Up to six key bills will be announced by the government today as ministers seek to reform an "outmoded" criminal justice system.

The biggest shake-up of the justice system in living memory is set to trigger stiff parliamentary opposition.

While Commons backing for reform is assured, the home secretary is still smarting from a series of Lords defeats to flagship legislation in the last parliament.

Ministers will claim that Queen's Speech proposals for a Criminal Justice Bill, an Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, Extradition Bill, Sex Offences Bill and other reforms will tip the scales in favour of victims of crime.

Labour chairman, Dr John Reid, has trailed the measures as a long overdue move.

"We have to get a criminal justice system to become a victim's justice system," he said.

Tony Blair has promised a "real issue" approach to anti-social behaviour.

The prime minister believes that a crackdown on a range of sub-criminal activity - graffiti, litter, fly-tipping and so-called "yob culture" - are key vote winners.

"Crime and anti-social behaviour is a Labour issue. In many of the poorest parts of Britain, in many traditional Labour areas, it is the issue," he said on Sunday.

"However much schools and hospitals improve, if people walk out of their doors and are confronted by abuse, vandalism, anti-social behaviour, they will never feel secure or able to take advantage of new opportunities."

Boosted by the success of on-the-spot fines for street drunkenness, the government is to extend fixed penalties to a range of misdemeanours - from dropping chewing gum to nuisance noise.

Criminal justice proposals to scrap "double jeopardy" and restrict jury trials are set for a rough passage in the Lords.

Reforms to the sentencing system - with tougher jail terms for violent offenders and an expansion of community sentences - are not as likely to trigger a political battle.

But David Blunkett faces cabinet wrangles and a penny pinching chancellor over the roll-out of expensive rehabilitation and surveillance programmes.

Gordon Brown is said to be dismayed by the announcement of a "major independent review" of the prison system - a proposal "slipped into" later white paper drafts of the legislation.

Civil liberty campaigners will be watching to see whether Blunkett has moved away from plans to restrict jury trial beyond complex fraud cases, some youth cases and where there is a risk of intimidation.

Conservative and Lib Dem peers are set to oppose plans to ditch the "double jeopardy" rule and will mount a series of challenges to the legislation.

The move, recommended by Sir William McPherson in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence murder, means that defendants acquitted of crimes could face a re-trial if "compelling new evidence" comes to light.

Opposition MPs and peers are concerned that the reform could give the authorities the chance to "try and try again" to secure a conviction for suspects in unproven but high-profile cases.

Plans to disclose a suspect's previous convictions in court are also expected to trigger parliamentary dissent.

The length of sentences which can be meted out by magistrates will rise from six months to 12.

Critics say the move could lead to a significant increase to an already burgeoning prison population as magistrates adopt a tougher approach to sentencing.

Fast-track justice will underpin new extradition legislation.

But ministers have been warned that plans for an EU-wide arrest warrant will face tough opposition at Westminster.

The principle of "dual criminality" is to be scrapped, allowing the Home Office to surrender fugitives on the basis of offences that are not a crime under UK law.

Ministers insist that no one will be extradited for conduct committed in Britain which is not an offence under UK law and double jeopardy protections will still apply.

Despite ministerial assurances, the scope of the European warrant has set alarm bells ringing in the UK and across Europe.

Under the measure, EU citizens can be extradited immediately for a range of offences even if court procedures, legal definitions and penalties differ from country to country.

Opposition leaders have warned that the proposals will be gutted at Westminster.

The shadow home secretary, Oliver Letwin, has warned Blunkett that he would fight the measure all the way.

The Liberal Democrats have also raised concerns about the draft legislation.

Measures to reform Victorian sexual offences will be widely welcomed by MPs but could face opposition in the Lords.

A new Sex Offences Bill will scrap indecency laws that discriminate against homosexuals but will combine liberalisation with a tough approach elsewhere.

Laws to be withdrawn include those which make it illegal for men to have sex in public places - a practice known as cottaging.

The move could open Conservative wounds on the issue of homosexuality.

Some senior Tories have criticised the plans, saying they will make public parks and lavatories "no-go" areas for young heterosexual men.

Other measures will be billed as closing "loopholes" in existing laws.

One change may mean that being drunk or high on drugs rules out sex.

Sex crime reform is set to redefine consent in rape cases if the victim was drunk or high on drugs.

The move could enshrine a "drunk means no" policy in legislation and see a huge rise in the number of "date rape" cases coming before the courts.

Critics of the new approach believe the reform could lead to a rise in malicious allegations and cause confusion among late-night revellers.

And the Conservatives have signalled that they may oppose the shift.

Other aspects of the overhaul will be trailed by Blunkett as a foundation for the "toughest child protection laws in the world".

A tightened sex offenders register will see 18,500 people currently convicted of sex offences forced to report to the police every year rather than every five years.

Those convicted of child sex "tourism" overseas will be compelled to register on their return to the UK or face five years in jail - a move that is set to herald greater international cooperation to crackdown on perverts.