All posts in the Government proposals category

New guidelines for dangerous dogs offences – barking up the right tree?

The law relating to dangerous dogs has garnered substantial media attention in recent years, stemming from a spate of high profile and harrowing attacks on individuals, many involving young children. With each new case, calls for reform of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 have become louder and more persistent. That statute, introduced rapidly and pandering to a public frenzy arising from pitbull attacks, has been widely criticised for banning specific dog breeds rather than creating robust offences which would adequately punish irresponsible dog ownership. The Government, however, has been slow to respond to calls for enhanced regulation and tougher sanctions. Last week saw the first legal fruits of numerous consultations with the publication of new sentencing guidelines. This is not the only development in the pipeline as the Government gears up to close the loophole which allows dog owners whose animals attack a person while lawfully on private property to escape prosecution.

New review of sanctions for disclosure failures in criminal cases announced

On 26 April 2012, the Lord Chief Justice announced that Lord Justice Gross and Mr Justice Treacy will be heading a review of sanctions for disclosure failures in criminal cases, and considering whether there are options for strengthening them. This follows on the heels of a September 2011 review into criminal disclosure in general and is a welcome next step.

Removing the dishonesty element from the criminal cartel offence – not such a bad idea after all?

On 15 March 2012 BIS published its plans for an overhaul of the UK’s competition laws and enforcement arrangements. One aspect of these plans concerns the reform of the criminal cartel offence, s188 of the Enterprise Act 2002. The key proposal is to remove the dishonesty criterion so that the offence would be committed by those who agreed to price-fix, bid-rig or limit supply with another participant (purportedly a competitor) without revealing this to the public. This proposal has been widely criticized by competition and criminal lawyers, who have denounced it for its apparent illiberality and injustice. Despite this opposition, I crawl out onto a narrow and perilous ledge of assent to what BIS wants to do.

On camera – televising criminal proceedings

Television cameras were today allowed to record the sentencing of David Gilroy in the High Court in Edinburgh. This is the first time that sentencing in a UK court has been filmed for broadcast the same day – normally proceedings in Scotland are only occasionally filmed for documentaries to be broadcast weeks or months later and are heavily edited by lawyers involved in the case. Filming in most English courts has been banned since 1925.

US-UK extradition treaty – will Home Affairs Committee report silence public disquiet?

Earlier today the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee published a report on the US-UK extradition treaty. A further report on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is expected later this year.

Both reports emerge from curious circumstances, coming so soon after the publication of the independent Sir Scott Baker review in September 2011. That review was the most exhaustive analysis of this country’s extradition laws ever undertaken, devoting no less than 51 pages to the US-UK extradition treaty (the report of the Home Affairs Committee stretches to only 10 pages). Many of those who made representations to Sir Scott’s panel gave similar evidence to the MPs comprising the Home Affairs Committee. So why another report?

Clamping down on scrap metal thieves

Following a dramatic rise in prices and a spate of incidents which have seen rail networks disrupted, church roofs pillaged and towns plunged into darkness, the scrap metal theft “epidemic” has been thrust into the spotlight. The issue has even made it into an episode of Eastenders – a sure sign of topicality! But why scrap metal? Simply put, scrap metal is hard to identify and can be sold for cash (at ever-increasing prices), making it an attractive category of stolen merchandise. It may seem like a niche offence but metal theft is estimated to cost the country £1 billion annually, with more than 1,000 offences taking place every week.

Confiscation – behind the headlines

On Tuesday last week the CPS released details of 143 criminals who have failed to pay monies owed under Confiscation Orders, orders aimed at depriving a convicted person of the spoils of their crime. The headline on the front page of the Evening Standard read: “Exposed: Crooks who owe Britain £600 million” and the article went on to detail the names of the top 10 “Mr Bigs” together with photos of their glamorous homes and luxury cars.

FSA restructuring – what implications for financial crime prosecutions?

On 15 February 2012, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced that the managing director of its conduct business unit, Margaret Cole, will leave the financial regulator at the end of March. Her exit follows a number of departures of senior staff from the FSA as the coalition government continues to implement its policy to restructure the way in which the financial industry in the UK is regulated. So what is the shape of things to come?

Why cheating in sport is still a problem and what it means for the Olympics

Notwithstanding the shock felt by many cricket fans over the recent Pakistani spot-fixing case, cheating and corruption has long been a problem in sport. Ever since Hanse Cronje admitted taking money from betting syndicates in India and around the world more than a decade ago, the integrity of the modern game of professional cricket has been tarnished.

How best to reform UK extradition law – some suggestions for Sir Menzies Campbell’s review

Last Friday’s judgments in the cases of Tappin and O’Dwyer have again focused minds on the vexed issue of the UK-US extradition treaty. Two questions were asked repeatedly on news channels around the UK. Is the treaty fair and balanced? And if not, how should it be reformed?