The Sentencing Council for England and Wales is a non-departmental public body that is responsible for developing

sentencing guidelines Sentencing guidelines define a recommended sentencing range for a criminal defendant, based upon characteristics of the defendant and of the criminal charge. Depending upon the jurisdiction, sentencing guidelines may be nonbinding, or their applic ...

, monitoring the use of guidelines and assessing and reviewing a wide range of decisions relating to sentencing. It was established in April 2010 in consequence of the

Coroners and Justice Act 2009 The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (c. 25) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the law on coroners and criminal justice in England and Wales. Among its provisions are: *preventing criminals from profiting from public ...

, replacing the Sentencing Guidelines Council and the Sentencing Advisory Panel, its predecessor bodies. The Council aims to ensure a consistent approach to sentencing, demystify court processes and sentencing for victims and the public, and increase confidence in the

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

system. The Act gives the Sentencing Council a statutory duty to prepare sentencing guidelines about the discharge of a court's duty under section 144 of the

Criminal Justice Act 2003 The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide-ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland a ...

(c. 44) (reduction in sentences for guilty pleas), and sentencing guidelines about the application of any rule of law as to the totality of sentences. It is able to prepare sentencing guidelines about any other matter. It is also required to consider the impact of sentencing practice and the Government may ask it to look at the impact of policy and legislative proposals relating to sentencing. The Council comprises eight members of the judiciary and six non-judicial members, all with expertise in the criminal justice system. The Council’s chairman is Lord Justice William Davis, a Court of Appeal judge. All members of the Council were appointed by the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. T ...

and the

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ...

External links

Official websiteCoroners and Justice Act 2009
Legal organisations based in England and Wales English law Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government 2010 establishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-law-stub