Criminal law

The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill 2017-19 (HC Bill 219) was published on Wednesday 6 June 2018. Consideration of Lords amendments by the House of Commons is scheduled for 22 January 2019

This paper looks at the Political Declaration on the Framework for the Future Relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, which was agreed by EU leaders on 25 November.

A Private Members' Bill with Government support aims to introduce new civil Stalking Protection Orders. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 was introduced to deal with stalking, but critics argued that it was not effective enough. Scotland introduced a specific offence of stalking in 2010, and England and Wales created two new specific offences in 2012. Northern Ireland still relies on the more general offence of harassment.

What do we still not know about the Brexit process or the withdrawal agreement with the EU that is currently being negotiated? This paper looks at some of the main unknowns.

The Voyeurism (Offences) (No. 2) Bill 2017-19 was introduced on 21 June 2018. It has completed its Committee Stage and is awaiting Report and Third Reading on 5 September 2018.

Overview of MoJ spending with detailed statistics on prisons and probation, courts, and legal aid.

A Westminster Hall debate on Public legal education is scheduled for Tuesday 15 May 2018 at 2.30pm. The Member leading the debate is Ranil Jayawardena MP.

The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill 2017-19 is a Private Member’s Bill, introduced by Chris Bryant. It would introduce a new offence of assaulting an emergency worker, new sentencing guidance, and new powers to take bodily samples from suspects. This Briefing Paper discusses the background to and content of the Bill, and has been updated to reflect the Committee stage debate.

Brexit negotiations have resumed and this third phase will cover issues outstanding from the last phases - the Irish border in particular - and the framework for future EU-UK relations. This paper looks at how the EU and the UK envisage their relationship after Brexit.

Commons Library Committee Stage Report on the Data Protection Bill [HL] 2017-19

The Commission published a draft legal text of the withdrawal agreement in February 2018 and an updated draft on 15 March. On 19 March a third text was published which showed where there is full agreement between the EU and the UK, where there is agreement in principle and where there is no agreement. This paper looks at the recent draft, making reference to earlier drafts where relevant.

This Briefing Paper has been prepared for the second reading of the Data Protection Bill [HL] 2017-19 on 5 March 2018.

A Backbench Business Committee debate on Joint Enterprise is scheduled for Thursday 25 January 2018. The debate will be opened by Lucy Powell MP.

A debate on a Motion to approve European documents relating to the Schengen Information System is scheduled for Tuesday 19 December 2017.

Offenders who plead guilty in court will usually receive a reduced sentence compared to that they would have received had they been convicted following a not guilty plea. The maximum discount is currently one third. This note describes the rationale for reduced sentences for those who plead guilty.