UK bill to introduce veto powers over sentencing guidelines News
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UK bill to introduce veto powers over sentencing guidelines

The UK government introduced new legislation which will require the Justice Secretary and the Lord or Lady Chief Justice to approve the Sentencing Council‘s proposed guidelines for courts.

The bill, currently in its second reading, compels the Lord or Lady Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor to accept Sentencing Council proposals for courts in England and Wales. The new legislation will amend s.120 of The Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which previously established a requirement for the Sentencing Council to “seek the consent of the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor to issue them as definitive guidelines.”

The bill’s introduction followed a disagreement between the government and the council concerning its guidance on using pre-sentencing reports (PSR). Section 30 of the Sentencing Act 2020 states:

If the offender is aged 18 or over, the court must obtain and consider a pre-sentence report before forming the opinion unless, in the circumstances of the case, it considers that it is unnecessary to obtain a pre-sentence report.

The Sentencing Council’s guidelines proposed that a PSR would usually be considered necessary if the offender is “from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community.”

Shabana Mahmood, the lord chancellor, disapproved of the guidance which was due to be effective from April 1, stating:

These guidelines create a justice system where outcomes could be influenced by race, culture or religion. This differential treatment is unacceptable – equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice system. I will change the law to ensure fairness for all in our courts, and I’m grateful to the Sentencing Council for delaying implementation while Parliament considers the Bill.

The council decided to suspend the guidelines before they came into force after the government threatened to use emergency legislation to block them.

The Sentencing Council is an independent, arms-length body from the Ministry of Justice. It issues sentencing guidelines for courts in England and Wales with the aim of ensuring transparency and consistency in sentencing.

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