# Criminal Justice Act 1991, Section 36: Power to release prisoners on compassionate grounds.

Extent: E+W

(1) The Secretary of State may at any time release a short-term or long-term prisoner on licence if he is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist which justify the prisoner’s release on compassionate grounds.
(2) Before releasing a long-term . . . prisoner under subsection (1) above, the Secretary of State shall consult the Board, unless the circumstances are such as to render such consultation impracticable.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/53/section/36 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-act-1991/section-36
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.