The appellant had been given a conditional discharge for possession of one indecent photograph of a child on his computer. He challenged being placed on the sex offenders’ register.
Held: The proceedings did not involve, or have as any part of their intrinsic purpose, the making by the court of any order to register, or the imposition of any sanction for failure to register. The duty to register and the statutory sanction for failure to register were both imposed independently by the 1997 Act itself. Any obligation to register was settled by the Act, and the judge had no power to order te defendant to be placed on the register. Since the judge’s order was made in excess of his powers, the house should only set aside the order and had no need to determine the appeal as such. The 2003 Act now envisaged specific arrangements for persons sentenced to a conditional or absolute discharge. However whilst the obligation to register arose on conviction, a later form of discharge might remove the need to register. The courts had been wrong to rule that the defendant was under an obligation to register where he was subject to a conditional discharge.
Judges:
Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, Lord Hoffmann, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, Lord Mance
Citations:
[2006] UKHL 1, Times 01-Feb-2006, [2006] 2 Cr App R (S) 62, [2006] 1 WLR 313, [2006] 1 All ER 887
Links:
Statutes:
Sex Offenders Act 1997, Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 12
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Cain HL 1985
The sentencing judge had exceeded his powers by making a criminal bankruptcy order. S40 appeared to deny a right of appeal against such an order.
Held: There is a strong presumption that except by specific provision the legislature will not . .
Appeal from – Regina v Longworth CACD 23-Jul-2004
The defendant had been convicted of possession of one indecent photograph of a child, and given a conditional discharge. He appealed being placed upon the sex offenders’ register.
Held: Despite s14(1) of the 2000 Act, the offence required a . .
Cited by:
Cited – Clarke v Regina CACD 12-Jun-2009
The defendant had pleaded guilty to concealing criminal property. He was conditionally discharged but also made subject to a confiscation order. He appealed saying that one could not be made if only a conditional discharge was imposed.
Held: . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 04 July 2022; Ref: scu.238140