Ironically, improving their approach to disclosure, which has proved a headache for the SFO for many years, may be the easiest improvement to tackle; with proper staff training and improved disclosure technology this should be possible in new cases (though clearly cases where disclosure has already been undertaken may require a further review).
However, their goal of improving efficiency by procuring a new case management system is relatively vague – will this involve a re-review of ongoing cases and potentially a more focused approach going forward? This remains to be seen.
One thing is clear, any improvements the SFO wishes to make will require the budget to do so, something that is now in much shorter supply in light of the £200mn damages award in favour of ENRC.
Despite the ambitious plans, therefore, this could have massive repercussions on what the SFO is able to achieve in the next five years.
Caroline Greenwell is a partner and Bella Henry is an associate at Charles Russell Speechlys
