Government publishes sentencing proposals
1 Sep 08
Judges and sheriffs would need to reveal reasons for departing from guidelines
The Scottish Government has published its proposals for a new system of sentencing guidelines and a judicially-led Scottish Sentencing Council to oversee that system.
The proposals, which are out for consultation, are aimed at making sentencing more consistent, while still allowing judges and sheriffs a discretion in passing sentence in individual cases. However, they would need to state their reasons for passing sentences that differed from the guidelines.
The document also includes proposals aimed at giving the public the opportunity to contribute to the development of draft sentencing guidelines before they are finalised.
The legislation to create the Scottish Sentencing Council will be introduced as part of the Criminal Justice Bill.
The proposed Council will have the ability to produce guidelines on a number of sentencing related issues, including the appropriate range of sentences for a specific offence.
The Scottish Government would expect, however, that any guideline on a specific offence would cover the broad range of sentences that would normally be drawn on should someone be convicted of that offence - i.e. the normal range for a custodial sentence, the non-custodial options on offer, the various factors which should be considered to determine what type or length of sentence would be appropriate.
Judges would be obliged to adhere to these guidelines. They could however deviate from a guideline should they feel the circumstances of the case merited it, and would have to state and record their reasons for doing so.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "The Scottish Government is clear that the complete independence of the judiciary in making sentencing decisions is at the heart of our criminal justice system.
"However, we do believe that we have a responsibility to make sure that Scotland has the right framework in place to promote fairness and clarity in sentencing.
"We believe that there is a strong case for a system of sentencing guidelines to help deliver more consistent and transparent sentencing and a judicially-led Sentencing Council to develop that system."
The consultation, which can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/08/29100017/0, will run until 21 November 2008. Views are welcome from any interested organisations and individuals.