Sentencing Council guideline is a structure, not a straitjacket

摘要

In this legal casenote, we look at the decision of the Court of Appeal to reduce a fine imposed on Whirlpool UK Appliances from ￡700,000 to ￡300,000!. The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge's fine was "manifestly excessive", given the range of fines set out for large organisations in the Sentencing Council's 2016 definitive guideline on health and safety offences (HSB 445 p.19).