Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 247A

Restricted eligibility for release on licence of terrorist prisoners

Part 12 Sentencing

(1) This section applies to a prisoner (a “terrorist prisoner”) who—

(a)is serving a fixed-term sentence imposed (whether before or after this section comes into force) in respect of an offence within subsection (2), and

(b)has not been released on licence.

(2)An offence is within this subsection ([F370 whenever it was committedF370] ) if—

[F371 (a)it is specified in Part 1 or 2 of Schedule 19ZA (terrorism offences punishable with imprisonment for life or for more than two years),F371]

[F372 (b)it is a service offence as respects which the corresponding civil offence is so specified, or

(c)it was determined to have a terrorist connection.F372]

[F373 (2A)Subsections (3) to (5) apply unless the terrorist prisoner's sentence was imposed—

(a)under section 226A or 226B or under section 254, 266, 268A, 279 or 282A of the Sentencing Code (extended sentence or serious terrorism sentence for dangerous offenders),

(b)on or after the day on which section 27 of the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 comes into force, and

(c)in respect of an offence that—

(i)is specified in Part 1 of Schedule 19ZA (terrorism offences punishable with imprisonment for life),

(ii)is a service offence as respects which the corresponding civil offence is so specified,

(iii)is specified in Part 3 of that Schedule (other offences punishable with imprisonment for life) and was determined to have a terrorist connection, or

(iv)is a service offence as respects which the corresponding civil offence is so specified, and was determined to have a terrorist connection.F373]

(3)It is the duty of the Secretary of State to refer the case of a terrorist prisoner to the Board—

(a)as soon as the prisoner has served the requisite custodial period, and

(b)where there has been a previous reference of the prisoner's case to the Board under this subsection and the Board did not direct the prisoner's release, no later than the second anniversary of the disposal of that reference.

(4)It is the duty of the Secretary of State to release a terrorist prisoner on licence as soon as—

(a)the prisoner has served the requisite custodial period, and

(b)the Board has directed the release of the prisoner under this section.

(5)The Board must not give a direction under subsection (4) unless—

(a)the Secretary of State has referred the terrorist prisoner's case to the Board, and

(b)the Board is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined.

(6)Subsection (7) applies where the terrorist prisoner is serving a sentence imposed under section 226A, 226B, 227, 228 or 236A [F374 or under section [F375 252A,F375] 254, 265, 266, [F376 268A, 278, 279 or 282AF376] of the Sentencing CodeF374] .

(7)It is the duty of the Secretary of State to release the terrorist prisoner on licence under this section as soon as the prisoner has served the appropriate custodial term (see sections [F377 255A toF377] 255C for provision about the re-release of a person who has been recalled under section 254).

[F378 (7A)For the purposes of this section, an offence was determined to have a terrorist connection if it was—

(a)determined to have a terrorist connection under—

(i)section 69 of the Sentencing Code (including as applied by section 238(6) of the Armed Forces Act 2006),

(ii)section 30 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (in the case of an offender sentenced in England and Wales before the Sentencing Code applied, or an offender sentenced in Northern Ireland but now subject to the provisions of this Chapter), or

(iii)section 32 of that Act (in the case of a person sentenced for a service offence before the Sentencing Code applied), or

(b)proved to have been aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection under section 31 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (in the case of an offender sentenced in Scotland but now subject to the provisions of this Chapter).F378]

(8)For the purposes of this section—

  • “the appropriate custodial term”, in relation to a sentence imposed under section 226A, 226B, 227, 228 or 236A, [F379 or under section [F380 252A, F380] 254, 265, 266, [F381 268A, 278, 279 or 282A F381] of the Sentencing Code, F379] means the term determined as such by the court under that provision;

  • “the requisite custodial period” means—

    (a)

    in relation to a person serving one sentence imposed under section 226A, 226B, 227, 228, or 236A, [F379 or under section [F380 252A,F380] 254, 265, 266, 278 or 279 of the Sentencing Code,F379] two-thirds of the appropriate custodial term,

    (b)

    in relation to a person serving one sentence of any other kind, two-thirds of the sentence, and

    (c)

    in relation to a person serving two or more concurrent or consecutive sentences, the period determined under sections 263(2) and [F382 264(2B), (2D) or (2E)F382] ;

  • “service offence”, [F383 and “corresponding civil offence” F383] have the same meanings as in the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (see section 95 of that Act ).

(9)For the purposes of this section, a reference of a terrorist prisoner's case to the Board disposed of before the day on which this section comes into force is to be treated as if it was made (and disposed of) under subsection (3) if—

(a)it was made under section 244A(2)(b) and disposed of at a time when the prisoner had served the requisite custodial [F384 periodF384] (within the meaning of this section, not section 244A), or

(b)it was made under section 246A(4).

(10)Nothing in this section affects the duty of the Secretary of State to release a person whose release has been directed by the Board before this section comes into force.

[F385 (10A)In the case of a prisoner to whom this section applies as a result of the amendments made by sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 45 of Schedule 13 to the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021, the references in subsections (9) and (10) to the date on which this section comes into force are to be read as references to the date on which that sub-paragraph comes into force.F385]

[F386 (10B)In the case of a prisoner to whom this section applies as a result of the amendments made by paragraph 3 of Schedule 27 to the Crime and Policing Act 2026, the references in subsections (9) and (10) to the date on which this section comes into force are to be read as references to the date on which that paragraph comes into force.F386]

(11)This section is subject to paragraphs 5, 17 and 19 of Schedule 20B (transitional cases).F369]

Definitions used in section 247A 9

prisoner

(2) In this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, “prisoner” includes a person serving a sentence falling within subsection (1)(b); and “prison” includes any place where a person serving such a sentence is liable to be detained.

Defined in s.237(2) · see it in the full Act

“prison” and “prisoner” are to be read in accordance with section 237(2);

Defined in s.268(1) · see it in the full Act
fixed-term sentence

and “fixed-term sentence” means a sentence falling within paragraph (a) or (b).

Defined in s.237(1) · see it in the full Act

“fixed-term prisoner” and “fixed-term sentence” have the meaning given by section 237(1) (as extended by section 237(1B));

Defined in s.268(1) · see it in the full Act
licence

“licence” means a licence under Chapter 6;

Defined in s.305(1) · see it in the full Act
service offence

and in paragraph (b) “service offence” and “corresponding civil offence” have the same meanings as in the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (see section 95 of that Act ).

Defined in s.327(4F) · see it in the full Act
corresponding civil offence

and in paragraph (b) “service offence” and “corresponding civil offence” have the same meanings as in the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (see section 95 of that Act ).

Defined in s.327(4F) · see it in the full Act
the Board

“the Board” means the Parole Board;

Defined in s.268(1) · see it in the full Act
the requisite custodial period

(1A) In this Chapter, “the requisite custodial period” means (except where it has the meaning given by section 247A(8)) —

(a)in relation to a person serving an extended sentence imposed under section 226A or 226B or under section 254, 266 or 279 of the Sentencing Code , the requisite custodial period for the purposes of section 246A;

(b)in relation to a person serving an extended sentence imposed under section 227 or 228, the requisite custodial period for the purposes of section 247;

(c)in relation to a person serving a sentence imposed under section 236A or under section 252A, 265 or 278 of the Sentencing Code , the requisite custodial period for the purposes of section 244A;

(ca)in relation to a prisoner whose case has been referred to the Parole Board under section 244ZB, the requisite custodial period for the purposes of section 244ZC;

(d)in relation to any other fixed-term prisoner, the requisite custodial period for the purposes of section 243A , 244 or 244ZA (as appropriate).

Defined in s.268(1A) · see it in the full Act
court

“court” (without more), except in Chapter 7, does not include a service court , but this does not apply where a contrary intention appears from any provision of the Armed Forces Act 2006 ;

Defined in s.305(1) · see it in the full Act
the court

(2) In relation to such an application or reference, any reference to “the court” in section 269(2) to (5) and Schedule 21 is to be read as a reference to the High Court.

Defined in Sch.22 para.11(2) · see it in the full Act

Cases considering section 247A 7

REGINA v BEN JOHN

[2022] EWCA Crim 54 · 19 January 2022

Applies the terrorist-prisoner release provision with section 244A to identify the two-thirds requisite custodial period and Parole Board process. (see para [21])

Shaikh & Anor, R. (Rev 2)

[2021] EWCA Crim 45 · 21 January 2021Limits

Section 247A created a two-thirds release point for specified terrorist offenders serving non-life sentences. Its separate status and exclusion from section 244(1) meant that it did not alter the statutory basis for calculating these life-sentence minimum terms. (see paras [35]-[36]; [49]-[53])

Scothern v R

[2020] EWCA Crim 1540 · 20 November 2020Limits

Section 247A restricts release for terrorist prisoners serving fixed-term sentences. The court held that it did not apply to a detention and training order, which materially affected the proper comparison with the sentence available when the offence was committed (see paras [36]-[49]; [54]-[57]). The court treated the fixed-term-sentence requirement in section 247A(1)(a) as a condition of the regime’s application. Since a detention and training order is not such a sentence, the regime does not apply to it (see paras [40]-[44]). The court confirmed that the appellant’s offence fell within the listed terrorism offences. Section 247A therefore applied to his actual fixed-term sentence of detention in a Young Offenders’ Institution (see para [38]). The court rejected the contention that the broad wording of section 247A(8)(b) brought detention and training orders within the regime. The threshold in section 247A(1)(a), read with section 237(1), remained controlling (see paras [40]-[44]).

What each judgment says about section 247A is in the case-law panel in the full Act.

Amendments and notes

18 notes from legislation.gov.uk

Amendments

  1. F369S. 247A inserted (E.W.) (26.2.2020) by Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Act 2020 (c. 3), ss. 1(2), 10(4)
  2. F370Words in s. 247A(2) substituted (30.4.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(1)(i), Sch. 13 para. 45(2)(a)(i)
  3. F371S. 247A(2)(a) substituted (29.6.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), ss. 27(2)(a), 50(2)(n)
  4. F372S. 247A(2)(b)(c) substituted (30.4.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(1)(i), Sch. 13 para. 45(2)(a)(ii)
  5. F373S. 247A(2A) inserted (29.6.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), ss. 27(2)(b), 50(2)(n)
  6. F374Words in s. 247A(6) inserted (1.12.2020) by Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), s. 416(1), Sch. 24 para. 226(3) (with Sch. 27); S.I. 2020/1236, reg. 2
  7. F375Word in s. 247A(6) inserted (30.4.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(1)(i), Sch. 13 para. 21(4)(a)
  8. F376Words in s. 247A(6) substituted (29.6.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(2)(v), Sch. 13 para. 9(4)(a)
  9. F377Words in s. 247A(7) substituted (31.3.2026 for specified purposes and otherwise coming into force in accordance with reg. 4 of the commencing S.I.) by Sentencing Act 2026 (c. 2), ss. 33(7), 49(1) (with s. 33(14)); S.I. 2026/86, regs. 3(b)(iv), 4 text substituted for certain specified purposes only, see the commentary. Note: in some cases two versions of the measure may be present: the original version and substituted version.
  10. F378S. 247A(7A) inserted (30.4.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(1)(i), Sch. 13 para. 45(2)(b)
  11. F379Words in s. 247A(8) inserted (1.12.2020) by Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), s. 416(1), Sch. 24 para. 226(4) (with Sch. 27); S.I. 2020/1236, reg. 2
  12. F380Word in s. 247A(8) inserted (30.4.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(1)(i), Sch. 13 para. 21(4)(b)
  13. F381Words in s. 247A(8) substituted (29.6.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(2)(v), Sch. 13 para. 9(4)(b)
  14. F382Words in s. 247A(8) substituted (28.6.2022) by Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (c. 32), ss. 144(8), 208(5)(p)
  15. F383Words in s. 247A(8) substituted (30.4.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(1)(i), Sch. 13 para. 45(2)(c)
  16. F384Word in s. 247A(9)(a) substituted (30.4.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(1)(i), Sch. 13 para. 45(2)(d)
  17. F385S. 247A(10A) inserted (30.4.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(1)(i), Sch. 13 para. 45(2)(e)
  18. F386S. 247A(10B) inserted (29.6.2026) by Crime and Policing Act 2026 (c. 20), s. 255(3)(l), Sch. 27 para. 3(2)