Sentencing Review - a brief note + Prison Reform Trust Citizen's Panel

In 2024, the recently elected Labour government announced a Review of Sentencing - Review of Sentencing (October 2024).  Interestingly, the newly appointed Secretary of State for Justice (Shabana Mahmood MP) appointed the former Conservative Secretary of State for Justice (David Gauke)* to chair the review.

The Review was set up against a background of capacity pressures on the prison system. 

A comprehensive re-evaluation of the sentencing framework was required and  3 principles apply to the review's work -

The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) - Notes for Students

Numbers at the end of paragraphs refer to the Further material links at the end of this post.

The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) is frequently in the news because of the various high profile cases that it deals with - e.g. Oliver Campbell, Andrew Malkinson, etc. The court is also often criticised as shown by this Justice Gap article on the Oliver Campbell case. Another criticised body is the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) - see, for example, Law and Lawyers 15 January 2025 (Chair of CCRC resigns). The CCRC is empowered to refer criminal cases to the Court of Appeal.

The system of appeals

The "Rule of Law" - Notes for students

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 section 1 refers to the "Rule of Law" and states that the Act does not adversely affect - (a) the existing constitutional principle of the rule of law, or (b) the Lord Chancellor's existing constitutional role in relation to that principle. 

In R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, Lord Reed said at para 68 - "At the heart of the concept of the rule of law is the idea that society is governed by law." He continued - "Democratic procedures exist primarily in order to ensure that the Parliament which makes those laws includes Members of Parliament who are chosen by the people of this country and are accountable to them. Courts exist in order to ensure that the laws made by Parliament, and the common law created by the courts themselves, are applied and enforced. That role includes ensuring that the executive branch of government carries out its functions in accordance with the law.

A Codified Constitution? - Notes for Students

Numbers at the end of paragraphs refer to the reading links at the end of this post.

The United Kingdom (UK) does not have a formal (codified) constitution. In the modern world, such constitutions are the norm and numerous examples are easy to find. (1)

This is not to say that the UK lacks a constitution (or constitutional arrangements). The

Treaties - Notes for Students

Numbers at the end of paragraphs refer to the reading links at the end of this post.

International Law, in general, may be described as "the body of legal rules, norms, and standards that apply between sovereign States and other entities that are legally recognized as international actors."  (1)

A key aspect of international law relates to TREATIES

Inquiries ... Notes for Students

Inquiries - Overview:

"Inquiries" are an important feature in the general legal landscape. They do not create law and they do not apportion either criminal or civil liability but they are a powerful mechanism for examining an "issue" in detail. They are able to provide some form of public accountability for actions and decisions. 

The key aim

Human Rights - Notes for Students

15 April 1945 - The liberation by British Forces of Bergen-Belsen - (Imperial War Museum). Thousands of bodies lay unburied around the camp and some 60,000 starving and mortally ill people were packed together without food, water or basic sanitation. Many were suffering from typhus, dysentery and starvation.

Before the mid-20th century, international law was mainly concerned with States (or nations) and their relationships. Only minimal attention was paid to the relationship between States and the individual human being. 

The experience of modern war,

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) and contempt of court

In a judgment dated 28 October 2024, Mr Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment (less 3 days) for 10 breaches of an injunction issued by the High Court. The breaches were admitted - see judgment of Mr Justice Johnson dated 28 October 2024 - Solicitor-General v Yaxley-Lennon

On 16 April 2025, Mr Yaxley-Lennon lost his appeal against the sentence - Court of Appeal (Civil Division) - Stephen Yaxley-Lennon v Solicitor-General [2025] EWHC 2732 (KB). The court comprised Lady Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill (Lady Chief Justice), Lord Justice Edis and Lord Justice Warby.

The Court of Appeal found Johnson J's judgment to be "scrupulous and impeccable". "The judge’s application of the law and his reasoning on the appropriate sanction in this case both exhibit a meticulous approach, entirely in line with the authorities he had cited."

Yaxley-Lennon is currently due for unconditional release on 26 July 2025. Were he to purge his contempts, he would be due for release at the end of May 2025.

The judgments are worth-reading for their analysis of the law of contempt, a matter which the judiciary will always (and rightly) take seriously.

The Times - Crime and Justice Commission Report

The Times Crime and Justice Commission has published a 57 page report which is available at
A report into the state of the criminal justice system (pdf).

The Commission was set up in April 2024 to consider the future of policing, the courts,sentencing and prisons and to draw up proposals for reform.

The report begins by commenting that "the problems in the criminal justice system are clear for all to see. The police are struggling to retain public trust, the prisons are overflowing and the courts backlog is causing insufferable delays. Every part of the system is in crisis and a sense of lawlessness has taken hold in too many neighbourhoods and high streets. The commission’s job was to find solutions."

Human Rights and the Russian Federation

The Russian Federation was a member of the Council of Europe from 1996 to 2022. It was excluded on 16 March 2022 - see the Council of Europe's announcement.

The European Court of Human Rights has asked the Russian Federation to respond to allegations that it was responsible for 24 political assassinations (or attempted assassinations) between 2003 and 2020.

The story is covered in an excellent post by Joshua Rozenberg - HERE. 

As Mr Rozenberg notes - "Article 58 of the convention makes it clear that leaving the Council of Europe — and therefore the human rights convention — does not release a state from its existing obligations."

We hope