Order and Rules

(The law underpinning the Commissioners)

The legislation in question was the Life Sentences (Northern Ireland) Order 2001 ("the Order") and the Life Sentence Review Commissioners' Rules 2001 ("the Rules"). The Order was approved by, and the Rules laid before, Parliament in July 2001 and both came into force on 8th October 2001.

The principal provisions of the Order provide for:

• the appointment of Commissioners, one of whom shall be Chairman;
• the Commissioners to advise the Secretary of State on any matter referred to them by him connected with the release or recall of life sentence prisoners;
• the setting by the court of a relevant period, or 'tariff', as the period of the sentence to be completed to satisfy retribution and deterrence before review for release;
• the power of the Commissioners to direct a prisoner's release on licence if continued detention is not required for the protection of the public;
• the attachment by the Secretary of State of conditions to the release licence, in accordance with recommendations of the Commissioners;
• the consideration by the Commissioners of such recalls and their power to direct the release of recalled prisoners; and
• arrangements for the setting of tariffs for prisoners already serving life sentences.

The Rules set out in detail the procedures that apply where the Secretary of State seeks a formal direction from the Commissioners regarding a prisoner's release or recall. They provide, in particular, for:

• the appointment by the Chairman of a panel of three Commissioners to consider each case (wherever practicable, one panel member should be legally qualified and another a psychiatrist or psychologist);
• the representation of the prisoner and the Secretary of State;
• the submission of information and reports by the Secretary of State and of further evidence by the prisoner;
• the holding of an oral hearing to consider the prisoner's case and the procedure for such hearings (including the attendance of witnesses);
• time limits within which notifications and responses must be made;
• the giving of procedural directions by the panel and the consideration of appeals against such directions; and
• the withholding, in specified circumstances, of particular items of evidence from the prisoner, or the prisoner and his representative, and, in the latter event, the appointment by the Attorney General of a special advocate to represent the prisoner's interests.