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 |
|---|---|
| 25.04.2012 | Referral fees in personal injury claims |
| Referral fees and arrangements can take different forms. Although they are also used in other commercial relationships, they have attracted particular attention when they involve the legal professions. The Legal Services Board (LSB), which is the independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales, has defined them as 'any payment made for the referral or introduction of any client or potential client'. | |
| 30.03.2012 | Extradition and the European Arrest Warrant - Recent Developments |
| This note provides detailed information about a number of recent developments in this area, including a report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, published in June 2011, and an independent review of the Extradition system (led by Lord Justice Scott Baker) which reported in October 2011. | |
| 13.03.2012 | Police and Crime Commissioners |
| The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 will replace police authorities with Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) outside London, and with the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime in London. The first elections will take place on 15 November 2012. This note sets out to answer some of the practical questions about how PCCs outside London will be elected and what they will do. | |
| 25.11.2011 | The Office of the Chief Coroner |
| The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 provides for the appointment of a new Chief Coroner and associated officers, although most of the relevant provisions have not been implemented. Following the election, the Government first announced that the Office of the Chief Coroner would be abolished, because of the costs involved, and that some of the Chief Coroner's functions would be transferred to suitable alternative bodies. It then proposed to leave the Office on the statute book, but to transfer some of the functions of the Chief Coroner to the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor, and to set up a Ministerial Board and supporting Bereaved Organisations Committee. The changes were to be effected largely through the Public Bodies Bill [HL] and associated regulations. These proposals attracted considerable criticism, both from within Parliament, mainly during consideration of the Public Bodies Bill [HL], and from interested organisations. On 22 November 2011, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Kenneth Clarke, announced that, having listened to concerns, he had decided to implement the Office of the Chief Coroner. | |
| 24.11.2011 | The use of intercept evidence in terrorism cases |
| This note provides background information about the prohibition on using intercept evidence in terrorism trials. Subject to a limited number of exceptions, evidence from intercepted communications or any related communications data is inadmissible in legal proceedings under provisions currently set out in section 17 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. It is important to note that the bar on intercept extends beyond terrorism cases (and concerns have been expressed in respect of coroner's inquests for example). However, this note only focuses on the use of intercept material in counter-terrorism proceedings. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 04.07.2011 | Legal aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill Bill No 205 of 2010-12 |
| This Research Paper has been prepared for the second reading of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. The Bill covers a diverse range of issues, including legal aid; litigation funding and costs; sentencing; bail, remand and release on licence; prisoners' pay and employment; out of court disposals and knives. | |
| 02.03.2009 | Northern Ireland Bill (Bill 62 of 2008-09) |
| This Bill is designed to assist with the devolution of policing and justice to Northern Ireland by making amendments to the Northern Ireland Act 1998. These amendments add to the options for appointing the Policing and Justice Minister already set out in the 1998 Act. It also provides for changes to the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978 and the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 in respect of judicial appointments and removals. | |
| 01.03.2007 | The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill [HL] |
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 |
