Talk:Committal procedure

The last paragraph of this article is not relevant to deinfing the subject and, inmy opinion, is attempting to make a political point. I feel it should be removed. 82.20.20.247 (talk) 15:19, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

The sub-section "England" seems very unclear to me. As far as I understand the main article, a "preliminary hearing" is another word for "committal procedure". So the section effectively reads:

In 2012 the preliminary hearing was abolished in England. As a result, the serious matters are sent straight to the Crown Court from the Magistrates' Court for a pre-trial hearing... The first hearing in the Crown Court will be a preliminary hearing

I'm confused. Has the preliminary hearing been abolished or not?