R v Major and Restraining Orders
24/12/2010
In the case of R v Major [2010] WLR (D) 309 The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) has held that where a defendant was acquitted of an offence, a restraining order could still be imposed under s 5A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Mark George QC of GCN was interviewed for LexisNexis Current Awareness (published 24.12.10) to provide analysis of this decision.
Extracts from the article as follows:
[ Mark George QC ] adds: “Many will consider that there is something deeply objectionable about a criminal court having the power to make such an order despite the acquittal of the accused of an offence under the Act. A person made the subject of such an order under s 5A is liable to the same penalties as if they had been convicted of the offence under s 4 which appears to render an acquittal meaningless. Breach of the order is an offence punishable by up to five years in prison.”
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George QC says the 1997 Act contains a mixture of civil as well as criminal remedies and sounds a note of caution for practitioners: “Bearing in mind that an order under s 5A can be made on the civil standard of proof it is important for practitioners to remember that breach of such as order is a criminal offence under s 5(5) and that before the court can make such a finding it must be satisfied on the criminal standard of proof that the order has been breached. It would be as well also to advise clients that, as we have seen from this case, an acquittal of an offence under the Act is not necessarily the end of the matter.”
