Courts, Sentencing and Justice in a Changing Political and Managerial Context

This article examines the main developments over the past quarter of a century concerning courts and the sentencing of offenders. It does so in terms of an analysis of shifting political and managerial perspectives in criminal justice and tracks the twin changes, on the one hand, from post-war consensus on sentencing to the more populist stance of politicians towards the end of the 20th century and, on the other, towards a more managerialist approach in reorganizing and running the courts. A key issue identified here is the steady encroachment by an increasingly influential executive on judicial independence and the article concludes by considering prospects for the future in this regard.