by antiaristo » Fri Sep 30, 2005 5:00 pm
Qutb,<br>Read between the lines here<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="font-size:small;">Lords halt challenge to treason law</span><!--EZCODE FONT END--> <br><br>Thursday June 26, 2003 <br><br>The Guardian's legal challenge to the 1848 Treason Felony Act, which makes it a criminal offence, punishable by life imprisonment, to advocate abolition of the monarchy in print, even by peaceful means, was today dismissed by the House of Lords. <br><br>Five law lords upheld an attempt by the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, to halt the newspaper's attempt to declare section 3 of the 1848 act incompatible with the Human Rights Act 1998, on the grounds that the older legislation was an obstacle to freedom of speech. <br><br>The lords ruled the Guardian's case <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>unnecessary</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->, as the paper had published articles that espoused republican views, and had not been prosecuted. <br><br>The Guardian's challenge came after the launch of its campaign in December 2000 for the establishment of a republic by peaceful means in the UK. <br><br>Before publishing a series of articles on the subject, the editor, Alan Rusbridger, asked the then attorney general, Lord Williams of Mostyn, to confirm that the paper and its staff would not face prosecution under the act. <br><br>He wrote back: "It is not for any attorney general to disapply an act of parliament; that is a matter for parliament itself." <br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>The attorney general made no submission on his prosecution policy. But the Lords said if he had</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START >: --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/mad.gif ALT=">:"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> "It could only have been to accept that, at least since October 2 2000 when the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force, no one who advocates the abolition of the monarchy by peaceful and constitutional means has been at any risk of prosecution (other than a private prosecution) or of conviction." <br><br>Lord Hutton said: "It is not the function of the courts to decide <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>hypothetical questions</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> which do not impact on the parties before them". <br><br>The Human Rights Act 1998 enshrines freedom of expression, outweighing the provisions of Treason Felony Act, the Lords noted. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>The law must be interpreted in a way that allows for the peaceful advocacy of republicanism</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->, the ruling said. <br><br>Lord Steyn said: "The part of s3 of the 1848 Act which appears to criminalise the advocacy of republicanism is a relic of a bygone age, and does not fit into the fabric of our modern legal system. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>The idea that s3 could survive scrutiny under the Human Rights Act is unreal."</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> <br>But he warned that the courts should not be used as "an instrument ... [to] chivvy parliament into spring-cleaning the statute book." <br><br>The attorney general had <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>refused to say anything about his prosecution policy regarding the 1848 Act</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> - a move that might have avoided this litigation. But Lord Scott of Foscote said: "No one who advocates the peaceful abolition of the monarchy and its replacement by a republican form of government is at any risk of <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>prosecution</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->. <br><br>"No attorney general or director of public prosecutions would or could authorise a prosecution for such advocacy without becoming a laughing stock. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>To do so would be an unlawful act under s6 (1) of the 1998 Act</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->." <br><br>Their Lordships all agreed that the 1848 Act is "a provision whose time has long passed". <br><br>Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe said: "<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>It is most undesirable that obsolete statutes should remain unrepealed</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->. Quaint language and interesting historical associations are no justification for preserving obsolete statutes in a mummified state. But ... it is still the role of the legislature, rather than that of the courts, to decide whether to repeal or retain legislation." <br><br>Mr Rusbridger said: "Although the attorney general has won this appeal, we are delighted that the House of Lords' ruling unanimously vindicates the Guardian's position: that this anachronistic law is incompatible with the Human Rights Act and should be repealed by parliament." <br><br>"This judgment makes clear that advocating a republic can no longer be considered a treasonable act. The government should now scrap this law, which is still <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>cited by thugs like Robert Mugabe</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> in clamping down on the press. <br>"If the attorney general had made a statement of the obvious two years ago, the litigation would not have been necessary."</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4699888,00.html">www.guardian.co.uk/Print/...88,00.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>This law has not been used to prosecute since 1883. The attorney general made no submission to the court. The judges chose to put words in his mouth, then refused to rule on a “hypothetical matter” and refused appeal to Europe. The only person who complains is Robert Mugabe.<br><br>Can you say “secret law, enforced in secret”? I’ll give the obvious example, which was the attorney general (Lord Goldsmith) on the legality of the Iraq war. The infamous meeting on 13 March 2003 with Baroness Morgan and Lord Falconer (both vested with royal prerogative powers). This law was used to <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>reverse the AG Opinion</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->.<br><br><br>1 tal,<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>The role of the SAS includes intelligence gathering, behind enemy lines target attacks, counter revolutionary warfare, <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>guarding of senior British dignitaries</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->, conducting military missions without official British Government involvement, training special forces of other nationalities, and counter-terrorism operations</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br>And therein lie the roots of the shoot-to-kill policy in the hands of the SAS. The SAS do not report to the Ministry of Defence but direct to the Commander-in Chief in Buckingham Palace. Menezes was the trial run for shoot first, ask later.<br>(Qutb, I lost the post and am reconstructing. I don’t have a reference for this – it’s one of those things you pick up and it sticks with you. But I’m not making it up)<br><br>Rapt,<br>Hi there. Didn’t know if you had made the connection.<br><br>Qutb,<br>Do you not know about the long history of warfare between Sir James Goldsmith and Private Eye? He was known by them as "goldenballs", and I think there was a period of about five years when not a minute went by without a libel writ in force. To put it bluntly, he was a complete selfish bastard who looked out only for himself.<br>I'm sure Richars Ingrams could tell some stories!<br><br>All,<br>I think it is a mistake to talk about who outranks whom. It is an alliance in which each party brings something to the table. The bankers in the City have the money, but the Queen has the law. She can use the Treason Felony Act to invert any law on the statute book, because she uses it pre-emptively (as in the Peter Goldsmith example). She can use the Treason Felony Act to stay any action (as in the case of BCCI) that law requires.<br>Think about it from the bankers' perspective. They all have a ton of dirty money they need to launder. Sitting there in the City is this law that magically transforms dirty money into clean money. And it's a surprise they all choose to headquarter in London????<br>An associated fact: six of the ten largest and most profitable law firms in the world are based not in New York, as you would expect, but in LONDON.<br><br>THIS LAW PERVERTS EVERYTHING IT (SECRETLY) TOUCHES<br> <p></p><i></i>