• CRIMINAL

England and Wales Court of Appeals

Regina Vs. Appleby

Criminal - Offence of Manslaughter - Manslaughter arising from unlawful act - Sentencing guidelines for said offence - Considerations before court for sentencing of Manslaughter - Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 143

Held, in cases of manslaughter when notwithstanding that the defendant intended neither to kill nor to cause the deceased grievous bodily harm, he was convicted of manslaughter on the basis that the death was consequent on an act of unlawful violence. If a defendant was convicted of manslaughter the consequences had to be treated as if they were unintentional and unintended. The question to be addressed was the impact of recent criminal justice legislation. Section 143(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 focused significant importance in the sentencing process on the consequences of every offence. This was a new statutory provision which expressly required that both the offender's culpability and the consequences, actual or potential, intended or foreseen of the crime should be expressly addressed in the sentencing decision. In manslaughter culpability might be relatively low, but the harm caused was always at the highest level.

Therefore, taken altogether the recent changes in the legislative structures led to the inevitable conclusion that crimes which resulted in death should be treated more seriously, not so as to equate the sentencing in unlawful act manslaughter with the sentence levels suggested for murder in Sch 21 to the 2003 Act, but so as to ensure that the increased focus on the fact that a victim had died in consequence of an unlawful act of violence, even where the conviction was for manslaughter, should, in accordance with the legislative intention, be given greater weight.

England Wales High Court of Justice

B Vs. I

Criminal -Forced Marriage - Marriage of Plaintiff who is Bangladeshi woman solemnized without her consent in Bangladesh - Upon return to UK, Plaintiff seeks declaration that marriage not recognized in England and Wales - Forced Marriages Act

Held, it is a matter of judicial knowledge that a number of women within the Bangladeshi community are subjected to forced marriage. In order to prevent that from occurring, parliament recently passed the Forced Marriages Act. Forced marriage has a number of consequences, which go beyond the ceremony itself and the plaintiff in this case is but an example of what can happen to a young woman who is forced into marriage against her will. Therefore, declaration which is sought is made i.e. in this case there never was a marriage which is capable of recognition in this jurisdiction.