INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY

Who Are We?

In March 2000, the report of the Review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland recommended that an independent body should make decisions on the release of all life sentence prisoners. The Life Sentence Review Commissioners form that independent body and were appointed in October 2001.

Background

The review concluded that the existing procedures for discretionary life sentence prisoners and those sentenced to detention at the Secretary of State's pleasure could be deemed inconsistent with the requirements of the Human Rights Act. They were based on advice on the suitability of the prisoner for release being given to the Secretary of State by the Life Sentence Review Board, a non-statutory body consisting largely of senior officials of the Northern Ireland Office.

It was considered that compliance with the Human Rights Act would require that, once the punitive element of the sentence had been completed, each prisoner should have his or her case reviewed periodically by a judicial body. To have judicial character, the body would need to be independent of the executive (and of the parties concerned); impartial; and able to give a legally binding direction regarding the prisoner's release.

The Government accepted this recommendation and brought forward legislation to require all life sentence prisoner to have the punitive element of their sentence judicially determined and their suitability for release independently assessed and directed at the appropriate time by an independent body of judicial character.