consolidation and codification

• In some areas of law, there are a number of statutes which set out a small part of the total law. So consolidation aims to draw all the existing provisions into one act to make the law more accessible.
• The law commission produces about 5 consolidation bills per year, however, consolidation isn't always successful.
• For many years, the law on sentencing practice and procedure was contained in the following legislation:

  • The powers of criminal courts (sentencing act) 2000
  • The criminal justice and courts services act 2000
  • The Criminal Justice Act 2003
  • The Legal Aid ,Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

  However, the Sentencing Act 2020 has replaced sentencing and procedure from these acts by codifying them all.
• Codifiying refers to bringing together all law, be it statutory or through judicial precedent, on a topic into one single act of parliament.
• The intention of codification is to make the law more understandable, consistent and easier to fidn.
• The law comission worked on producing a sentencing code so that all the law on sentencing adult and young offenders is in one document, hence the sentencing act 2020.
• The sentencing code is concerned with sentencing procedure and does not introduce any new law or change any sentences, and has been in effect since October 1 2020