of compensation for a miscarriage of justice had been approved by the Secretary of State. Following the report of the War Crimes Inquiry, a bill had been introduced to give the courts of the United Kingdom jurisdiction over the offences of murdwr or manslaughter committed as war crimes in Germany or German-occupied territory during the Second World War. The House of Commons had completed its second reading of the bill, which was to be debated further in the House of Lords. 392. The mandate of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice was to examine the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in Lngland and Wales and to consider, in particular, whether changes were needed in the conduct of police investigations and their supervision by senior police officers: the role of the prosecutor in supervising the gathering of evidence; the arrangements for the defence of accused persons; access to legal advice: the courts’ duty in cvnsidering evidence: the arrangement5 for considering and investigating allegation5 of miscarriage of justice; and the possibility of emending the right of silence in England and Wales. Any change5 in the criminal justice system in England and Wales were dependent on the outcome of the inquiry of the Royal Commission, which had been asked to complete its report within two years, 393. Replying to other questions, the representative said that the recommendation5 made some 10 year6 earlier by the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure had led to the creation of the Crown Prosecution Service, which now handled all prosecutions in England and Wales. Access to legal aid was, in principle, available immediately after arrest, although in terrorist cases that accetxs might be withheld for 48 hours. The question of the quality of legal aid was, however, a matter for debate, and a review of the question of eligibility with respect to legal aid was in progress. Appeals from the Crown Court might be made on any ground involving a question of law alone, but on any ground involving a question of fact or a mixture of law and fact, leave of the Court of Appeal was required. It was the opinion of the Government that those arrangements were consistent with its obligations under article 14, paragraph 5, of the Covenant. 394. Regarding the right of silence , there was a requirement that a formal warning be given by the police that anything said might be used a5 evidence: thus a suspect was clearly notified that he was not obliged to say anything, The provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order neither removed the right to silence nor reversed the burden of proof. The silence of the accused was no evidence in itself but could serve to corroborate other evidence in the case. Section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Rmergency Provisions) Act provided that if a person had been charged with a particularly serious offence, such as possession of explosive substances, and the prosecution had proved that both the accused and the particular article were found together at the time of the offence, it was up to the defence to prove that the accused did not have the article in his possession. 395. As a result of the efforts of the Government, cases of police interference with statements had been discovered, brought to light and put back before the courts in order to secure the necessary redress for those concerned. Despite the existence of those very well-publicised and important cases that gave rise to concern, the vast majority of criminal cases were dealt with in an entirely satisfactory manner. Referring to questions raised -98-