§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Attorney-General (1) how many formal complaints about the behaviour of judges have been received in each of the last 10 years;
(2) how many complaints have been lodged against judges in the last five years; and how many were upheld.
§ The Attorney-GeneralCommunications about judicial decisions and behaviour take many different forms and it would not be possible to give a precise figure relating to complaints except at disproportionate expense. The large majority of complaints concern decisions made by judges, or remarks made in the course of their official duties. In such cases, it is constitutionally improper for the Lord Chancellor to comment, or to seek to intervene. Of the remainder, which relate to the conduct of judges, two such complaints in the past five years have led to the Lord Chancellor publicly reprimanding the judge.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Attorney-General what plans his Department has to monitor sentences passed by judges.
§ The Attorney-GeneralNeither the Lord Chancellor nor I have any plans to monitor sentences passed by judges. Within the statutory limits laid down by Parliament, sentencing is a matter for judicial discretion. Guidance on sentencing in particular classes of case is given from time to time by the Court of Appeal, criminal division, and notably in cases brought before it in the exercise of my power under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Data on the sentences passed by the courts are maintained by the Home Office.