Government response to the Constitutional Affairs Committee first report of session 2006-07

Government response to the Constitutional Affairs Committee first report of session 2006-07 PDF Author: Great Britain: Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780101712323
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 16

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Book Description
Dated May 2007. Response to HCP 163-I, session 2006-07 (ISBN 9780215031853)

Government response to the Constitutional Affairs Committee first report of session 2006-07

Government response to the Constitutional Affairs Committee first report of session 2006-07 PDF Author: Great Britain: Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780101712323
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 16

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Book Description
Dated May 2007. Response to HCP 163-I, session 2006-07 (ISBN 9780215031853)

Memorandum to the Justice Select Committee

Memorandum to the Justice Select Committee PDF Author: Great Britain: Ministry of Justice
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780101823623
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000 and came into full effect on 1 January 2005. The Act gave the public, for the first time, a statutory right (subject to appropriate limitations) to i) find out if a public authority held specified information and, ii) if so, to be provided with access to it. This Memorandum revisits the original objectives and evaluates whether those have been met. It is felt that the FIOA has become embedded in the culture of public authorities and its effects on openness and transparency are clear. The successes do not come without cost, however, primarily in the form of concern at the time taken to process and respond to FOI requests, to conduct public interest tests and consider exemptions. The extent though to which original decisions are neither complained against, or are upheld on complaint, indicate that the FOIA is working largely as it should

The constitutional role of the Attorney General

The constitutional role of the Attorney General PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Constitutional Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215035462
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
This report identifies the inherent tension within the role of the Attorney General where political, ministerial functions have to balanced with the provision of independent legal advice and the supervision of the prosecution service. Although there is a need for accountability to Parliament and the public for the duties carried out, there is also a need for reform to ensure clear lines of responsibility and remove the suspicion of political pressure. The Committee therefore recommend that the duties of the Attorney General be split. The purely legal functions should be carried out by an official who is outside party political life, whilst a minister in the Ministry of Justice should carry out the ministerial duties.

Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill (provisions Relating to the Attorney General)

Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill (provisions Relating to the Attorney General) PDF Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215521262
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
This report examines the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill (contained in Cm. 7342-I,II,III, ISBN 9780101734226) to see how far its provisions put into effect the recommendations of its predecessor Committee's 5th report on the constitutional role of the Attorney General (HC 306, session 2006-07, ISBN 9780215035462). The draft Bill makes no substantial change to the current situation. The Attorney General remains both chief legal adviser to the Government and a Government minister. There is no justification for giving the Attorney General power to halt investigations by the Serious Fraud Office. The Committee favours a statutory duty being placed on ministers to observe the rule of law. The accountability of the post remains limited. Public confidence in the post could be enhanced if it were to become the practice to publish all or most of the Attorney General's advice where it is referred to in support of a political case being put forward by the Government. The problem of being both legal adviser and a minister is difficult to resolve, but the Committee believes that transparency require s separating the political functions from the legal functions. The Draft Bill fails to achieve the purpose given to constitutional reform by the Prime Minister: it gives greater power to the Executive; and it does not add to transparency.

The Office of Lord Chancellor

The Office of Lord Chancellor PDF Author: Diana Woodhouse
Publisher: Hart Publishing
ISBN: 1841130214
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
This book analyses the development and current position of the Lord Chancellor in his various roles.

Towards Effective Sentencing

Towards Effective Sentencing PDF Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215522009
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description
This report evaluates the extent to which the provision s of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to provide overall structure and clarity to sentencing, by reserving prison for the most dangerous offenders and by making effective provision to deal with other offenders through community sentence, have been implemented, and its impact on sentencing. The Committee is concerned that the Government failed to engage in any adequate resource and capacity planning for the coming into effect of the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). This new sentence was not accompanied by the level of custodial resources required to make it work. Meanwhile, the desired shift to community penalties where public safety is not at issue has not occurred to the extent that was hoped. Resources are a fundamental issue in delivering an effective sentencing strategy. So too is public confidence in the criminal justice system. The Government has failed to provide the information and leadership required to facilitate an informed public debate, while the media climate for such debate often depends on isolated discussion of particular cases which inhibits calm consideration. While the Government accepted the recommendations of Lord Carter's review of prisons, the Committee found his report deeply unimpressive, as it was not evidence based and was a missed opportunity. It should have considered how to develop new ideas to address the problems with sentencing and provision of custodial and non-custodial facilities in England and Wales. The Government has not learnt vital lessons from past experience. It needs to adopt a strategic approach to sentencing. The Committee make a series of detailed recommendations around these issues in order to make further progress towards effective sentencing.

The creation of the Ministry of Justice

The creation of the Ministry of Justice PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Constitutional Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215035608
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description
The creation of the Ministry of Justice made significant changes to the Lord Chancellor's responsibilities, which may affect, in practice or public perception, the core responsibility of being the guardian of judicial independence. This report looks at the way these changes were made and finds the Government underestimated the significance of the changes it announced. The lack of sufficient consultation led to a public conflict between the senior judiciary and the previous Lord Chancellor, which could have been avoided if the lessons from the way changes to the Lord Chancellor's office were announced and effected between 2003 and 2005 had been learnt.

Counter-terrorism Bill

Counter-terrorism Bill PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215514318
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 8

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Book Description
Government response to HC 405, session 2007-08.

Devolution

Devolution PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215530387
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 106

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Book Description
Devolution was a major component of the Government's package of proposed constitutional reform for the United Kingdom post 1997. Devolution has fundamentally transformed politics within the devolved territories, but it has also had a significant impact on the make-up and the constitution of the United Kingdom. Fundamental changes in the way Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are governed have not been followed by major changes in the way England is governed. Matters which are the responsibility of devolved Parliaments in the rest of the UK are, in England, determined by the United Kingdom Government and Parliament. This report identifies several changes required to improve the current infrastructure and the procedures and practices of governance in the UK after devolution, in order to facilitate the effective and efficient functioning of the asymmetric system of devolution. Whitehall was not ready for devolution. Departmental responsibility for overseeing the working of the UK's system of government has been divided and unsettled, and the report recommends that a lead department responsible for devolution strategy be identified. The second half of the report identifies two significant constitutional and political issues which have been brought into sharp focus since the onset of devolution in 1999: first, the fact that England remains highly centralised under the authority of the UK Government and Parliament, resulting in the "English Question", a phrase which encapsulates a range of different questions in relation to the governance of England, and, secondly, the increasing concern about the efficacy and application of the Barnett Formula as the means for the allocation of increases and decreases in public funds.

Administrative Justice in Context

Administrative Justice in Context PDF Author: Michael Adler
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1847315755
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 558

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Book Description
This book comprises a definitive collection of papers on administrative justice, written by a set of very distinguished contributors. It is divided into five parts, each of which contains articles on a particular aspect of administrative justice. The first part deals with the impact of 'contextual changes' on administrative justice and considers the implications of changes in governance and public administration, management and service delivery, information technology, audit and accounting, and human rights for administrative justice. The second part deals with conceptual issues and describes a number of competing approaches to the administrative justice. The third part deals with the application of administrative justice principles to private law disputes while the fourth part deals with the distinctive characteristics of administrative justice in three other jurisdictions. The final part deals with current developments in administrative justice and the book concludes with a discussion of legislative and policy developments in the UK. The general approach of the book is socio-legal and interdisciplinary. The chapters adopt a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including those derived from political science, public policy, social policy, accounting and information technology as well as from law. Although most of the contributors are academics, some are practitioners. For these reasons, the book should be of interest to lawyers, particularly those with interests in administrative law, and to social scientists, particularly those with interests in public administration, public policy and public management.