SINGAPORE - A new advisory panel will be set up to achieve greater consistency in sentencing, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam announced in Parliament on Friday (March 5).

The key function of the panel will be to issue publicly available sentencing guidelines that will be "persuasive" but not binding on the courts, he said.

In coming to this decision, Mr Shanmugam said his ministries studied the experience in other jurisdictions, namely England, Wales and Scotland.

"We noted that the formation of a sentencing body that promulgates sentencing guidelines can be useful. It can enable proactive publication of guidelines to pre-empt or address areas of concern," he said.

He said the guidelines will also provide greater clarity to the public about the likely sentence and the relevant factors to be considered in sentencing.

For instance, if the panel decides to issue guidelines for a hurt-related offence, it can set out a framework of different sentencing bands, based on the twin factors of harm and culpability.

The framework can also include relevant aggravating and mitigating factors to be considered in sentencing.

Mr Shanmugam said the panel is expected to be an inter-agency committee, comprising stakeholders from the criminal justice system, including judges, the Attorney-General's Chambers, the Home Affairs Ministry and the police force.

More details will be announced later.

Currently, sentencing guidelines are issued in the form of court judgments.