The standard scale is a system in

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

law whereby financial

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

penalties (

fines Fines may refer to: * Fines, Andalusia, Spanish municipality * Fine (penalty) * Fine, a dated term for a premium on a lease of land, a large sum the tenant pays to commute (lessen) the rent throughout the term *Fines, ore or other products with a s ...

) in legislation have maximum levels set against a standard scale. Then, when inflation makes it necessary to increase the levels of the fines the legislators need to modify only the scale rather than every individual piece of legislation. In English law, the reference in legislation will typically appear as:

Legislation and level of fines

Australia

In Australia, the monetary fines for a breach of law is determined by however many penalty units the offence is worth, times the value of that jurisdiction's penalty unit. All states and territories set their own penalty unit values, which is supplemented by the federal penalty unit for federal offences.

Channel Islands

Guernsey

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands, ...

uses the UK standard scale for adopted UK legislation, and its own scale (called the uniform scale) for legislation originating in the

States of Guernsey The States of Guernsey (french: États de Guernesey), sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Gue ...

. Guernsey's dependencies of

Alderney Alderney (; french: Aurigny ; Auregnais: ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest ...

and Sark have their own distinct scales, although these are generally in line with the Guernsey scale. * The Uniform Scale of Fines (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 1989 * Criminal Justice Act 1982 (Guernsey) Order 1992

Alderney

* ''The Uniform Scale of Fines (Alderney) Law 1989'' as amended by ''The Uniform Scale of Fines (Alderney) (Amendment) Ordinance 2007''.

Sark

Sark has its own standard scale, which is normally maintained at the same levels as Guernsey's. * The ''Uniform Scale of Fines (Sark) Law, 1989'' as amended by the ''Uniform Scale of Fines (Sark) (Amendment) Ordinance, 1992'', the ''Uniform Scale of Fines (Sark) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2004'', and the ''Uniform Scale of Fines (Sark) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2006''.

Isle of Man

Since 1 January 2018, for

Acts of Tynwald An Act of Tynwald is a statute passed by Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man. Structure Acts of Tynwald are structured in a similar format to Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commencement Originally, each Act began with the f ...

the Isle of Man uses a standard scale introduced by Section 55 of the Interpretation Act 2015. It replaced specified amounts specified within each piece of legislation. ''Above amounts .'' In respect of Acts of Parliament that extend to the Isle of Man the UK standard scale is used. * Interpretation Act 2015 (An Act of Tynwald) *

Criminal Justice Act 1982 In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

(An Act of Parliament) as extended to the Island by the ''Criminal Justice Act 1982 (Isle of Man) Order 1983'', and amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1982 (Isle of Man) Order 1992.

Jersey

* Criminal Justice (Standard Scale of Fines) (Jersey) Law 1993 * Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Jersey) Law 2016 ''Above amounts .''

Historic

United Kingdom

Schedule 1 to the Interpretation Act 1978 defines "the standard scale" for each United Kingdom jurisdiction with reference to the following statutes. The "

statutory maximum The prescribed sum is the maximum fine that may be imposed on summary conviction of certain offences in the United Kingdom. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, it is now equivalent to level 5 on the standard scale, which it predates. In Scotl ...

", which is the maximum fine which can be imposed by a summary court for a

triable either way A hybrid offence, dual offence, Crown option offence, dual procedure offence, offence triable either way, or wobbler is one of the special class offences in the common law jurisdictions where the case may be prosecuted either summarily or as ...

statutory offence, is similarly defined by the Interpretation Act 1978 so as to correspond to the "

prescribed sum The prescribed sum is the maximum fine that may be imposed on summary conviction of certain offences in the United Kingdom. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, it is now equivalent to level 5 on the standard scale, which it predates. In Scotl ...

" (in effect to the maximum (level 5) fine on the standard scale, except in Scotland).

England and Wales

, section 37, (as amended by

Criminal Justice Act 1991 The Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c. 53) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales, with certain clauses extended to either Northern Ireland or Scotland. The Act enabled the introduction of pr ...

, section 17(1))

Scotland

The setting of the levels of the standard scale of fines in Scotland is a matter devolved to the Scottish Government. *

Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...

, section 225 With effect from 10 December 2007, the Criminal Proceedings etc. Reform (Scotland) Act 2007 increased the "prescribed sum", and with it the "statutory maximum" from £5,000 to £10,000. The level of fines on the standard scale was unaltered.

Northern Ireland

* Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984, article 5 (as amended by Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1994, article 3(2))

Scale

The above amounts apply with respect to offences committed on or after the following dates: * in England and Wales and in Scotland, 1 October 1992 (by virtue of Criminal Justice Act 1991 (Commencement No 3) Order 1992) * in Northern Ireland, 9 January 1995 (by virtue of Criminal Justice (1994 Order) (Commencement) Order (Northern Ireland) 1994). The United Kingdom standard scale was extended in respect of certain offences to two Crown dependencies: * the Isle of Man, with effect from 1 December 1992 (by virtue of Criminal Justice Act 1982 (Isle of Man) Order 1992). * Guernsey, with effect from 1 February 1993 (by virtue of Criminal Justice Act 1982 (Guernsey) Order 1992).

= Historical

= Before March 2015, the level 5 limit was £5,000. This limit was removed by section 85 of the

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) is a statute of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted by the coalition government of 2010-2015, creating reforms to the justice system. The bill for the act was int ...

.Subsections 1, 2 and 4, brought into force on 12 March 2015 b
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Commencement No. 11) Order 2015
/ref> The level 1–4 limits were unaffected. Between 1984 and 1992, the standard scale in England and Wales was as follows:

Hong Kong

* Chapter 221 Criminal Procedure Ordinance, section 113B – Levels of fines for offences * Chapter 221 Criminal Procedure Ordinance, schedule 8 – Level of fines for offences Fines specified in prior legislation were converted to points on the standard scale by section 113C. ''Above amounts .''

Zimbabwe

* Criminal Penalties Amendment Act 2001, took effect from 20 May 2002

References

* {{cite book , last1 = Ormerod , first1 = David , last2 = Hooper, Rt Hon Lord Justice , title = Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2010 , location = Oxford , publisher = Oxford University Press , year= 2009 , isbn = 978-0-19-957424-7 English law Sentencing (law)