Any Excuse for Certainty: English Perspectives on Defence of 'Reasonable Excuse'

Newman, Christopher and Middleton, Ben (2010) Any Excuse for Certainty: English Perspectives on Defence of 'Reasonable Excuse'. The Journal of Criminal Law, 74 (5). pp. 472-486. ISSN 0022-0183

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Abstract

This article examines the operation of the defence of reasonable excuse within the English legal system through the prism of two distinct offences—Terrorism Act 2000, s. 58 and Public Order Act 1986, s. 5. It is contended that legislative ambiguity in the drafting of these provisions has given the English judiciary excessive latitude in determining the scope of this defence, which has led to dangerous uncertainty in this area. The discussion draws upon recent jurisprudence in order to establish areas of commonality and highlight areas of inconsistency in judicial application. The authors conclude that legislative action by the UK Parliament is required, otherwise there will continue to be no clear understanding as to what constitutes a reasonable excuse within English law.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Criminal law, Defences, Terrorism offences, Public order, Reasonableness
Subjects:	M100 Law by area M200 Law by Topic
Department:	Faculties > Business and Law > Northumbria Law School
Depositing User:	Becky Skoyles
Date Deposited:	22 Mar 2018 12:22
Last Modified:	10 Oct 2019 22:30
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/33831

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