Commentary on Sections Part 12 - Sentencing Chapter 1: General provisions about sentencing Section 174: Duty to give reasons for, and explain effect of, sentence
491.This section imposes a general statutory duty on courts to give reasons for, and explain the effect of, the sentence passed. In doing so, it seeks to bring together in a single provision many of the obligations on a Court to give reasons when passing sentence which are currently scattered across sentencing legislation.
492.Subsection (1) requires a Court to explain its reasons for deciding on the sentence to be passed but to do so in non-technical terms. The aim is to enable the offender and other interested parties to understand why this particular sentence was chosen. The Court will also be under an obligation to explain to the offender how the sentence is structured, what the sentence requires him to do, what will happen if it is not done and any power that exists to vary or review the sentence.
493.Subsection (2) extends the obligation to give reasons stated in subsection (1) by setting out certain matters that have to be dealt with. Where the Sentencing Guidelines Council has issued definitive guidelines relevant to the sentence, and the Court departs from them it must give reasons for doing so. In the case of a custodial sentence or a community sentence, the court must explain why it regards the offence as being sufficiently serious to warrant such a sentence. Where the Court reduces a sentence on account of a guilty plea, that fact must be included in the reasons, as must any other aggravating or mitigating factors relevant to the sentencing decision which the Court regarded as being of particular importance.
494.Subsection (3) excludes from the obligation to give reasons those cases where the sentence is fixed by law (a separate duty to give reasons in relation to such sentences being made by section 270) or falls to be imposed under the provisions of sections 110 and 111 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act, and section 51A of the Firearms Act.
495.Subsection (4)provides the Secretary of State with an order-making power to confer exemptions from the duty to give reasons for and explain the effect of the sentence passed. He may also prescribe cases in which the reasons or explanation may be given in the absence of the offender. Subsection (5) requires a magistrates’ court which passes a custodial sentence to ensure that the reason required under subsection (1) should be recorded on the warrant authorising the commitment of the offender and also entered in the court register.