Criminal law
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on criminal law. 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.
Commons Briefing Papers
| 12.11.2015 | Mandatory life sentences for murder |
| Murder carries a mandatory life sentence. This can mean that the offender will spend the rest of his natural life in prison, although more commonly the offender will spend a "minimum term" in custody before being released on licence. This briefing from the Commons Library describes the legal framework within which minimum terms are set and the circumstances in which a "whole life" minimum term may be imposed. |
| 04.11.2015 | TV licence fee non-payment: decriminalising the offence |
| At present, using a television receiver without a valid licence can lead to prosecution, a court appearance and a fine of up to £1,000. Should it cease to be a criminal offence? Some parliamentarians think so. The BBC thinks not. An independent report has looked into this and recommended no change. |
| 16.10.2015 | Review of unduly lenient sentences |
| The Attorney General has the power to refer sentences for certain offences which he believes to be unduly lenient to the Court of Appeal. The Attorney General's power to refer only applies to serious offences, being those that can only be dealt with by the Crown court and some other offences specified in an order. |
| 09.10.2015 | Armed Forces Bill 2015-16 |
| The five-yearly Armed Forces Bill provides the legal basis for the UK's armed forces and its system of military law. |
| 04.09.2015 | The Assisted Dying (No 2) Bill 2015 |
| This Briefing Paper is prepared for the Second Reading of the Assisted Dying (No 2) Bill 2015 on 11 September 2015. |
| 03.09.2015 | Constituency Casework: Anti-Social Behaviour |
| Get help with constituency casework: Anti-Social Behaviour. A briefing to assist MPs and their staff in dealing with enquiries from constituents regarding anti-social behaviour. |
| 12.08.2015 | The retention and disclosure of criminal records |
| This note sets out the rules in England and Wales governing the retention and disclosure of conviction and non-conviction information held on the Police National Computer and the Police National Database. |
| 07.08.2015 | Sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection |
| The previous Government abolished sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPPs) for offenders in 2012 and introduced new sentences. The change was not made retrospective, and around 4,600 prisoners were still serving IPPs in March 2015. This note looks at the issues. |
| 07.08.2015 | Counter-extremism policy: an overview |
| Counter-extremism policy has evolved over the past few years with an increasing focus on addressing non-violent extremism. Recent policy announcements and a forthcoming Extremism Bill indicate that the Government remains determined to confront both violent and non-violent forms of extremism in its fight against terrorism. |
| 18.06.2015 | The European Arrest Warrant |
| This note considers the European Arrest Warrant, including an overview of the benefits it brings and the criticisms it gives rise to. Parliament has made a number of recent changes to the regime aimed at addressing criticism, and subsequently voted in favour of the UK remaining within the European Arrest Warrant framework. |
Lords Library Notes
POSTnotes
| 22.10.2015 | Unintentional Bias in Court |
| When asked to interpret information and draw conclusions, people are prone to a number of well understood, unintentional errors in reasoning called cognitive biases. This POSTnote examines how cognitive biases affect reasoning and decision-making, and outlines strategies to minimise their influence in court. |
| 30.09.2015 | Forensic Language Analysis |
| This note examines forensic language analysis, the scientific validity of procedures and their applications, and explores the issues surrounding their use. |
| 24.09.2015 | Trends in Crime and Criminal Justice |
| This POSTnote describes crime patterns, and highlights issues with crime measurement and data. It also identifies key developments in the criminal justice system. |
| 09.03.2015 | The darknet and online anonymity |
| A very small proportion of websites use sophisticated anonymity systems, which allow their operators to conceal their identity if they wish to. This part of the web is commonly referred to as the darknet. The darknet helps citizens to protect their security and privacy and to circumvent censorship. It also facilitate organised crime, such as the billion dollar drug market known as Silk Road. This POSTnote discusses the challenge of preventing such crimes without compromising the other uses of anonymity technologies. |
Select Committee Reports
Early Day Motions
| 14.12.2009 | AUTOMATISM AS A DEFENCE IN LAW |
| That this House considers current UK law which provides sleepwalking as a defence for rape or murder to be grossly unreasonable following recent cases, including a not guilty verdict ... |
| 18.11.2009 | CRIMINAL LAW (S.I., 2009, NO. 2773) |
| That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Conditional Cautions: Financial Penalties) Order 2009 (S.I., 2009, No. 2773), dated 15 ... |
| 18.11.2009 | CRIMINAL LAW (S.I., 2009, No. 2720) |
| That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Costs in Criminal Cases (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I., 2009, No. 2720), dated 8 October 2009, a copy ... |
| 15.10.2009 | CRIMINAL LAW (S.I., 2009, No. 2720) |
| That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Costs in Criminal Cases (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I., 2009, No. 2720), dated 8 October 2009, a copy ... |
| 20.07.2009 | MAGISTRATES' COURTS (S.I., 2009, No. 1496) |
| That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Magistrates' Courts Fees (Amendment) Order 2009, (S.I., 2009, No. 1496), dated 10 June 2009, a copy of which was ... |
