regime.

Following a review of the guidelines, where we have worked closely with criminal justice agencies, I have updated the Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure – specifically guidance on digital materials.

Changes to the current guidance include highlighting the importance of having effective strategies for block listing, as well as encouraging better engagement between Prosecutors and Defence at both pre and post-charge stages.

As we wait for the outcome of the independent review on disclosure, and understand the disclosure issues in the Horizon scandal, I am committed to working with prosecuting and enforcement agencies to address the challenges of disclosure and make sure the guidelines benefit fair trials and supports public confidence in the administration of justice.”

 

What is new?

These updated Guidelines contain limited changes since the 2022 version.

There is an additional reference in paragraph 5 of Annex A (which relates to Digital Material) to the defence actively engaging with the process.  The following, has also been added to paragraph 50 of Annex A,:

“Material should not be viewed in isolation as, whilst items taken alone may not be reasonably considered capable of undermining the prosecution case or assisting the case for the accused, several items together can have that effect.”

 

The main change, as flagged by the Solicitor General, is the further guidance in Annex A in relation to block listing of digital material in the schedules of unused material. Paragraph 58 of Annex A now provides that,

“Each block should be given a generic title which includes the quantity of the material within the block. This should be supplemented with a description which identifies the connection between the items listed within the block and contains a high-level summary of the contents of the block.”

Paragraph 59 goes on to advise that, “Where metadata is available for the relevant items within a block, consideration should be given to creating a file of that metadata and listing this separately as a sub-volume to the block to which it relates. Any material that might satisfy the disclosure test must be listed and described separately…”

 

All practitioners must have a firm grasp on disclosure law and in particular digital disclosure.

About Tackling Disclosure in the Criminal Courts – A Practitioner’s Guide

Narita Bahra K.C.and Don Ramble  provide a practical guide in Tackling Disclosure in the Criminal Courts – A Practitioner’s Guide (Second Edition Focusing on Digital Disclosure). This book is available to purchase from Law Brief Publishing or Amazon.