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

Explaining our Law and Legal System ... No.6 ... Sources of Law

 "The laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy" - John Quincy Adams (1767-1848).

Can "Law" be defined?

The familiar notion of "law" escapes precise definition even though, over centuries, numerous thinkers and writers have attempted to explain it and also to describe the scope and content of law.  Connected to the idea of law are other elusive concepts such as "justice", "morality", "rights" and "obligations."

Explaining our Law and Legal System ... No.5 ... Magistrates in England and Wales (Updated post)

Background

According to the Courts and Tribunals website - Magistrates - some 12,000 people in England and Wales have volunteered their time to be a magistrate or Justice of the Peace (JP). They can be appointed from the age of 18 and retire at 75. The overall number has been much reduced in recent years and is now about 50% lower than about 15 years ago. They deliver summary justice in the Magistrates' Courts of England and Wales.   

In 2010 there were 320 Magistrates' Court locations in England and Wales but the number has been reduced markedly and is now in the region of 160. The closures have been deliberate government policy and Magistrates' Court locations are now to be found mainly in the cities or larger towns.

JPs do not have to hold any legal qualifications and, to conduct their duties, they are advised on law and procedure by legally-qualified "legal advisers," Their work is done voluntarily though some expenses can be claimed. The Magistrates Association supports and represents them but membership of the association is voluntary.

Explaining our Law and Legal System ... No.4 ... Juries (Updated post)

Involvement of the people in the law:

 

The English legal system is notable for the involvement of individual citizens as either Jurors or Magistrates (Justices of the Peace).

 

The idea of the jury trying a fellow citizen for criminal offences dates back at least to the reign of Henry II (1154 - 1189). The office of Justice of the Peace (JP) is traceable back to 1361.

 

In modern times, juries are to be found mainly in the Crown Court of England and Wales where, along with a judge, they try criminal cases in a process known as trial on indictment. Juries are also used in a limited number of civil cases and at certain inquests in the Coroners Court (see the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 section 7).

Trial of criminal cases

Criminal offences are divided into three types.

Explaining our Law and Legal System ... No.3 ... Judges (Updated post)

 

"Let the judges also remember, that Solomon's throne was supported by lions on both sides: let them be lions, but yet lions under the throne; ..." (Francis Bacon' - 1561-1626 - Of Judicature ).

This post is an overview of the professional judiciary of England and Wales. A further post will look at Justices of the Peace who are regarded as part of the overall judiciary but they are not part of the professional - legally-qualified - judiciary.

Overview of the judiciary - 

Supreme Court of the UK - At the pinnacle of the legal world are the twelve Justices of the Supreme Court.  This court came into being on 1st October 2009 and was created by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - (CRA 2005) and replaced the House of Lords as the final appellate court.  

Explaining our Law and Legal System ... No.2 ... Courts and Tribunals (Updated post)

Courts and tribunals are the places where the legal system decides the outcome of disputes. This post is concerned with the courts and tribunals of England and Wales.

HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. It is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts in England and Wales, as well as the reserved unified tribunals across the United Kingdom. HMCTS works, but does not control, the independent judiciary.

Courts range from those with international authority (jurisdiction) ruling on legal matters with international impact to national courts determining disputes between either government (whether central or local) and "persons" or simply disputes between "persons."  

Explaining our Law and Legal System ... No.1 ... Legal Personnel (Updated post)

One aspect of legal blogging is the need for the law to be explained explained to as wide an audience as possible.  In that spirit, this post is one of a series aimed at explaining some aspects of our legal system and law.  The post is, of necessity, an overview.  For those who wish to dig deeper, the various "links" should assist.  

This post is an update of a post written in June 2011 during the early days of this blog. There was a previous update in June 2020.

The legal profession 

So, where to begin?  When the law is mentioned in general conversation, people will think of "lawyers" and "courts."  So let's start with "lawyers" or "the legal profession."

Article 8 and Parliamentary Privilege

In Green v United Kingdom (Application 22077/19) the European Court of Human Rights (4th section)

Held that there was no violation of the right to respect for private life.

The case concerned the question of whether States have a duty to take measures to prevent parliamentary privilege being used to circumvent a court injunction. In 2018 the applicant, a well-known businessman, was granted an interim injunction against the Telegraph group to prevent it from identifying him as the subject of allegations of sexual harassment and bullying made by former employees. Invoking parliamentary privilege, a member of the House of Lords took the floor of the House after a debate and identified the applicant as the subject of the allegations, despite the interim injunction.

The Court found that it should be left to the respondent State, and Parliament in particular, to decide on the controls required to prevent parliamentary members from revealing information subject to privacy injunctions. To find otherwise would run contrary to the principle of the autonomy of Parliament, which had already considered and rejected the need for further controls.

• Press release
• ECHR-KS: Right to respect for private and family life
• ECHR-KS: Right to a fair trial (civil)

When is a pre-sentence report required? A note .....

1 April 2025 - Secretary of State's statement in the House of Commons 

Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-Sentence Reports) Bill as introduced by the Secretary of State

There has been a recent "difference of view" between the Sentencing Council and the Secretary of State for Justice about when a pre-sentence report is required. The detail is set out in the Secretary of State's statement and legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg has taken a longer look at the issue. For those reasons I do not intend to carry out a detailed analysis here. 

34 years ago, in the Criminal Justice Act 1991, Parliament effectively made pre-sentence reports (PSR) almost mandatory in cases where the sentencing court was considering either a custodial sentence or a community sentence.

I was, and remain, of the view that this generally made good sense and it applied to all offenders regardless of either their background or personal characteristics.

The present law is set out in the Sentencing Act 2020 section 30 and "guidance" exists in Sentencing Council guidelines as well as Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) case law. 

Sentencing Council Guidance - as proposed - not yet in effect

Read the 31 March statement from the Council. 

European Court of Human Rights ~ Adoption ~ Right to family life

25 March 2025 - The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section)  - N.S. v United Kingdom (Application 38134/20)

The court's judgment is available here and a summary from the court's website follows .....

A 2018 tragedy in North Wales ~ Judicial Review ~ Unsuccessful challenge to Coroner's Court conclusion

Great Orme is a limestone headland on the North Wales coast between Llandudno and Conway. 

Great Orme rises to just 679 ft above sea level (207 metres) BUT steep edges (cliffs) are a significant risk as this short video shows - Exploring the climbing routes on the Great Orme, North Wales. Provided those places are avoided, Great Orme offers walking which is not too challenging or remote unlike places such as Tryfan (3009 ft), the Glyderau (several places over 3000ft) and Snowdon (3560 ft). 

Benjamin Leonard (age 16) was a member of The Scout Association and, over the weekend 25 to 27 August 2018, went with his Explorer Unit (ages 14 to 18) to North Wales. The adult leadership

Axel Rudakubana sentenced for three horrific murders, 10 attempted murders, and 3 further counts

On Thursday 23 January, at the Crown Court in Liverpool, Mr Justice Goose sentenced Axel Rudakubana (age 18) for the murders of three young children and 10 attempted murders (8 children and 2 adults).

The offences were committed at a dance studio in Southport on 29 July 2014. At that time, Rudakubana was 9 days short of his 18th birthday. 

In addition to the counts of murder and attempted murder, the judge imposed sentences on three further counts. 

A count of possession

Murder ~ offender under 18 at the time

On Monday 20 January at the Crown Court in Liverpool, Axel Radakubana (now aged 18) entered guilty pleas to the murders of three children in Southport. 

The pleas were entered on the day the trial was due to commence.

Sentencing was set for Thursday 23 January. 

There are several further guilty pleas which will also be dealt with.

The fact that Radakubana was under 18 at the time of the offences is particularly important. This makes

Sentencing - recent sentencing for non-recent rape

An announcement by West Yorkshire Police tells us that 8 men were sentenced, at the Crown Court in Bradford, for "non-recent Child Sex Offences"

Eight Men Sentenced For Non-Recent Child Sex Offences, Keighley | West Yorkshire Police

The BBC report is at Keighley grooming gang members given jail sentences - BBC News

We see that - 

Child sexual abuse / grooming gangs

The government has announced a number of steps to be taken with respect to the major problem of child sexual abuse - (Previous post).

Here is the announcement

Survivors of sexual abuse to be empowered in closed case reviews - GOV.UK

House of Commons

Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse - Hansard - UK Parliament

Justice Committee 15 January 2025

On 15 January, the House of Commons Justice Committee questioned the Attorney General (Lord Hermer KC) and the Solicitor General (Lucy Rigby MP). The session will be of particular interest to anyone seriously interested in the rule of law and in the roles of the Law Officers.

Parliamentlive.tv - Justice Committee

The following links relate to questions or answers at the committee's session 

Northern Ireland "legacy issues" - where now?

A further political row has erupted over the possibility that Mr Gerry Adams ( President of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018) may receive compensation because of governmental action during the 1970s and "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. 

The Adams case

In Adams, R. v (Northern Ireland) [2020] UKSC 19 (13 May 2020) the Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Lord Kerr, held that an "Interim Custody Order" (ICO) made against Adams on 21 July 1973 was unlawful. Adams tried to escape from custody on two occasions and received sentences of imprisonment for attempting to escape from lawful custody. 

Given that the ICO was found to be unlawful, Adams claimed

Chair of CCRC Resigns

In 2021, Helen Pitcher OBE was appointed to a second term as Chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). She has now resigned - Chair of miscarriages of justice review body quits - BBC News - and claims to have been "scapegoated" by Ministers in connection with the CCRC's handling of the Andrew Malkinson case.

The Malkinson case

On 10^th February 2004 Mr Malkinson was convicted  of attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle C with intent to commit an indictable offence, namely rape, and of two offences of rape. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. He has always denied committing any of the offences.  (C is entitled to life-long anonymity).

Mr Malkinson's convictions were quashed

New Year 2025

A HAPPY NEW YEAR to all readers.

With updates

Politics in the UK started with a major row over Child Sexual Abuse. This immensely serious issue perhaps came to general public attention over 10 years ago when a report was published into events in Rotherham (S. Yorkshire) over a lengthy period extending back to the 1980s. Earlier post of 1 September 2014 - Law and Lawyers: Rotherham ~ Sexual Exploitation of Children ~ the reports.

Rotherham is by no means the only place where similar criminality has taken place. Locations such as Rochdale, Oldham, and Telford come to mind.

The abuse at Telford led to an independent inquiry chaired by Tom Crowther KC which reported