Justice, Punishment and Rehabilitation in the UK Criminal Justice System

This report analyses the given case scenario of Anjem Choudary, who was convicted for supporting ISIS, and evaluates the effectiveness of the UK criminal justice system in dealing with justice, punishment, and rehabilitation of offenders. It covers various types of legal principles of justice and current issues of sentencing, rehabilitation in a contemporary society. The report also discusses the importance of rehabilitation, the role of the Prison Reform Trust, and the various programmes and interventions designed to reform and reintegrate offenders into society.

Unit 33 Justice
Punishment and
Rehabilitation

TABLES OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
The UK legal system is based on transformative approach to bring fundamental changes
in the criminal justice system. Major reforms have been taken place to provide safety and
security to an individual. There are various International Convention and treaties that secures the
legal and fundamental rights of the citizens and provide the punishment to an offender to
rehabilitate and reform them. The main purpose of sentencing imprisonment is to protect the
society from crime and to reduce recidivism. It is a fundamental and legal right of an individual
to access their right to justice to give them an opportunity must present their argument. The UK
common law is based on principle of equity that aims to provide fair, just and reasonable
criminal justice system (Calkin, 2021). The prison reform trust of UK is an independent body
that facilitates the effective prison system and conduct many various training programmes for the
offender to rehabilitate them and enhance their personal skill and knowledge to make them right
person for the society. This report will cover the given case scenario and analyse the
effectiveness of criminal justice process in dealing with justice, punishment, and rehabilitation of
offenders. Further, it will deal cover various types of legal principles of justice and current issue
of sentencing, rehabilitation in a contemporary society.
TASK
In a given case, Anjem Choudary is a social activist who was convicted for supporting ISIS.
He was sentenced imprisonment for five years and six months and release shortly. Many
restrictions had been imposed on him which includes ban on public speaking and his imposed
condition comes to an end just after release from prison. Mr. Choudary does not have any guilt
for his criminal act, and he considered himself as a 'prisoner of faith'.
According to this case scenario, the sentence of imprisonment given to the Anjem
Choudary is based on the reformative theory to influence the criminal mind and behaviour of the
offender. According to UK criminal justice system, id an individual commits any criminal act,
then State is responsible to impose punishment on them to deter them. Imprisonment is given in
the form of punishment in almost every nation to impose penal liability over the offenders and
government plays significant role in emphasising on importance of rehabilitation and
reintegration to satisfy the primary objective of imprisonment (Bailey, 2019). According to
Article 10.3 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 defines the

penitentiary system consist of lawful treatment with the prisoners that are important to reform
and rehabilitate the offender. They should be humanly treated, and their dignity and integrity
must be ensured in a prison. According to United Nations Standards Minimum Rules for
treatment of prisoners which is also known as Nelson Mandela Rules provides the fundamental
rules and standards to safeguard the personal integrity of the prisoners and impose duty on the
authorities to rehabilitate the offenders by offering them vocational training, work, and skill
development programmes to create human value and kindness in them.
The criminal law provides protection against the body, property, and State. The varieties
of sanction have been provided by the English legal system to punish the offenders. He
enforcement court provides the proper mechanism to consider the violation of right of the victim
and provides them effective remedy to secure their general interest. The criminal justice system
has two main objectives which includes reduce crime and dispense fair and effective justice to
promote faith over the legal system (Maguire and Raynor, 2019). This kind of approach brings
transparency in the legal system and help the victim to access their right to justice. Justice is the
fundamental principle of CJS which uphold the right of the citizens and treat them with fairness,
integrity, and respect. Criminal justice system deals with core fundamental principles which
includes prevents crime, protect the public from harm, support victim and their families, punish
offender and rehabilitate the prisoner to make them law abiding citizens of the society. The most
important independent body has been established known as Prison Reform Trust in the year
1981 which bring major reform to promote prisoner's human right, their conditions and promote
alternative mechanism to return them into the society. NHS has defined the various safety
standards to promote the life of prisoners in custody, ensure their mental health and create social
environment for them to avoid psychological disorder which may negatively affect them. The
restriction impose on Anjem Choudary was valid as he was a public speaker and it was important
for the State to ban on his meeting with public so, that he cannot harm the safety of other people.
But, punishment of seven years and six month was not enough for his guilty act and involvement
with ISIS shows his relationship with terrorists which may harm the sovereignty, integrity and
safety of the nation. In the criminal legal system, the burden of proof always lies on the
prosecution to prove the guilt of the defence. The evidence produce by the prosecution must be
prove beyond reasonable doubt. There is certain exception of the general rule, where onus of
proof lies with the defence must likely in the case of negligence (Ganapathy, 2018). The law-

making body provides all the preventive measure to safeguard all the rights of an individual. It is
believed that the society should be a safe place where people can live freely without any danger
and harm. The safety and security is always an issue of the government to effectively and
efficiently maintain the law and order in the society. The three tier of government regulates and
governs the activities and maintains the peace and integrity of the nation.
In order to justify a punishment, there are various approaches which was adopted to
punish the offender. Earlier, theory of retribution, Incapacitation, deterrence was applied to
punish the offender and set the example in the society for those who tried to commit similar
kinds of offences. However, rehabilitative approach was enforced to justify punishment. It aims
to influence the behaviour of the criminal and bring them back from in a civilized society by
conducting various training and vocational programme for them. According to Dawn Young,
stated that prison reform is basically a collective initiative that has been made to improve the
quality of life and condition of prison communities. These major reforms and establishment of
various International Convention has recognised the importance of new rules and standards to
secure the rights of the prisoners (Burke, Collett and McNeill, 2018). In the case of Vinter and
Others v. the United Kingdom 2013, The prisoner's right is the paramount objective of the State
to provide them proper assistance and rehabilitative provision to socially recognise them. There
are various kinds of sentence that can be imposed on the criminal depending on the nature and
intensity of crime. Sentence includes discharge from criminal liabilities, fine in monetary terms,
community sentence such as exclusion from society and custodial sentence through
imprisonment. In the case of Anjem Choudary, court was delivered the community and custodial
sentence on him by imposing restriction on his meeting with public. It is important for the
society to live in a safe and crime free environment to exercise all their inherent rights in a most
effective manner. This sentence is aimed to discourage the people from committing same kind of
offences. The sentence given in the case of Anjem was not enough to deter the offender from
imprisonment as he was not felt any regret for his criminal act and considered it as a prisoner of
faith.
The English legal system is based on common law and major amendment has
been taken place in the criminal code to identify the necessity to frame the legislation in relation
to rehabilitate the criminal offenders. The globalisation and modernization in UK tend to
increase the demand of the enforcement of penal provisions for the offender and deter the society

by imposing strict penalty over them. In the case of Dickson v. the United Kingdom [GC],
2007, it was held that every individual is entitled to exercise their right in accordance with law
and meet with their families and friends. The Court allowed the conjugal visit of the parties
along with certain restrictions. The purpose of imposing imprisonment of five years and six
months on the Anjem, has not achieved the objective of criminal justice system. This shows that
the central purpose of the CJS is to offer an efficient, effective, and reasonable legal system has
been failed to rehabilitate the offender (Anjem) as it is required to implement the rehabilitation
theory to transform the guilty mind of the Anjem by providing them various vocational and
training programme to him so, that he can understand the human values and dignity of the nation
by avoiding him into indulge in any criminal act.
The UK criminal justice system consists of three enforcing mechanism which includes the
police, court and rehabilitative centres which provide the corrective remedies to the offenders.
These three agencies help to deter the society and maintains law and order ion the society.
According to Rehabilitation of offender Act, 1974 provides supports to the offender by
rehabilitating them and creating employment opportunities to them to make them more
resourceful for the society. The rehabilitation of offenders is a fundamental source of criminal
justice system. It supports the offender and change their perception towards the society. This Act
aims to administer the criminal mind and influence them towards the skills and other kinds of
training that tends to change their knowledge and perception, provide corrective training to them
so that they cannot indulge in same kind of offences. The rehabilitation period of the convicted
person varies according to the nature and type of the offences they has committed. Once the
rehabilitation period is over, it is assumed that the person will never commit the offence. There
are few essential changes has been made under the Act of 1974, in the provision of section 139
and has extended the scope of the said Act by enhancing the punishment of custodial sentence
and period of rehabilitation. The new clause was inserted in the Act of 2012 that deals with the
legal aid, Sentencing and Punishment of offenders related legislation. The government has
continuously tried to establish strategy to reintegrate them towards the society (Møgster, 2022).
In the year 2020, UK government had made the proposal named ‘A Smarter Approach to
sentence’ that was based on key element to reform the offenders and provides a legal aid to them.
The ministry of justice provides the effective prison services to an offender to rehabilitate them.
The behaviour and attitude of offenders is influenced by making various intervention and

programmes for them. It gives an individual second chance to bring transformation in their
thoughts and beliefs and regret for the act they have committed against the person and property.
In the case of Hirst v. the United Kingdom [GC], 2005, the Court held that the prisoners are also
entitled to enjoy all their available fundamental rights as guaranteed by their unwritten
constitution and international Convention. They are not subjected to ill treatment by any of the
jail authorities as it would be considered as the violation of their fundamental rights. These
programmes are designed in such a way so, that many interpersonal and personal skill can be
enhanced of the offenders. Offending behaviour programmes was introduced by Correctional
Services Advice & Accredit ion Panel to govern the activities that take place in corrective
centres and promote the safety of life of offenders. In the case of DPP v. Brown (2018) IESC,
victim’s consent to harm them could not constitute a defence for the person who charge for the
offence that involves bodily harm. Social reintegration is essential to reduce the number of crime
rates and divert the offender from committing criminal acts. It is quite challenging to confine the
offender in a correctional institution, continuously creating barrier in providing crime free
society (Joseph, 2019). But many efforts have been continuously made to offer the better
services to offenders, to rehabilitate them and bring them back in the society, where they can
freely take part in social activities. The government authorities have been made many
alternatives to imprisonment as a mode of reducing the prisoner's populations.
The concept of human rights is wider that involves all the legal rights and fundamental
rights that are available to a person by birth. Similarly, offenders are also humans and must be
treated with same dignity. The enforcement bodies are working to provide them sentence for the
offence they have committed against person and property. Further, the human rights instruments
include universal Declaration of Human Rights, Standards Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
persons, Convention against Torture, and other Cruel, criminal justice Act, 2003 and lawful
practice has been made to implement plans and polices to favour the criminal justice system.
However, the English system secures the social, economic, and political rights of an individual.
In these last three decades, radical changes have been observed in the area of sentence and
corrections, largely impact the criminal justice system. An enormous growth of population and
globalisation has increased the scope of the English legal system. In the case of Campbell v. the
United Kingdom, 1992, prisoners is entitled to access legal advice to defend their case. The
Court held that prohibiting an offender from exercising legal rights may cause miscarriage of

justice. Also, it is the responsibility of the solicitors to maintain the confidentiality of information
among each other in order to secure his right to privacy. The varieties of serious crimes have
been increased due to advancement of technology that increased the stress of the government to
implement the proviso to avoid the crime rates in the UK. Many transformations have been taken
place to bring development in the criminal justice system which includes monitoring of offence
through various mechanism to oversee the action of the people (Heard and Padfield, 2022). The
current legal system successfully tackles the serious crime committed against women, child, and
other vulnerable group of persons. The law of England and Wales has published the strategic and
Action plan to reduce crime, protect public, enhance confidence of public to live with dignity
and integrity, facilitate the fair and just legal system. Digital CJS system is one of the latest
developments that has been made in the legal system of UK to tackle the serious crime and other
court procedures. It gives quick and fast response to the public whenever they are need and
required assistance of police authorities.
The conduct and behaviour with the prisoner's and all kinds of detainees are subjected to same
kind of human treatment and safety like other citizens. The International human right law
established the legal rules and standards to protect them from all kinds of torture, inhuman and ill
treatment that may infringe their right to life and personal liberty. The International provision of
ICCPR provides the effective remedies to the prisoners to lodge a complaint against those who
violates their legal and fundamental right. The serious of steps are involves in the criminal justice
system that begins from complaint and end with conviction of a person from corrective
measures. The enforcement bodies allow both the parties to prove the guilt and protect the
innocent people by providing them effective trial system. Access to justice is the core element of
every criminal justice system and offer the safe environment.
The public and public security is the paramount objective of every nation. The body
of rules and regulation govern the activities of the people to protect them from serious harm.
There are seven essential principles of public life are selflessness, integrity, accountability,
honesty, fairness, ethical and openness. The code of conduct and general principles is an
effective tool to influence the society and direct them to act in legal and ethical manner. Public
services involve such duty and obligation that are performed by the officials and higher
authorities to promote social welfare and social justice in the society (Casey, 2019). The rule of
law and separation of power impose the legal body to enforce the right of an individual to

contribute socially, economically and politically. The accessibility and effectiveness in the CJS
directly affect the growth and economy of the country, helps to make transparent decision for the
people. The policy making power is inseparable and provide solution to the emerging issues. In
the era of technological advancement and innovation, continuous rise in the crime rates is
stressful for the law-making body. The current legislative framework is not enough to address
these challenges. The ultimate goal of the UK government is to impart social justice by
describing the new set of principles that provides unconditional support and care to the people. In
order to provide justice to the general public, an ICCPR provides the legal right to all individual
to exercise their right to access their justice and present their solicitor to present their case in the
court of law. According to Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights and
Article 14 of ICCPR, defines the role of judiciary in playing crucial role within the nation to
create balance between the government and the citizens. Public prosecutors are the important
part of the criminal justice system and protects the rights of the people in most effective and fair
manner. According to the United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to legal aid in
Criminal justice systems, 2012 provides legal assistance to the needy people who wants to
represent their case before the Court. The UK criminal Justice system of UK is based on the rule
of law where all the authorities are responsible for implementing the legislation and enforcing
the legal rights of an individual. In the case of Airey v. Ireland 32 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) (1979),
The Court held that the Article 6 of the European Convention compels the State to ensure the
guidance of lawyer to the client in order to represent their case. The Court held that the English
law has recognised the right to access justice at lower cost to those who have not enough funds to
initiate legal action against other party. Many people are unable to raise their voice because of
poverty, lack of financial resources etc. (Wong, 2021). The UN is a statutory body that allows
the member states to develop strategic plans and programmes to make better administration of
legal justice system. There is one of the major issues arises before the State in relation to legal
representation and legal advice is cost of accessing their right to justice.

CONCLUSION
From this above report, it has been concluded that the UK criminal justice system us
unique and diversified. There are sources of law that provides wide protection to the
prisoners and detainees to secure their legal and human right. The English legal system is
based on the principle of natural justice and safeguard the society from serious harm and
crime by imposing penal statute that governs and regulate the society and punish the
offender from their wrongful act. The Universal Declaration of Human right aims to provide
the dignity, integrity, and respect of the citizens to ensure them all safety where they are free
to live with personal liberty. The criminal legal system punishes the offender and sentence
them so, that they will not repeat the same offence again. They also provide the
rehabilitation to the prisoners to influence their attitude and behaviour. There are various
accredited programmes and initiatives introduced by the government to reform them by
engaging into various skills and training programme to enhance their employment chance to
bring again in the society. The important legislation framework helps the State to deter the
society by imposing heavy penalties on the wrongdoer. Right to access justice and legal aid
is also a fundamental right that guarantees protection of law to all. The criminal law system
delivers justice to those who have been offender of committing crime and prison reform
trust also ensure the safety and security of the prisoners.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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