Criminal law

It has been predicted that Brexit issues will give rise to many legal actions in UK and other Member States' courts, and the Court of Justice of the EU. While there have not yet been a great many, several cases have been brought by UK citizens living in other EU Member States, while other cases have been interesting for their implications for the UK's future relations with the EU. This paper looks at issues that have been the subject of legal action in UK and EU courts.

The Foreign National Offenders Bill 2019-20 was announced in the Queen’s Speech on 14 October 2019. No date is yet available for second reading.

This House of Commons Library briefing paper examines suicide prevention policies and strategies throughout the UK. It outlines national and local approaches to prevention policy in England, as well as Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It does so by considering the strategies of the UK Government, as well as the devolved administrations, from various policy perspectives.

The parole system determines which prisoners, who have been sentenced to indeterminate and certain determinate sentences, can be released early subject to certain conditions. In England and Wales this system is overseen by the Parole Board.

This briefing looks in detail at the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the EU and UK and finalised on 14 November 2018. It was endorsed by EU Member State leaders at a special European Council summit on 25 November and the UK Prime Minister promoted it in the UK Parliament and around the country. The Agreement was debated at length in Parliament on several occasions and has been voted on three times. But the House of Commons has not endorsed it. A second extension of Article 50 took exit day to 31 October 2019, but once again the UK is faced with the possibility of leaving the EU without an agreement if this agreement or another one is not ratified by the UK and the EU.

The House of Commons Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate in Westminster Hall on the motion “That this House has considered e-petition 236952 relating to "Violet-Grace’s Law - Life sentences for Death by Dangerous Driving” on Monday 8 July at 4.30pm. Helen Jones MP, the Chair of the Committee, will open the debate.

A debate will take place in the Commons Chamber on 4 July 2019 on the functioning of the existing law relating to assisted dying. The debate will be led by Nick Boles, Sarah Champion and Norman Lamb.

The freedom to peacefully protest is a cornerstone of a liberal democratic society but it’s not always plain sailing.

This note sets out the rules in England and Wales governing the retention and disclosure of conviction and non-conviction information held on the Police National Computer and the Police National Database.

This briefing explains the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme's treatment of victims of child abuse and current areas of reform. It covers England, Scotland and Wales.

What are legal considerations for the UK in deciding whether to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden or the US?

This briefing provides information on the two main categories of offence relating to knives and offensive weapons in England and Wales: offences relating to possession and offences relating to sale and supply. It also describes police guidance on cautioning and charging and the Government's policy on knife crime.

This House of Commons Library briefing paper provides an overview and background to the Private Member's Bill: Children Act 1989 (Amendment) (Female Genital Mutilation) [HL], Bill 294 of 2017-19. The Bill has completed its parliamentary stages in the House of Lords and is now passing through the House of Commons.

What could happen if the EU and UK negotiators don't agree a withdrawal agreement in time and the UK has to leave the EU on 29 March 2019 without one - and with no framework for future relations either? This paper looks at how such a situation might come about, the constitutional implications for the UK and in some cases for the devolved administrations, and what the impact might be in a range of policy areas.

The Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill [HL] would create a framework to enable law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to apply to a UK court for an ‘overseas production order’ requiring a person (in practice, generally a communications service provider or ‘CSP’) in a foreign jurisdiction to produce or grant access to electronic data for the purposes of investigating and prosecuting serious crime. An application would only be granted if the judge was satisfied that the data was likely to be of substantial value to the criminal proceedings or investigations for which it was sought, and that it would be in the public interest.