The judiciary is staying silent on lord chancellor Shabana Mahmood's decision to grant herself a veto on sentencing guidance amid concern the new ministerial power threatens judges’ independence.
The Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that the Sentencing Council, which describes itself as an independent public body, will no longer be able to publish guidelines for judges without the justice secretary's approval. The legal requirement is being introduced after revised guidance on community and custodial sentences that the council planned to introduce in April sparked a political backlash.
Future guidelines will also have to be approved by the lady chief justice. However, yesterday's announcement quoted only the justice secretary. Approached for comment, the judiciary told the Gazette it does not comment on policy matters.
The ministry insists the reforms do not interfere with the judiciary’s independence. However, not everyone agrees.
Criminal defence specialist Ernest Aduwa, a partner at Stokoe Partnership Solicitors, said the Sentencing Council is ‘not some nebulous, unaccountable quango operating in a void’, noting that its guidelines are the product of extensive consultation, empirical research and legal scholarship.
A ministerial veto risks a sentencing framework 'shaped by politics rather than principle', Aduwa warned. 'This veto does not protect democracy - it imperils it by placing a political filter over a judicial function.'
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