Administration of justice
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on the administration of the justice system. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 26.04.2013 | The abolition of sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection |
| The Government has abolished sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPPs) for offenders convicted on or after 3 December 2012, and replaced them with different sentences for dangerous offenders. However the change was not made retrospective. The change in the law will not apply to people currently serving these sentences. | |
| 22.03.2013 | The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 |
| The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 aims to give those with convictions or cautions the chance - in certain circumstances - to wipe the slate clean and start afresh. This note provides an overview of the Act. | |
| 06.02.2013 | Extradition and the European Arrest Warrant - Recent Developments |
| This note is designed to complement two earlier Standard Notes on extradition namely: 'The UK/US Extradition Treaty' (SN/HA/2204) and 'The introduction of the European Arrest Warrant' (SN/HA/1703) which each set out background information to the introduction of the current extradition regime (governed by the Extradition Act 2003). | |
| 05.02.2013 | Reductions in sentence for a guilty plea |
| Offenders who plead guilty in court will usually receive a reduced sentence compared to that they would have received had they been convicted following a not guilty plea. The maximum discount is currently one third. This note describes the rationale for reduced sentences for those who plead guilty. | |
| 16.01.2013 | Referral fees in personal injury claims |
| Provisions in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which are due to come into force in April 2013, will ban referral fees in personal injury cases. When implemented, the new provisions will prohibit the payment and receipt of referral fees by making it a regulatory offence (rather than a criminal offence) to pay or receive referral fees, in specified types of legal business. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 09.01.2013 | Crime and Courts Bill [HL] |
| The Bill would establish a new National Crime Agency and make a number of changes to the administration of justice. It also deals with the law of self defence as it applies to householders defending themselves from intruders; makes changes to community sentences and to immigration appeal rights; and introduces a new drug driving offence. | |
| 14.12.2012 | Justice and Security Bill |
| This paper has been prepared for the Second Reading of the Justice and Security Bill in the House of Commons, which is due to take place on 18 December 2012. The Bill, which has proved contentious, was originally introduced in the House of Lords on 28 May 2012. It is aimed at modernising and strengthening the oversight of the intelligence and security services and would allow the civil courts to use closed material procedures to hear sensitive evidence in cases that raised national security concerns. It would also preclude the courts from ordering the disclosure of sensitive information in certain circumstances. The Bill was revised significantly in the Lords and was introduced in the House of Commons on 28 November 2012. | |
| 29.11.2012 | Police and Crime Commissioner Elections, 2012 |
| On Thursday 15 November 2012 the first ever elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) took place in England and Wales, outside of London. The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 replaced police authorities with directly elected PCCs. The 41 police areas each elected one PCC. The supplementary vote system was used for the elections. This Research Paper analyses the results | |
| 20.10.2011 | Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill Committee Stage Report |
| 05.07.2011 | Police (Detention and Bail) Bill |
| This Research Paper has been prepared for the Commons stages of the Police (Detention and Bail) Bill, which is being fast-tracked and is due to undergo all of its remaining Commons stages on 7 July 2011. The Bill would reverse the effect of the High Court's recent decision in the Hookway case, in which it held that the 'detention clock' limiting the period that the police can hold a suspect for without charge continued to run when the suspect was released on bail |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 17.05.2011 | Appointment of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales. |
| Justice Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 27.10.2010 | Justice issues in Europe. |
| Government response. Ministry of Justice; Justice Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 23.03.2010 | Justice issues in Europe. |
| Justice Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 16.03.2010 | Cutting crime: the case for justice reinvestment. |
| Government response. Ministry of Justice report [Commons] | |
| 26.01.2010 | Appointment of HM CPS Chief Inspector. |
| Justice Select Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 03.11.2011 | JERSEY AND THE IMPRISONMENT OF STUART SYVRET |
| That this House notes the imprisonment of Stuart Syvret; believes that the public authorities of the island of Jersey do not operate in a manner compliant with the requirements of the ... | |
| 22.06.2011 | MAXIMUM SENTENCE FOR DANGEROUS DRIVING |
| That this House believes that victims should be at the heart of the justice system; recognises that many victims of dangerous drivers are left with horrendous injuries, some have been ... | |
| 24.05.2011 | MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY AND POLITICAL PRISONERS IN RUSSIA |
| That this House expresses deep concern following the decision made by the Moscow City Court in the appeal of political prisoners Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev; notes that ... | |
| 07.12.2010 | DEATH SENTENCE ON ASIYA BIBI |
| That this House is deeply concerned that Asiya Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman, has been sentenced to death in Pakistan under the blasphemy laws; notes that she is the first woman ... | |
| 27.10.2010 | DEATH SENTENCE ON TARIQ AZIZ |
| That this House regards with deep revulsion the decision of the Iraqi regime to carry out a death by hanging sentence on Tariq Aziz; and points out that British servicemen and women ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 15.11.2011 | Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (HL Bill 109 of 2010-12) |
| This Library Note provides background information in advance of the second reading in the House of Lords of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. | |
| 24.03.2010 | Crime and Security Bill (HL Bill 45 of 2009-10). LLN 2010/010 |
| Crime and Security Bill (HL Bill 45 of 2009-10) The Crime and Security Bill is wide-ranging. It contains provisions to reduce the reporting requirements on the police when they stop and search individuals; to set out a statutory framework for the retention and destruction of biometric material, including DNA data; to provide the police with the power to issue 'go' notices to alleged perpetrators of domestic violence; to extend injunctions for gang-related violence to 14-17 year-olds; to require courts to make parenting orders when a young person breaches an ASBO; to introduce a licensing scheme for wheel-clamping businesses; to create a new criminal offence of possessing a mobile phone in prison; to create a new offence of failing to take reasonable precautions to prevent a person under 18 from having unauthorised access to an air weapon; to compensate the victims of overseas terrorism; to enable licensing authorities to restrict the sale of alcohol between 3am and 6am; and to give the police new powers to search a person subject to a control order. The Bill has completed its passage through the House of Commons and is due for a second reading debate in the House of Lords on 29th March 2010. This House of Lords Library Note focuses on the debates on the retention and destruction of DNA data on the National DNA Database. It also gives brief details of the other parts of the Bill that were discussed at report stage in the Commons. | |
| 20.11.2009 | The Appellate Jurisdiction of the House of Lords (Updated November 2009). LLN 2009/010 |
| The Appellate Jurisdiction of the House of Lords (Updated November 2009). House of Lords Library Note 2009/010 From 1st October 2009 the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords was transferred to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. This Library Note gives an account of the history of the appellate jurisdiction, its functioning in practice and describes the Supreme Court. | |
| 20.04.2009 | Coroners and Justice Bill (HL Bill 33 of 2008-09). LLN 2009/004 |
| Coroners and Justice Bill. House of Lords Library Note 2009/004 | |
| 17.01.2008 | Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (HL Bill 16, 2007-08). LLN 2008/001 |
| Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill. House of Lords Library Note 2008/001 | |
| 15.03.2007 | Fraud (Trials without a Jury) Bill. LLN 2007/002 |
