The Time Limit on Prosecutions for Underage Sexual Intercourse in the Sexual Offences Act 1956: A Continuing Problem

The doctrine of incapability was a, now abolished, centuries-old presumption that a boy under 14 years of age was unable to commit an offence that required that he be an agent participant in an act of sexual intercourse. Rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, buggery, and offences of incestuous sexual intercourse were all unavailable to the prosecutor if D was under 14. Although abolished, the practical application of the doctrine is by no means dead, as shown by its appearance in R v J.OC (2012). It is likely that future historical prosecutions will throw it up yet again. Judges and scholars have often assumed that the ridiculous effect of the doctrine was eradicated by the revision of the law on attempt in 1981, even before the doctrine itself was disposed of by s. 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1993, and the courts have sometimes circumvented application of the doctrine by convicting for indecent assault instead. This article will show that they were all wrong and, should another defendant come to trial accused of relevant offences, then, however distasteful the proposition is, we must accept that defendant's acquittal.

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Regulating Consensual Sexual Behaviour between Older Children: The Case against the Current Approach under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009

Edinburgh Law Review ◽

10.3366/elr.2019.0548 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 177-203

Author(s):

Isla Callander

Keyword(s):

Sexual Activity ◽

Sexual Intercourse ◽

Rule Of Law ◽

Criminal Law ◽

Sexual Behaviour ◽

Current Approach ◽

Social Consequences ◽

Older Children ◽

Sexual Offences ◽

Widespread Occurrence

The purpose of this article is to critically examine the current approach to regulating the consensual sexual behaviour of older children in Scots law. At present, blanket criminalisation applies to all consensual sexual intercourse and oro-genital sexual activity between two older children, defined by statute as those aged 13 to 15, through specific offences under section 37 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. The first part of this article will describe the nature of, and background to, section 37. This will then be contextualised against the evidence of the relatively widespread occurrence of sexual intercourse amongst older children, and the very limited number of prosecutions under the provision in practice. While acknowledging that there are clear reasons to encourage older children to delay their first sexual experiences, the second part of the article will use an inter-disciplinary approach to show the extent to which the current criminal law approach is genuinely problematic. This is in terms of its conformity to rule of law principles, possible adverse social consequences and potential ineffectiveness. The final part of the article will conclude that the current approach in Scotland is wholly inappropriate, and that a more appropriate approach would be for Scots law to move towards a revised section 37 offence which incorporates an element of exploitation which the prosecution should have to prove.

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Legislation on the offence of rape in Icelandic criminal law

Bergen Journal of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice ◽

10.15845/bjclcj.v9i2.3239 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 24

Author(s):

Ragnheiður Bragadóttir

Keyword(s):

Sexual Intercourse ◽

Criminal Law ◽

Penal Code ◽

Sexual Relations ◽

Sexual Offences ◽

Broad Definition ◽

Academic Discussion ◽

Definition Of ◽

Current Provision ◽

Societal Views

In recent years the concept of rape has been frequently discussed in Iceland. The chapter on sexual offences in the Icelandic General Penal Code (GPC) was revised in its entirety in 1992 and 2007, and important amendments were made on the provision on rape, section 194 of the GPC. The amendments in 2007 included a new, broad definition of the concept of rape, which was intended to cover all incidents where sexual intercourse or other sexual relations were performed against the victim’s will. In 2018 amendments were made on section 194 on rape, where the word “consent” was included in the provision. This does not constitute a substantive change since lack of consent was already an underlying element of the provision due to the amendments in 2007. The article addresses the academic discussion and societal views that were the precursor of these amendments, evaluates the current provision and discusses whether further amendments are needed.

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SEXUAL UNION AND SEXUAL OFFENCES IN JUBILEES

Journal for the Study of Judaism ◽

10.1163/1570063042475600 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 363-384 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David Rothstein

Keyword(s):

Sexual Intercourse ◽

Sexual Offences ◽

Biblical Narrative ◽

Qumran Community

AbstractIn two recent articles A. Shemesh has argued that the Qumran community viewed the act of sexual intercourse alone as affecting the marital bond. The present paper demonstrates that Jubilees, in its reformulation of the biblical narrative, maintains a position very similar, and possibly identical, to that proposed by Shemesh. On this fundamentally ontological view, the physical union itself is determinative in connection with both permitted and proscribed unions, as reflected in several aspects of Jubilees' narrative.

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