Review of unduly lenient sentences

The scheme was established in the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and came into force in 1989. The purpose of the scheme is to correct gross errors.

This briefing applies to England and Wales.

Which offences can be referred under the scheme?

The Attorney General’s power to refer under the scheme only applies to serious offences: those that can only be dealt with by the Crown Court and some other offences specified in an order. The scheme has been extended over time to include more offences. There have been calls for the scheme to be expanded further.

How does the referral process work?

Anyone can ask the Attorney General to consider whether a sentence should be referred to the Court of Appeal as being unduly lenient, including:

• a victim
• a relative of a victim, or
• a member of the public

The Attorney General will consider whether the sentence is unduly lenient. If they believe it might be, then they refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal for review.

There is a 28-day time limit after sentencing within which the Attorney General can refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal. Changes made by the Victims and Courts Act 2026 mean that when the Attorney General receives a request in the last 14 days of the 28-day period, they can refer the sentence within 14 days from the day the request was received.

The Victims and Courts Act 2026 also provides that the Court of Appeal may allow the Attorney General to make a referral after these time limits where it is satisfied that the request for referral comes from a victim (or a bereaved close family member) within six months of the day on which sentence is passed. This change has not yet been brought into force.

If the Court of Appeal agrees that a sentence is unduly lenient then it may increase the sentence. The Court of Appeal will only find a sentence to be unduly lenient where it falls outside the range of sentences which the judge, applying their mind to all the relevant factors, could reasonably consider appropriate.

Law Commission review

The Law Commission is currently reviewing the law on criminal appeals. As part of this project, it is considering whether the Attorney General’s powers to refer to the Court of Appeal are adequate and appropriate. The government has said it will consider the Law Commission’s final recommendations on reform of the scheme.