It has been announced that the
defence of marital coercion is to be abolished.
The defence was notoriously used
unsuccessfully by Vicky Pryce last year, who sought to use the defence to avoid
responsibility for accepting speeding points for her ex-husband, the former
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne. Both were
subsequently imprisoned for perverting the course of justice. For more
information on that story, see this article.
The Defence of Marital Coercion
As I explained in this article, the defence of marital coercion is based on an old legal presumption that any
crime committed by a wife in the presence of their husband was under coercion. The presumption was abolished by section 47
of the Criminal Justice Act 1925, but a defence remained. Section 47
provides that in any case apart from treason and murder it is a good defence
for a wife to say an offence was committed in the presence of their husband
under their coercion. The wife has to show on the balance of probabilities
(that it is more likely that not) that their will was overcome by the coercion
of the husband to commit the offence.
The defence is widely thought of
as out of place in the 21st century. It can only be used by a woman
married to a man. The Law Commission has said the defence is not appropriate to
modern conditions. Moreover, we are all protected by defence of duress if we commit an offence
(not murder, attempted murder or treason) because of a threat of serious harm.
Abolishing the Defence
The Home Office minister Lord
Taylor of Holbeach has indicated the Government’s support for the abolition,
which will be achieved by an amendment to the Anti-social
Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill.
The amendment was tabled last
year by the eminent lawyer, Lord Pannick QC. In response to the decision to
abolish the defence, he said: ‘I welcome the Government’s decision to remove an
absurd law that should have been abolished a long time ago’.
Conclusion
Abolishing this defence is, in my
opinion, the entirely proper thing to do. It is plainly out of date in modern
times.
What are your thoughts?
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