The judiciary of England and Wales has issued Best Listing Practice guidance for domestic abuse cases, to apply when a new expedited listing Scheme starts in the magistrates’ courts and Crown Court on 4 January 2027.
The guidance applies to all cases falling within the Scheme that are charged on or after 4 January 2027, the judiciary said on Monday.
Cases charged before that date are therefore outside the guidance.
The Scheme operates within the National Listing Framework. It provides an expedited listing and case-management pathway for suitable domestic abuse cases, intended to reduce avoidable delay and give greater certainty to victims and defendants.
The judiciary said the aim is the fair, safe and timely resolution of cases, with a more consistent approach to how suitable cases are progressed across both court tiers.
The guidance builds on existing court processes rather than replacing them. It puts the emphasis on early identification, effective preparation and robust case management.
Close collaboration between the judiciary, HMCTS, the CPS, the police, probation and practitioners is described as central to the approach, to help ensure that “every hearing counts”.
The Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, said: “Domestic abuse cases require careful and effective case management.”
She said the guidance “will support a more consistent approach to listing and progressing suitable cases, helping to reduce avoidable delay and provide greater certainty for complainants, victims and defendants”.
Carr also thanked those across the criminal justice system who contributed to developing the guidance and supporting its implementation. She said Mrs Justice Knowles, under whose leadership the work was done, “deserves special thanks”.
The guidance sits alongside an existing statutory framework. The Home Office’s Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance Framework is issued under section 84 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and contains a chapter headed Criminal Justice System, Domestic Abuse Best Practice Framework for Courts, starting at page 107.
Under section 84(4) of the 2021 Act, a person exercising public functions to whom that statutory guidance is issued must have regard to it in exercising those functions.
Section 1 of the 2021 Act defines domestic abuse as behaviour between two people aged 16 or over who are personally connected. Section 1(3) lists physical or sexual abuse, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse and psychological, emotional or other abuse.
The framework gives the scale of the caseload. Police in England and Wales, excluding Greater Manchester Police, recorded 1,288,018 domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes in the year ending March 2020, an increase of 4% on the previous year. Excluding fraud, 15% of all police recorded crime in that year was identified as domestic abuse related.
The framework also states that women are disproportionately the victims of domestic abuse.
The Scheme starts on 4 January 2027.