The Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice (Alteration of Overall Compensation Limits) Order 2025
This Order, made under the powers conferred by the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Armed Forces Act 2006, increases the maximum financial compensation limits payable by the Secretary of State for miscarriages of justice. Specifically, it raises the limit from £1 million to £1,300,000 for severe cases involving detention of 10 years or more, and from £500,000 to £650,000 for other cases, affecting both civilian convictions (England, Wales, Northern Ireland) and Court Martial convictions, with transitional rules governing applications received before and after the Order comes into force.
Arguments For
Increases financial redress available to individuals who have suffered a miscarriage of justice, aligning compensation limits more closely with the severity of prolonged injustice, particularly for longer detentions.
Ensures that compensation limits under the armed forces justice system (Court Martial convictions) are raised in parallel with the civilian justice system, providing consistent financial redress across different judicial pathways.
Updates statutory limits that have remained unchanged, reflecting general economic context or known severity thresholds for wrongful conviction compensation.
Arguments Against
The Order only adjusts limits for compensation paid by the Secretary of State, leaving the limit for compensation paid by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland unchanged in this instrument, potentially creating jurisdictional disparity.
The modification of compensation payments might place additional, albeit likely minor, financial burden on the public purse, funded by current taxpayers, although no significant impact is foreseen.
The transitional provisions might create administrative complexity by requiring tribunals to distinguish between applications made before and after the Order's commencement date.
The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 133A(7) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and section 276A(7) of the Armed Forces Act 2006.
In accordance with section 133A(8) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and section 373(3)(a) of the Armed Forces Act 2006, a draft of this Order has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.
The Secretary of State created this Order by using authority granted under specific sections of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Armed Forces Act 2006.
Before enactment, a draft of this Order was formally presented to, and subsequently approved by a resolution of, both Houses of Parliament, as required by the respective Acts.
Citation, commencement and extent
1.
(1)
This Order may be cited as the Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice (Alteration of Overall Compensation Limits) Order 2025.
(2)
This Order comes into force on the day after the day on which it is made.
(3)
Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), this Order extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
(4)
Articles 2 and 4(1) extend to England and Wales and Northern Ireland only.
(5)
In section 384 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (extent to Channel Islands, Isle of Man etc), any reference to that Act includes a reference to—
(a)
that Act as amended by article 3, and
(b)
article 4(2).
The Order's official short title is 'The Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice (Alteration of Overall Compensation Limits) Order 2025'.
It officially starts operating on the day immediately following its date of creation.
Generally, the rules apply across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
However, Articles 2 and 4(1) are restricted in their application solely to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Furthermore, when considering the territorial extent rules within section 384 of the Armed Forces Act 2006, any mention of that Act must now also include its version as modified by Article 3, and also include Article 4(2).
Amendment to section 133A(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
2.
(1)
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 is amended as follows.
(2)
In section 133A (miscarriages of justice: amount of compensation)—
(a)
in subsection (5), after “overall compensation limit.” substitute “In the case of compensation payable by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland, that”;
(b)
after subsection (5) insert—
“(5A)
In the case of compensation payable by the Secretary of State, the overall compensation limit for the purposes of subsection (5) is—
(a)
£1,300,000 in a case to which section 133B applies, and
(b)
£650,000 in any other case.”.
This Article introduces changes to the Criminal Justice Act 1988, which deals with compensation for miscarriages of justice in the civilian court system.
Subsection (5) is altered to specify that the existing overall compensation limit refers only to compensation paid by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland.
A new subsection (5A) is added to define the overall compensation limits specifically for compensation paid by the Secretary of State: £1,300,000 for severe cases covered by section 133B criteria, and £650,000 for all other cases.
Amendment to section 276A(5) of the Armed Forces Act 2006
3.
(1)
The Armed Forces Act 2006 is amended as follows.
(2)
In section 276A (miscarriages of justice: amount of compensation)—
(a)
in subsection (5)(a), for “£1 million” substitute “£1,300,000”;
(b)
in subsection (5)(b), for “£500,000” substitute “£650,000”.
This Article amends the Armed Forces Act 2006, which covers compensation for miscarriages of justice following courts-martial.
It updates the compensation limits in section 276A(5): the limit in subsection (5)(a) is increased from £1 million to £1,300,000; and the limit in subsection (5)(b) is increased from £500,000 to £650,000.
These adjustments match the increases made to the Secretary of State's compensation limits in the previous Article.
Transitional provisions
4.
(1)
Article 2 has effect in relation to—
(a)
any application for compensation made under section 133(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 on or after the date on which this Order comes into force, and
(b)
any application for compensation made under that section before the date on which this Order comes into force, but for which the assessor has not yet made an assessment of the amount of compensation under sections 133(4) and 133A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
(2)
Article 3 has effect in relation to—
(a)
any application for compensation made under section 276(3) of the Armed Forces Act 2006 on or after the date on which this Order comes into force, and
(b)
any application for compensation made under that section before the date on which this Order comes into force, but for which the assessor has not yet made an assessment of the amount of compensation under sections 276(5) and 276A of the Armed Forces Act 2006.
These rules specify when the increased compensation limits take effect for ongoing cases.
Article 2 (civilian compensation changes) applies to new claims lodged after the Order begins, and also to older claims that were submitted beforehand but had not yet received a final assessment from the assessor.
Similarly, Article 3 (armed forces compensation changes) applies to new court-martial compensation claims lodged after the commencement date, and to older claims where the compensation assessment process under the relevant sections had not been finalized before the Order came into force.