seriousness of the offence. Longer sentences were envisaged for violent and sexual crimes and greater scope was given to the possibility of punishment in and curfew the community through a combination of probation , community service The Bill also incorporated a major reform of the parole system, orders. providing for supervision in every ca6e after a prisoner was released. It was, however, difficult to operate an effective parole system when a high proportion of offenders had committed terrorist Crimea. 389. The criterion for placement of a child in secure accommodation was not the commission of a crime but the need to protect the child from injuring himself or others. The role of parents was strengthened considerably in the Children and Young Persons Act, which provided that parents had to be given their proper place in decision-making about their children at every stage. Efforts were made to ensure that the juvenile could be sent back to non-secure In prison establishments, as at accommodations at the earliest opportunity. 30 June 1990, there were 275 sentenced juveniles and 111 juveniles on remand, Legislative measures had successively reduced those numbers over the years and the juveniles were kept apart Erom adult offenders as much as possible. t to a fair triQ 390. With regard to that issue , members of the committee requested clarification of the statement in the report that in cases involving offences under the commonlaw, there was no time-limit in Scotland within which the They also wished to know whether trial of the accused had to take place. there had been any applications for payment of compensation for a miscarriage of justice under section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and, if so, with what results: whether the Government had reached any conclusions as to the amendments that should be made to the right of silence in England and Walesl whether the recommendations of the War Crimes Inquiry relating to the introduction of war crimes legislation had been implemented; what was the mandate of the Royal Cornmission of Criminal Justice ; whether the decision of a person to remain silent in a judicial proceeding was considered tantamount to an admission of guiltl how the independence of the judiciary was guaranteed8 whether the Government was considering any improvements in the regulations governing free legal aid3 whether the right guaranteed under article 14 of the Covenant to have one’s conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher tribunal was fully guaranteed in th.3 United Kingdoms whether, in connection with a particular case involving a police officer, measures had been taken in Hong Kong to ensure that prosecution was not unreaoonably delayed} how, in the light of articles 19 and 81 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, the judicial system in HorIg Kong would be maintained after 1997; and what had led to the error in the Birmingham Six case and why it had not been discovered for six years, Clarification was also sought of the guarantees of equal access to evidence by the police and the defence, in particular in cases brought under terrorism legislation, and of provisions relating to the presumption of innocence and the reversal of the burden of initial proof in cases concerning “scheduled” offences. 391. In his reply, the representative of the State party explained that time-limits for the hearing of cases in Scotland did not apply to summary offences because, in the great majority of summary cases, people were likely to be either released on bail or simply awaiting a summonsto court. Under section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1988, eight application6 for payment -97-