Section 31 — Sentencing Act 2002: General requirement to give reasons

31 General requirement to give reasons (1) A court must give reasons in open court— (a) for the imposition of a sentence or for any other means of dealing with the offender; and (b) for the making of an order under Part 2 . (1A) (2) The reasons may be given under this section with whatever level of particularity is appropriate to the particular case. (3) Nothing in this section limits any other provision of this or any other enactment that requires a court to give reasons. (4) The fact that a court, in giving reasons in a particular case, does not mention a particular principle in section 8 or a particular factor in section 9 or a consideration under section 10 or section 11 is not in itself grounds for an appeal against a sentence imposed or an order made in that case.