Criminal Justice (Life Sentences) (Jersey) Law 201-

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A decision made 4 June 2014:

Decision Reference: MD-C-2014-0112
Decision Summary Title:	Lodging of the Draft Criminal Justice (Life Sentences) (Jersey) Law 201-		Date of Decision Summary:	4th June 2014
Decision Summary Author:	Project & Research Officer		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Criminal Justice (Life Sentences) (Jersey) Law 201-		Date of Written Report:	2nd June 2014
Written Report Author:	Senior Legal Adviser		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Lodging of the Draft Criminal Justice (Life Sentences) (Jersey) Law 201-
Decision(s): The Chief Minister agreed to lodge ‘au Greffe’ the Draft Criminal Justice (Life Sentences) (Jersey) Law 201- for debate by the States at the earliest opportunity.
Reason(s) for Decision: The purpose of this law is to replace the Criminal Justice (Mandatory Minimum Periods of Actual Imprisonment) (Jersey) Law 2005 (“the 2005 Law”). The purpose in doing so is twofold: To give criminal courts the power to order a minimum period of imprisonment when they have exercised a discretion to sentence an offender to life imprisonment; this being in line with the Royal Court’s recommendation in the case of The Attorney General v. Damien David Rzeszowski [2012] JRC198. To make provision for prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment to be released from prison on licence. In connection with 1. above the 2005 Law makes provision for the court to order a minimum period only where the law requires it to impose a sentence of life imprisonment. The purpose of this new Law is to replace the 2005 Law so that, where a court that sentences an offender to a discretionary life sentence, it must similarly order, in relation to the offender, a minimum period of imprisonment in respect of the offence or offences concerned. In connection with 2. above, the attached draft makes domestic provision for prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment to be able to apply for release from prison on licence. Part 4 of the draft Law would provide the domestic mechanism for review of a life sentence – not only where the court had imposed a whole life tariff, but where it had imposed a minimum term above a certain length – to assess whether or not the prisoner’s continued incarceration was able to be justified on legitimate penological grounds.
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications arising from this decision.
Action required: The Greffier of the States to be requested to arrange to lodge ‘au Greffe’ the Draft Criminal Justice (Life Sentences) (Jersey) Law 201- for debate by the States at the earliest opportunity.
Signature:		Position: Chief Minister of Jersey
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Signature (Quality Assurance)

Position

Director, Corporate Policy

States of Jersey Chief Minister's Department