Lord Falconer has said he will press ahead with "radical" reform of the criminal justice system.

The constitutional affairs secretary said he would ensure the courts worked for the victims of crime, not the criminals.

"For too long the system has focused too much on the people working in it, and too little on the people its supposed to be there for," he said.

Pledging a "radical" overhaul of the current system, Falconer added: "We need to shift the balance."

"We must make sure that the system serves the public, not the other way around," he said.

And he warned that the justice system should become "more open and more transparent".

Falconer said he had joined the Labour Party "to make changes" and "make things better".

He said the government's reforms would produce a fairer justice system while protecting judicial independence.

"To help our communities we must fight drugs and crime effectively," he added.

"A proper criminal justice system is essential for that."

Lord Falconer said that education and early intervention are also vital.

"We've already put the fight against crime at the heart of our agenda, we are making good progress."

Falconer added that the current justice system was failing the people it was meant to serve.

"When defendants are summoned to court, they've got to come," he said.

"When people are fined, those fines must be paid.

"When custodial sentences are appropriate, then the courts should apply to them."

And he said the justice system needed to be made "simpler" from the top down.

That meant that his own role had also to be reviewed.

"We are going to abolish the role of lord chancellor," he said.

"We are going to move the highest court of appeal from the House of Lords to a supreme court.

"We are going to ensure that judges are appointed through an independent appointments commission."