justice report
Reform, recovery and resource Justice Minister Naomi Long MLA discusses her department’s legislative progress, the road to recovery and the remainder of the mandate. Not wanting to rest on her laurels, Justice Minister Naomi Long MLA is aware of the significant volume of work in front of her department, the justice committee and the Northern Ireland Assembly before the end of the current mandate, if she is to see through her ambitious programme of proposed legislation. Long’s department has been recognised as one of the most proactive and ardent in developing and delivering legislation in the short two years since the Assembly and Executive returned from a three-year absence. The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Bill has now passed to an Act, with the Criminal Justice (Committal Reform) Bill and Damages
46
(Return on Investment) Bill, which are awaiting royal assent, soon to follow. The Minister also intends to have the Protection from Stalking Bill and the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Bill, both of which are progressing through the Assembly, finalised before 28 March. “I was really ambitious in terms of legislation because after a three-year break in the Assembly sitting, I felt we were behind in a number of areas, particularly those which affected vulnerable victims and witnesses,” explains Long. The Minister believes that the Assembly’s absence had led the public to question its effectiveness and with this, she saw an opportunity to highlight the power of a
