On 25 Feb 2026 the Courts and Tribunal Bill was introduced in the House of Commons, the first step to putting it into law. The Government believe reforms are necessary to ensure timely and fair access to justice for victims, witnesses and defendants. 

NB there is no specific Domestic Abuse offence, but these are some of the common ones which come to Court. There are 3 categories of offences:

1. Indictable – e.g. Rape, GBH with intent - These must send to Crown Court.

2. Either way offence – e.g. ABH, GBH, Fear of violence, controlling/coercive behaviour, criminal damage, non-fatal strangulation. Currently magistrates decide if their sentencing powers are enough and either send to Crown Court or keep the case. If they decide to keep it in the Magistrates’ court, THEN the defendant is given the option of going to Crown Court and a trial by jury.

3. Summary offence e.g. common assault, minor harassment – These must be heard in a Magistrates' court

What the Bill will change if it comes into law

The most significant change is for the Either way offence:

• If the offence is triable either way, (see 2 above)  the Bill states that the correct Court for the trial should depend on the seriousness of a case and this will be decided by the magistrates – so it is not a matter of choice for the defendant. The result will be that more cases are heard more quickly by magistrates, freeing up the Crown Court for more serious cases.   

• The automatic right to appeal against conviction or sentence in magistrates’ courts will be replaced. A permission stage will be introduced to support victims so that they do not have the trauma of going through a second trial. 

• Magistrates sentencing powers will increase to 18 months imprisonment and may be extended to 24 months.

• Special measures will be made more accessible for victims.

• All courts will sit at record-high levels to deliver faster justice for victims.

• Case Coordinators will be introduced to focus exclusively on progressing cases. Yet again this is an attempt to tackle the backlog in the courts and speed up justice for all.

• There will be some cases when a judge will sit alone. These will be more technical, lengthy cases with a likely sentence of 3 years or less.

• Jury trials will remain in place for the most serious cases. They are seen as a cornerstone of our justice system.