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ARTICLE · 05 MAY 2023

Confiscation Reform: Has The Law Commission Got It Right?

BCL Solicitors LLP
BCL Solicitors LLP
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In a 640-page final report on the topic in November 2022, the Law Commission has made 119 recommendations to reform the process and substance of the regime related to confiscation orders in England and Wales...

United KingdomCriminal Law
John Binns
John Binns
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In a 640-page final report on the topic in November 2022, the Law Commission has made 119 recommendations to reform the process and substance of the regime related to confiscation orders in England and Wales; a draft bill to implement those recommendations is reportedly imminent. BCL partner, John Binns analyses the report's background, its recommendations and the possible implications for criminal investigations in the future.

"Broadly speaking, its suggestions are practical and sensible in connection with the broader procedural aspects of the regime, but less so in connection with the substance of how the values of such orders are calculated."

'Tough on crime'

In policy terms, one of the main aims of the New Labour government that enacted the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) was to be (and to be seen as) 'tough on crime', including by ensuring that 'crime should not pay'. The confiscation regime in Part 2 is rightly recognised as deliberately draconian

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