Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 11:17:36 -0600 (CST) From: crosswix@ix.netcom.com (camille zanni) Subject: Letter to UK Home Secretary Re: Sex Offenders Bill 1997 The Magnus Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights William A. Courson, Executive Director Crosswicks House 551 Valley Road, Suite #169 Upper Montclair, New Jersey USA 07043 WWW: http://www.kabar.com/magnus E-Mail: crosswix@ix.netcom.com Facsimile: 201-744-4971 14 February 1997 RE: Letter to U.K. Home Secretary re Prospective Sex Offender Legislation Dear Friends and Colleagues: I felt that the attached would be of interest to you. As you are probably aware, Mr. Major's government must call elections before the end of this coming May. Depending on just when these occur, the bill may or may not become law - with an later election date favoring the bill's enactment. Regretably, my best information is that the bill is supported on both sides of the aisle in Commons in its present form, and it appears that Labour Party members have, taken as a whole and with notable exceptions, been less than avid in their defense of the principle of gender equality to which their party is committed on paper but which is seriously jeopardized by this legislation. Letters to the appropriate parties may be useful. A copy of our letter to the Home Secretary follows. Kindest regards. Sincerely, Bill Courson ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CROSSWICKS HOUSE 551 VALLEY ROAD, SUITE #169 UPPER MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY U.S.A. 07043 FACSIMILE: 201-744-4971 E-MAIL: CROSSWIX@IX.NETCOM.COM WWW: HTTP://WWW.KABAR.COM/MAGNUS WILLIAM A. COURSON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR February 14, 1997 The Rt. Hon. Michael Howard Home Secretary The Home Office 50 Queen Anne's Gate London, SW1H 9AT United Kingdom RE: Sex Offenders Bill (No. 66) (As Amended), 1997 Dear Mr. Howard: I am writing to you in connection with the above-captioned legislation, which was introduced by you into the House of Commons on 18 December 1996, and which I am informed completed the "committee stage" of its consideration by Commons last week. The purpose of my writing to you in this regard is to share what I and my colleagues believe are some extremely grave shortcomings of the bill which, if left unamended, would place the foregoing into a position of conflict with international and regional human rights normative standards - standards which the United Kingdom is legally obliged to maintain. As you are aware, Part I of the bill places a requirement on individuals that have been convicted of one or more offenses of a sexual character to register their name and place of domicile with local law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom. Ins ofar as the bill's intent appears to be the establishment of a national register of potentially dangerous offenders, it is a laudable one. Regretably, the bill's intent is flawed by the inclusion of certain "sexual offenses" in Schedule I of the same, which exist as offenses under the laws of the United Kingdom solely on account of the fact that varying ages of consent exist for the conduct of homosexual, as opposed to heterosexual, intimate relations; i.e., the age of consent for sexual relations occuring among male persons is 18 years of age (17 in Northern Ireland), while for all other categories of conduct the age is 16 years. As you may be aware, the European Court of Human Rights is to consider an application by a United Kingdom resident (Mr. Ian Sutherland) in connection with this state of affairs in the near future. Specifically, the bill as presently drafted would require any male person aged 20 years or older found to be engaged in consenting sexual relations with another male under the age of 18 years to register with law enforcement authorities as a "sexual offender." The same individual would be obliged to register under the bill's provisions, if his partner were a female, only if the latter were younger than 16 years of age. At the same time, a female person aged 20 years or over would be obliged to register under the bill's provisions only if she had such relations with a person, male or female, of 16 years in age or younger. Additionally, the bill's impact on Scotland would effectuate a similarly irrational state of affairs. Homosexual acts of any kind occuring between males, even among participants in their majority and those of a consensual character, are illegal under section 13 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation)(Scotland) Act of 1995 if they do not take place privately. The definition of "privacy" embodied in that statute is such that if a third person is present at the time of the act's commission, the act is regarded as to have taken place in public. Furthermore, under the same legislation, it is a crime in Scotland for a male person to propose sexual relations to another male person, even if the proposed act itself were to occur privately and thus legally. At the same time, consensual sex occuring "publically" between a couple of differing genders or between two women would not fall within the purview of the existing Scottish legislation. Several issues arise which would appear to have the bill, as presently drafted, conflict with the United Kingdom's obligations under international human rights law insofar as the bill places criminal sanctions on persons failing to register under its provisions for prior offenses which, were the constellation of genders of the participants in the prior activities differently arranged, would be no offenses at all. As you are surely aware, Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms require their signatories to guarantee equal rights on the basis of gender inter alia, as do Articles 26 and 14 of the same instruments respectively require their signatories to guarantee equality of protection of the law on the same basis. It is my respectful request that, while the bill is in its reporting stage of consideration by the Commons (which I am advised is to occur either next week or the week following), consideration be given to the foregoing and appropriate amending action be taken to ensure the United Kingdom's compliance with its international obligations. The favor of your promptest possible reply is respectfully requested. Yours sincerely, William A. Courson Executive Director THE MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS cc: The Rt. Hon. Michael Forsyth Secretary of State for Scotland Saint Andrew's House Edinburgh EH1 3DG United Kingdom Mr. Jack Straw, M.P. Labour Party Shadow Home Secretary House of Commons Westminster London SW1A 0AA United Kingdom