A report set out performance by the Home Office against public service agreement targets. The government said the report showed 'considerable successes' in areas such as a reduction in crime, improved police performance and efficiency, increased control over asylum, and a more effective criminal justice system.
Source: Home Office Targets: Autumn Performance Report 2003, Cm 6057, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 2 December 2003, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | Home Office press release
Date: 2003-Dec
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 received Royal assent. The Act included measures to strengthen police powers, including 'stop and search'; crack down on defendants who re-offended on bail or failed to turn up at court; improve the efficiency of the courts system; tackle jury 'nobbling'; allow retrials in serious cases where 'new and compelling evidence' came to light; allow evidence as to the bad character of a defendant; set out the purposes and principles of sentencing in statute for the first time; strengthen sentences for serious offences; and introduce alternatives to custody tailored to individual offenders and based on what was most effective in reducing re-offending. The government was obliged to make last-minute amendments to the Bill, and other concessions, in order to win approval by the House of Lords: it pledged not to allow judge-only trials in complex fraud cases while alternative proposals for specialist juries were investigated; it abandoned attempts to allow defendants to waive their right to a jury trial; and limits were placed on powers to disclose defendants' previous convictions in criminal trials.
Source: Criminal Justice Act 2003, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act | Home Office press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2003-Nov
The government announced plans to introduce a Bill to establish a Supreme Court, reform the judicial appointments system, and abolish the office of Lord Chancellor.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, 26 November 2003, columns 4-7 (Queen's Speech), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Queen's Speech
Date: 2003-Nov
A new book examined the proposed abolition of the post of Lord Chancellor, and other judicial reforms, based on interviews with judges, leading QCs, legal and political academics, commentators and MPs.
Source: Charles Banner and Alex Deane, Off with their Wigs! Judicial revolution in modern Britain, Imprint Academic (01392 841600)
Links: Summary | Policy Exchange press release
Date: 2003-Nov
Campaigners welcomed government proposals to create a Supreme Court and a judicial appointments commission.
Source: Response to Constitutional Reform: A new way of appointing judges, JUSTICE (020 7329 5100) | Response to Constitutional Reform: A Supreme Court for the United Kingdom, JUSTICE | Response to the Department of Constitutional Affairs Consultations on the Supreme Court and the Appointment of Judges, Liberty (020 7403 3888)
Links: JUSTICE response to judicial appointments (pdf) | JUSTICE response to Supreme Court (pdf) | JUSTICE press release (pdf) | Liberty response (pdf) | Judicial appointments consultation paper | Supreme Court consultation paper
Date: 2003-Nov
A new book examined some of the broader issues underlying the government's proposed criminal justice reforms, focusing on ways of dealing with particular kinds of crime and offenders as well as the broader social and legal context influencing the nature of reform.
Source: Michael Tonry (ed.), Confronting Crime: Crime control policy under New Labour, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2003-Nov
Senior judges were divided over a government proposal to create a Supreme Court (and end the practice of senior judges sitting as 'Law Lords' in the upper chamber or House of Lords).
Source: The Law Lords Response to the Government s Consultation Paper on Constitutional Reform: A Supreme Court for the United Kingdom, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500)
Links: Response (pdf) | Supreme Court consultation paper
Date: 2003-Nov
Senior judges expressed concerns over guarantees of independence from political interference contained in government proposals for reform of the judicial appointments system.
Source: Judges Council Response to the Consultation Papers on Constitutional Reform, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500)
Links: Response (pdf) | Text of press conference (pdf) | Judicial appointments consultation paper | Supreme Court consultation paper | Reform of Lord Chancellor consultation paper
Date: 2003-Nov
The government introduced an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, designed to ensure that where an offence involved or was motivated by hostility based on the victim s sexual orientation (actual or presumed) the judge would be required to treat this as an aggravating factor, and to identify any extra element of the sentence given for the aggravation.
Source: The Guardian, 31 October 2003
Links: Guardian report | Stonewall press release
Date: 2003-Oct
The government introduced an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, designed to ensure that where an offence involved or was motivated by hostility based on the victim s disability (actual or presumed) the judge would be required to treat this as an aggravating factor, and to identify any extra element of the sentence given for the aggravation.
Source: The Guardian, 31 October 2003
Links: Guardian report | DRC press release
Date: 2003-Oct
The government announced that (following consultation) it would introduce new legislation in Northern Ireland outlawing crimes motivated by sectarianism and racism.
Source: Press release 2 October 2003, Northern Ireland Office (028 9052 0700) | Race and Crime and Sectarian Crime Legislation in Northern Ireland: Summary of responses to consultation, Northern Ireland Office
Links: NIO press release | Stonewall press release | Consultation responses (pdf)
Date: 2003-Oct
The government published the results of consultation on the race equality impact of proposals in the Criminal Justice Bill. It said that the consultation responses did not suggest the need to make any amendments to its proposals.
Source: Criminal Justice Bill: Full Race Equality Impact Assessments, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | Text of Bill
Date: 2003-Oct
The government began consultation on issues relating to the Lord Chancellor's roles (other than those relating to the speakership of the House of Lords, departmental minister or head of the judiciary).
Source: Constitutional Reform: Reforming the office of the Lord Chancellor, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 18 September 2003, columns 1086-1104, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Consultation document | Hansard
Date: 2003-Sep
An official discussion paper examined trends in crime, and the implications for correctional services. It said that one potential result of declining social capital was an increase in crime levels. It also identified a relative increase in the peak offending age group (males aged 15-24) up to 2010, accompanied with a relative increase in the 'vulnerable' age group of those over 50.
Source: Future Options for Correctional Services, Strategy Unit/Cabinet Office (020 7276 1881)
Links: Discussion paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Aug
The government published a consultation document on its restorative justice strategy. It said it aimed to maximise the use of restorative justice in the criminal justice system, and to encourage more high-quality, visible reparation by offenders to the community. It said the evidence suggested that restorative justice could help deliver key objectives such as improving victim satisfaction, reducing crime and re-offending, delivering justice effectively and building public confidence.
Source: Restorative Justice: The government s strategy, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | JUSTICE press release (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jul
The government began consultation on three reform proposals: creation of a Supreme Court, a new method for appointing judges (in England and Wales), and the future of Queen's Counsels (not Scotland). The Appellate Committee of the House of Lords would be replaced by a new Supreme Court, and the existing Lords of Appeal in Ordinary ('Law Lords') would be its first members: while they were members of that Court, they would be disqualified from sitting and voting in the Lords. The government said: 'We do not see any place for a Supreme Court on the United States model, able to strike down legislation. Parliament is supreme in our constitution and must remain so. Nor, in the absence of a codified, clearly delineated body of constitutional law, do we see a role for a Constitutional Court'. Judges (in England and Wales) would be appointed by a new independent commission.
Source: Reforming the Constitution: A Supreme Court for the United Kingdom, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500) | Constitutional Reform: A New Way of Appointing Judges, Department for Constitutional Affairs | Constitutional Reform: The Future of Queen's Counsel, Department for Constitutional Affairs | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 14.7.03, columns 21-36, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Supreme Court consultation paper | Judicial appointments consultation paper | QC consultation paper | Hansard | DCA press release | Guardian report | Law Society press release
Date: 2003-Jul
The government announced a series of proposed reforms to the legal and judicial system, including the abolition of the role of Lord Chancellor and its replacement by a Minister for Constitutional Reform; the creation of a Supreme Court separate from the House of Lords; and the creation of an independent judicial appointments commission to advise on judicial appointments. Following criticism that the proposed changes had not been thought through, the government promised a consultation exercise.
Source: Press release 12.6.03, Prime Minister's Office (020 7270 1234) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 18.6.03, columns 357-372, TSO | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 19.6.03, columns 19-20WS, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Answers 19.6.03, columns 391-392W, TSO | The Guardian, 15.6.03
Links: Downing Street press release | Hansard (1) | Hansard (2) | Hansard (3) | JUSTICE press release (pdf) | JUSTICE briefing paper (pdf) | Law Society press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jun
A new book provided a critical overview of government initiatives in the field of crime and punishment. It argued that a qualitative change had taken place in the politics of crime control since the early 1990s: although crime had stabilised, imprisonment rates continued to climb and there was a 'new mood of punitiveness'. Crime had also become a central policy issue for the government, rather than just a technical matter of law enforcement.
Source: Roger Matthews and Jock Young (eds.), The New Politics of Crime and Punishment, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2003-Jun
A joint committee of MPs and peers said that there were eight different aspects of the Criminal Justice Bill which increased the risk of violations of human rights. These included the relaxation of the rule against double jeopardy; new presumptions against granting bail in certain cases; extended powers to take and retain fingerprints and non-intimate samples; and admissibility of evidence of bad character, including previous convictions.
Source: Criminal Justice Bill: Further Report, Eleventh Report (Session 2002-03), HL 118 and HC 724, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Text of Bill | First Committee Report
Date: 2003-Jun
The Home Office published its first ever strategic framework document. It said: 'the Home Secretary s vision of a world where people take control of their lives and tackle deep-seated social issues with the help of an enabling department, forms the basis of this new relationship between citizens and the Government.'
Source: Strategic Framework, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Strategy document | Home Office press release
Date: 2003-Jun
The Criminal Justice Bill was given a third reading. The Bill would increase police powers, amend the 'double jeopardy rule', and restrict the right to jury trials in some circumstances. The government said the purpose of the Bill was to rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of victims, witnesses and communities.
Source: Criminal Justice Bill, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debates 19-20.5.03, columns 688-814 and 865-983, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Hansard (19.5.03) | Hansard (20.5.03) | Guardian report | HOC research briefing (1) (pdf) | HOC research briefing (2) (pdf) | HOC research briefing (3) (pdf) | HOC research briefing (4) (pdf) | HOC research briefing (5) (pdf)
Date: 2003-May
A committee of MPs expressed a number of concerns over the human rights implications of the Criminal Justice Bill, including provisions relating to the admissibility of evidence of bad character and the withholding of a copy of pre-sentencing reports from child defendants aged under 14.
Source: Criminal Justice Bill, Second Report (Session 2002-03), HL 40 and HC 374, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2003-Jan
The Labour Party issued a consultation document on its policies on crime and justice.
Source: Justice, Security and Community, Labour Party (08705 900200)
Links: Consultation Document (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jan