The changing law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The changing law - Essay causaThis is illustrated in the manner that an impetus for change is met with either acceptance or reservation by the humankind to be directly affected, and the sound system who will implement such change. In this regard, this essay aims to controvert the manner that legal change proceeds in the British legal system to illustrate how legal changes are dynamically linked with the society at hand through the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.Anti-social demeanour is defined as a behaviour that is capable of causing a nuisance or chafe to another person, and directly or indirectly relates to or affects the housing management functions of a pertinent landlord or that consists of or involves using or threatening to use housing accommodation owned or managed by a relevant landlord for an unlawful purpose (Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 s.153A s.153B). As a semipublic offensive activity, it has been dealt with by Common Law as public nuisance, considered as bo th a crime and a tort. Thus, given its potential to harm individuals and communities, and disrupt peace and order, it is of no surprise that the British government pays referable attention to this problem by passing the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.Prior to 1996 and the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, anti-social behaviour is address... This was followed by the Noise Act (1996) and Protection from Harassment Act (1997) to address non-tenure behaviour and Crime and unhealthiness Act (1998), which created the Anti-Social Behaviour Order as well as the Police Reform Act (2002) to amplification local authorities enforcement powers. Despite such comprehensive legislations and precedents, however, there are numerous problems that surround both the execution of the law, on the part of authorities and prevention of the problem, within the society. This is illustrated in a study conducted by the British Crime survey, where it was reported that except for nuisance and litter, the percen tage of individuals perceiving anti-social behaviour as a serious overthrow has been rising (cited in Hunter 2003). Furthermore, as evidenced by Nixon and Hunters study (cited in Hunter 2003), the fare of reported complaints for every 1,000 tenancies by housing landlords, has also risen from 1998 to 2003. In addition, there has also been a growing concern among intellectuals that the laws governing anti-social behaviour have the potential to conflict with human rights (Wright, H & Sagar, T 2000, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, NLJ, no. 150, p. 1792 Collins, D 2001, Anti-social Behaviour Orders - a new false dawn, NLJ, 15 June 2001). In line of reasoning to the human rights argument, however, law enforcement officers and local authorities complain that there is not enough bite with the existing laws, such that they are prevented from persecuting offences by juveniles (Wookey v Wookey 1991 Fam 121), and persecuting offenders that persistently commit anti-social behaviour in the totalit y of their offence (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 s.5). All the aforementioned problems created a tremendous amount of wedge