Sentencing Guidelines for Northern Ireland

Sentencing Guideline Papers

Domestic violence and abuse. How can our policing and justice systems help?

Presentation by His Honour Judge Burgess, Recorder of Belfast, Presiding County Court Judge at the Journey to Justice conference in Belfast January 2011. Click on the link to view the Paper by Recorder of Belfast on sentencing in Domestic Violence.

Hate Crime: Note for Sentencers

The Lord Chief Justice’s Sentencing Group, chaired by Lord Justice Gillen, has asked JSB to draw the attention of sentencers to the NI Human Rights Commission Report: Racist Hate Crime: Human Rights and the Criminal Justice System in Northern IrelandIn particular you are asked to note the concerns raised between pp 53 and 58 of the Report – especially the bulleted findings on page 58.

The Sentencing Group considers that it is important that sentencers should ensure that all potential hate crimes are properly identified to allow that aspect  to be adjudicated upon and taken into account in the sentencing exercise where the crime is found to have been motivated by hatred.

Sentencing in Cases of Manslaughter, Attempted Murder and Wounding with Intent

Paper by Sir Anthony Hart, September, 2013.  

Sentencing Guidance Note Honour-Based Crime 

Note for the assistance of Sentencers approved by the Sentencing Group.