Criminal Justice Act 2003

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 made a number of changes related to the conduct of criminal trials in England and Wales and to a lesser extent in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Tony Blair dubbed this act a "victim's justice bill", an effort to rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the victim. However the Act has been criticised on civil liberties grounds.

Part 12, Chapter 1, Section 146 allows for sentences to be increased in the case of crimes motivated by hostility on the grounds of sexual oritentation or disability. This provision was used in the case of the killers of Ian Baynham and Jody Dobrowski.