Criminal Justice, Offender Management, Sentencing and Domestic Abuse

The Department of Home Affairs consulted with the public via the Consultation Hub between 25 June 2018 and 20 August 2018 on three Bills that arose from the Criminal Justice Strategy [GD 0061/12], which was published, consulted upon and then received at the December 2012 sitting of Tynwald. 

The purpose of the consultation was to implement the Criminal Justice Strategy and also to further direct the modernisation of criminal justice in the Isle of Man.
 

In total 58 responses were received: 12% of the responses were from organisations, and 88% were from private individuals:

16 people gave their permission to publish their responses in full.  37 people gave their permission to publish anonymously.   5 people did not give their permission to publish their responses

A breakdown of the responses given is provided in the Consultation Feedback document found below.

The Department was grateful for the responses received and carefully reviewed and considered them.   All the views expressed helped the Department to determine the way to take the Bills forward which was as follows:

Independence of the Judiciary

The Department prepared, and with the approval of Council of Ministers, brought the Council of Ministers (Amendment) Bill forward into the legislative branches.  This Bill proposed to insert two new sections into the Council of Minister Act 1990 - 6A Duty of Council of Ministers to uphold and support rule of law and 6B Guarantee of continued judicial independence.  The Bill received Royal Assent on 16 July 2019 (becoming law on 1st August 2019).

Diversion of Offenders and Domestic Bill

In relation to diversion of offenders from the Courts and fixed-penalty notices (FPN), the Department has reviewed the responses and the suggestions have been considered.   For the number who supported the idea for the list to include the possession of cannabis (for personal use), this will be forwarded to the Substance Misuse Strategic Group for consideration.

The importance of providing the victim “a voice” in the criminal justice system, within a specified time, when determining how to deal with an offender is important.   However, due to the nature of some offences, it is not always possible to guarantee being able to do so within a specified time period.   The Department will make provision to enable it to address this matter through the required code of practice.   

The Department prepared, and with the approval of Council of Ministers, brought the Domestic Abuse Bill 2019 forward into the legislative branches.   This Bill contains, in addition to other matters an offence concerning coercive and controlling behaviour along with a maximum sentence that may be imposed of 14 years custody for abusive behaviour and for coercive and controlling behaviour (rather than 5 years).  The Department has also included provision for Domestic Abuse Prevention Notices/Orders which will enable the Police and the Courts to take a range of measures or actions with the purpose of addressing any particular situation. This Bill is currently being considered by the Legislative Council following its passage through the House of Keys where it was amended.

Criminal Justice Board, Live Links in Court Proceedings, Bail and the Enforcement of Fines

The proposal to place the Criminal Justice Board on a statutory basis is considered an important measure in terms of driving forward the Criminal Justice Strategy.  It is also intended that appointments to that Board will be made by the Department within future plans however the terms of reference of the Board will be such as to not affect, or give the appearance of affecting, the independence of the judiciary.   

In respect of amendments to ensure financial penalties may be enforced in the same way as fines imposed by a court of law, through non-payment, this will default either to custody or a community penalty being imposed by the offender.   It is of course, the view that a person who is issued with a fixed penalty notice will wish to discharge their liability for criminal prosecution by paying the financial penalty well within the time allotted for such payment.   

By addressing the offences of domestic abuse by way of a separate Bill, the live links, bail and other measures are intended to be brought forward within a different future Bill.