Criminal Libel
Criminal libel is a legal term, of English origin, which may be used with one of two distinct meanings, in those common law jurisdictions where it is still used. It is an alternative name for the common law offence which is also known (in order to distinguish it from other offences of libel) as " defamatory libel" or, occasionally, as "criminal defamatory libel". It is also used as a collective term for all offences which consist of the publication of some prohibited matter in a libel (in permanent form), namely defamatory libel, seditious libel, blasphemous libel and obscene libel. The common law offences of seditious libel, defamatory libel, and obscene libel were abolished in England and Wales and Northern Ireland on 12 January 2010 when section 73 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 came into force, blasphemous libel having already been abolished in England and Wales on 8 July 2008 by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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English Law
English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, courts and Procedural law, procedures. The judiciary is judicial independence, independent, and legal principles like Procedural justice, fairness, equality before the law, and the right to a fair trial are foundational to the system. Principal elements Although the common law has, historically, been the foundation and prime source of English law, the most authoritative law is statutory legislation, which comprises Act of Parliament, Acts of Parliament, Statutory Instrument, regulations and by-laws. In the absence of any statutory law, the common law with its principle of ''stare decisis'' forms the residual source of law, based on judicial decisions, custom, and usage. Common law is made by sitting judges who apply both United Kingdom l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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England And Wales
England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is English law. The Welsh devolution, devolved Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ) – previously named the National Assembly for Wales – was created in 1999 under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of Self-governance, self-government in Wales. The powers of the legislature were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to pass Welsh law, its own laws, and the Act also formally separated the Welsh Government from the Senedd. There is currently no Devolved English parliament, equivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the parliament and government of the United Kingdom. History of jurisdiction During the Roman occupation of Britain, the area of presen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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LGBT Rights In Samoa
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Samoa face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBT residents. Sexual contact between men is illegal, punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment, but the law is not enforced. Samoan society tends to be very tolerant of being transgender, but not of homosexuality. It has a large transgender or "third gender" community called '' fa'afafine''. ''Fa'afafine'' are a recognised part of traditional Samoan customs, allowing for third gender people, in particular, to be accepted as they have always been a part of Samoan culture. Groups advocating for better representation of and the decriminalisation of homosexuality include the Samoa Fa'afafine Association, which sees anti-gay laws as hindering the full incorporation of both ''fa'afafine'' and gay and lesbian Samoans into society. Additionally, in 2011, Samoa signed the " joint statement on ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orienta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono and Apolima), and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including the Aleipata Islands (Nuʻutele, Nuʻulua, Fanuatapu and Namua). Samoa is located west of American Samoa, northeast of Tonga, northeast of Fiji, east of Wallis and Futuna, southeast of Tuvalu, south of Tokelau, southwest of Hawaii, and northwest of Niue. The capital and largest city is Apia. The Lapita culture, Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Culture of Samoa, Samoan cultural identity. Samoa is a Unitary state, unitary Parliamentary system, parliamentary democracy with 11 Districts of Samoa, administrative divisions. It is a sovereign state and a membe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Racial And Religious Hatred Act 2006
The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 (c. 1) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which creates an offence in England and Wales of inciting hatred against a person on the grounds of their religion. The Act was the Labour Government's third attempt to bring in this offence: provisions were originally included as part of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill in 2001, but were dropped after objections from the House of Lords. The measure was again brought forward as part of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill in 2004-5, but was again dropped in order to get the body of that Bill passed before the 2005 general election. The Act is notable because two amendments made in the House of Lords failed to be overturned by the Government in the House of Commons. Most of the Act came into force on 1 October 2007. Previous attempts at legislation After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the Government in Britain brought forward the Anti-Terrorism, C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Criminal Justice And Immigration Act 2008
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (c. 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes significant changes in many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In particular, it changes the law relating to custodial sentences and the early release of prisoners to reduce prison overcrowding, which reached crisis levels in 2008. It also reduces the right of prison officers to take industrial action, and changed the law on the deportation of foreign criminals. It received royal assent on 8 May 2008, but most of its provisions came into force on various later dates. Many sections came into force on 14 July 2008. Specific provisions Sentencing Non-custodial sentences Section 1 of the Act provides a comprehensive list of new community orders, called ''youth rehabilitation orders,'' which can be imposed on offenders aged under 18. They can only be imposed if the offence is imprisonabl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Coroners And Justice Act 2009
The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (c. 25) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the law on coroners and criminal justice in England and Wales. Among its provisions are: *Preventing criminals from profiting from publications about their crimes *Abolishing the anachronistic offences of sedition and seditious, defamatory and obscene libel *Re-enacting the provisions of the emergency Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Act 2008 so that the courts may continue to grant anonymity to vulnerable or intimidated witnesses where this is consistent with a defendant's right to a fair trial *Criminalising possession of cartoon pornographic images depicting both minors as well as adults where the "predominant impression conveyed" is that the individual (being depicted), is that of a child. *Criminalising the holding of someone in slavery or servitude, or requiring them to perform forced or compulsory labour *Provision for the abolition of the office of Corone ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, an open border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, its population was 1,903,175, making up around 3% of the Demographics of the United Kingdom#Population, UK's population and 27% of the population on the island of Ireland#Demographics, Ireland. The Northern Ireland Assembly, established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, holds responsibility for a range of Devolution, devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the Government of the United Kingdom, UK Government. The government of Northern Ireland cooperates with the government of Ireland in several areas under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. The Republic of Ireland ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Law Commission (England And Wales)
In England and Wales the Law Commission () is an independent law commission set up by Parliament by the Law Commissions Act 1965 to keep the law of England and Wales under review and to recommend reforms. The organisation is headed by a Chair (a judge of the High Court or Court of Appeal, currently Sir Peter Fraser LJ) and four Law Commissioners. It proposes changes to the law that will make the law simpler, more accessible, fairer, modern and more cost-effective. It consults widely on its proposals and in the light of the responses to public consultation, it presents recommendations to the UK Parliament that, if legislated upon, would implement its law reform recommendations. The commission is part of the Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies. Activities The Law Commissions Act 1965 requires the Law Commission to submit "programmes for the examination of different branches of the law" to the Lord Chancellor for his approval before undertaking new work. Every t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Common Law
Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on precedent—judicial rulings made in previous similar cases. The presiding judge determines which precedents to apply in deciding each new case. Common law is deeply rooted in Precedent, ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by things decided"), where courts follow precedents established by previous decisions. When a similar case has been resolved, courts typically align their reasoning with the precedent set in that decision. However, in a "case of first impression" with no precedent or clear legislative guidance, judges are empowered to resolve the issue and establish new precedent. The common law, so named because it was common to all the king's courts across England, originated in the practices of the courts of the English kings in the centuries fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Obscene Libel
The publication of an obscene libel was an offence under the common law of England. Prior to the abolition bsection 1of the Criminal Law Act 1967 of the distinction between felony and misdemeanour, it was regarded as a misdemeanour. It has been abolished in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.Coroners and Justice Act 2009section 73(c)/ref> The existence of this offence was denied by Hawkins; and by Holt, C.J., who said that it was within the jurisdiction of the spiritual courts.R v Read, Fort 98, 92 E777 this decision was overruled by R v. Curl. England and Wales It was an offence under the common law of England and Wales to publish an obscene libel. This was an indictable-only offence. Howeversection 2(4)of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 provided that a person publishing an article should not be proceeded against for an offence at common law consisting of the publication of any matter contained or embodied in that article where it was of the essence of the offence that the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blasphemous Libel
Blasphemous libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. Today, it is an offence under the common law of Northern Ireland, but has been abolished in England and Wales, and repealed in Canada and New Zealand. It is a form of criminal libel that consists of the publication of material which exposes the Christian religion to scurrility, vilification, ridicule, and contempt, with material that must have the tendency to shock and outrage the feelings of Christians. Historically, the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were adopted from the common law of England as common law offences in British colonies and territories. From the late 19th century, several colonies and countries replaced the common law offences with adopted versions of the draft code called "the Stephen Code" written by Sir James Fitzjames Stephen as part of a Royal Commission in England in 1879. The Stephen Code included the offence of blasphemous libel but omitted blasphemy. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |