Unit 4 Topic 1 - The Criminal Justice System in England & Wales Flashcards
What are the two main types of law in the UK?
- Statutory Law (Governmental Processes)
- Case Law (Judicial Processes)
What are the nine steps for law making?
- governmental department publishes a green paper outlining issue to provoke discussion
- governmental department publishes white paper documenting consultation on said issue and proposes a draft of the Bill 3. In the first hearing, Bill is formally announced to the House of Commons for a vote 4. second hearing, if the Bill succeeds in the vote, the main principles of the Bill are debated by the MPs and another vote is held 5. bill is examined in detail in the committee stage 6. report stage, report from the committee is heard and debated by the MPs in the House of Commons. 7. third hearing for a final vote 8. house of lords where bill has to be accepted by the House of Lords 9. royal assent, bill goes to the monarch where it is signed
What is Case law?
When a member of the judiciary makes a ruling/overruling on a case which sets a precedent for all other courts. These cases are published in law reports which provide consistency for future cases
What is Judicial Precedent?
- When a judge makes a ruling in a certain case that deals with a grey area in the law and sets a precedent for future cases
- Can only be used if the cases are similar and is binding over all other courts
What is Statutory interpretation?
- A statute is a piece of legislation, created by the government
- Sometimes written law is not clear, possibly due to ambiguity, lack of clarity or differences in language
- Judges are allowed to use certain rules to interpret a statute, under the Interpretation Act 1978
What are the roles of the police?
- prevent crimes from occurring
- maintain social order
- investigate, arrest and question suspects
What are the role of the CPS?
- advise the police in the early stages of an investigation
- decide the appropriate charge or charges for a suspect
- prepares and presents cases for court
What are the roles of the HM prison service?
- Organize and run the prisons of England and Wales and are responsible for those in custody
- Responsible for rehabilitation programmes
- They support effective offender management and post-prison care
What are the roles of the National probation service?
- They provide pre-sentencing reports for the courts to help guide the appropriate sentence
- They assess offenders in prison to prepare them for release on license
- They help all offenders serving sentences in the community to meet the requirements ordered by the courts
What are the role of HM Court and Tribunal Service
- Ensure the delivery of prisoners to court
- Arrange video links if a prisoner cannot
attend court - Prisoners held in court cells pending their
court hearing & return to prison
Provide three relationships with the Police
CPS - advise police on what evidence is needed
Courts - police bring defendants who are being held in custody to court
National Probation Service - probation management and management of offenders in community
Provide three relationships with the CPS
Police - decide charge based on evidence collected by police
Government - Overseen by Ministry of Justice
Courts - appear in court as prosecution legal teams, prepare cases for court
Provide three relationships with the HM courts and tribunal service
Judiciary - members of judiciary work in the courts - contributes to law creation
Liaison with the police to ensure safe delivery of prisoners to court
Courts work with prisons to arrange video calls for prisoners who can’t attend court
Provide three relationships with the HM prison service
Courts - prisons work with courts to organize delivery of defendants to and from court
Judiciary - prisons impose sentences set by judiciary
Police - police would arrest any offenders recalled on probation and return to prison
Provide three relationships with the National probation service
Police - if offender commits offence on probation or breaches terms of release
Government - Overseen by Ministry of Justice
Courts - Probation officers may need to provide evidence in court, relating to the offenders behaviour whilst on probation
