“FAIR AND CIVILISED’, AS A SANCTION-
THE FIRST TEXT TO EXAMINE COURT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE DEFENCE
ASBOs—Anti Social Behaviour Orders – are ‘a key element of this government’s social policy’ as the foreword to this thoroughgoing and scholarly legal text reminds us – and as they are firmly entrenched, will likely continue on into the 2010 government as well even with much heralded revisions.
Originally – around 2003 as we recall – ASBOs sounded like a good idea. They were designed to address the real and vexing problems and distress created by certain behaviour which involves harassment and intimidation.
Garden Court Chambers barrister, Maya Sikand, writing for the admirable Legal Action Group (LAG) takes the view with this guide, we surmise, that ASBOs have become as widely misused as they are used, targeted as they apparently are, mainly against the young and the mentally disordered.
ASBOs are all too often now used to deal with ‘disturbed or dysfunctional conduct’ rather than that which is ‘serious and threatening.’ And herein lies the difficulty, notwithstanding the Human Rights Act!
Where is that magic line between ‘disturbed or dysfunctional’, and ‘serious and threatening’, behaviour? And who is qualified to judge, either during the disturbing event itself, or afterwards in court relying on the often dubious benefits of imperfect recollection and hindsight?
The author deals with the problem rationally, citing the question of, ‘what should be considered before an ASBO is applied for?’ at the top of the list of at least nine key issues discussed in the text.
As a legal text, ASBOs is unique as the first book on this rapidly developing subject written in the context of human rights law from the standpoint of a practitioner acting for the defendant and very much a stable publication for LAG. Not only does it tackle the issues, but it deals with the procedural safeguards and the admissibility of hearsay and much more… not to mention, as Edward Fitzgerald QC says in the foreword, ‘the special problems of juveniles subject to ASBOs’ with the attendant wrong sort of publicity.
Commenting further, Fitzgerald says that the book is:
‘not just scholarly and comprehensive. It is above all, practical, clear and helpful. I came to the issue with little prior knowledge of ASBOs. Having read it, I feel equipped to represent people on ASBOs at all levels and sufficiently informed to engage in the wider debate as to the fair and civilized legal response to the real life issues of anti-social behaviour.’
A masterful and easily accessible guide to a complex and fraught subject, “ASBOs” is an authoritative reference for now, certainly for defence lawyers and also for example, for criminal and housing practitioners, local authorities, the police and the judiciary, or indeed anyone working in the youth justice system and/or organizations dealing with the young, or those with mental health or learning difficulties.
It will be interesting to see the effect on this ‘fair and civilised’ procedural sanction with the new 2010 government’s criminal justice bill, so we’ll need a new revised edition, Maya! ”
