Claire Brader

This government bill seeks to increase awareness of domestic abuse, strengthen support for victims and improve the effectiveness of the justice system. The bill includes provisions on several areas. It includes a new definition of domestic abuse, extra protection for victims and witnesses in court, and codifies the principle that consent to offences involving violent or abusive behaviour is not a defence.

The use and effectiveness of short prison sentences of under 12 months has been debated in recent years. This article discusses calls for reform of short prison sentences, in addition to the Government’s commitments in this area. Short prison sentences are due to be the subject of an oral question in the House of Lords on 29 June 2020.

This Law Commission bill seeks to consolidate existing sentencing legislation into a single sentencing statute. The Sentencing Bill is a consolidation bill that will introduce the sentencing code. The aim of the code is to provide a clear and comprehensive source of sentencing procedure legislation for the public, the judiciary and practitioners.

The law on abortion in Northern Ireland changed on 22 October 2019 following the enactment of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019. The Act required the UK Government to introduce regulations that would provide lawful access to abortion services and repeal certain offences relating to abortion in Northern Ireland. This article discusses the Government’s statutory instrument that would introduce such regulations.

Following recent terrorist attacks in the UK, discussion has increased about deradicalisation programmes in UK prisons. This article discusses what deradicalisation programmes are, the effectiveness of the programmes, and the Government’s recent commitments to tackle terrorism.

Judicial review involves a judge reviewing the lawfulness of a decision that has been made by a public body. Following recent high profile judicial review cases, discussions continue to increase about the potential for the Government to review the judicial review process. This article looks at what judicial review is, in addition to recent discussions about the Government’s intentions in this area.

Farm businesses receive direct payments based on the amount of agricultural land that they maintain. Farmers receive payments if they meet certain requirements, including crop diversification requirements. This articles discusses what direct payments are, in addition to the Government’s statutory instrument that would set aside the requirements to qualify for direct payments for 2020.

CRISPR (clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a genome editing tool. Scientists continue to research the potential uses of CRISPR technology. The coronavirus pandemic has seen an increase in the demand for diagnostic testing. This article discusses what CRISPR is and its potential role in diagnostics.

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) provides a list of rights that signatory member states have committed to respect. Only member states of the Council of Europe are permitted sign up to the ECHR. There are currently 47 member states signed up, including the UK. The Human Rights Act 1998 enables UK nationals to rely on ECHR rights before UK courts. This article discusses what the ECHR is and the future relationship between the UK and the ECHR following the UK’s departure from the European Union.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading and remaining stages of the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill scheduled to take place in the House of Lords on 24 February 2020.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading in the House of Lords of the Access to Palliative Care and Treatment of Children Bill [HL], scheduled to take place on 7 February 2020.

This House of Lords Library Briefing contains a selection of material relevant for the forthcoming question for short debate on the improvement of care offered to sufferers of eating disorders.