Archive/File: orgs/canadian/canada/justice/hate-motivated-violence/hmv-005-06
Last-Modified: 1997/01/21
Source: Department of Justice Canada


135. Public Order Act 1986 (U.K.), 1986, c. 64, ss. 17-29.
See R. Card, Public Order: The New Law (London:
Butterworths, 1987), pp. 93-116 for an in-depth discussion
of the offences set out in that Part [hereinafter referred
to as Public Order: The New Law].

136. See, e.g., Public Order: The New Law, supra, footnote
41, pp. 95-96.

137. Football (Offences) Act 1991 (U.K.), 1991, c. 19, s.3.
45

138. U.K., The Government Reply to the Third Report From the
Home Affairs committee Session 1985-86 HC 409, Racial
Attacks and Harassment (London: HMSO, 1986), p. 2.

139. H. Mills, "Knock on the door brings growing sear of
racial abuse and attack", The [London] Independent, Monday,
November 9, 1992, HOME 3.

140. For a criticism of this bill, see L. Bridges, "The
Racial Harassment Bill: A Missed Opportunity" (April-June
1993) 34 Race & Class, No. 4, p. 69.

141. The Government Reply to Racial Attacks and Harassment,
supra, footnote 44. A spokesman for the Home Secretary in
January, 1992, reiterated this view:  we consider existing
laws are adequate. The key is enforcement. If it becomes
necessary to prove an element of racial motivation it would
make enforcement that much more difficult.  see "Baker rules
out race attack law", The Guardian, Friday, January 17,1992,
p. 6. This article is also summarized in "Police" (August,
1992) 31 The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, No. 3, pp.
241-242.

142. Racial Attacks: Report of a Home Office Study (London:
Home Office, 1981). This study is cited in Report of the
Inter-Departmental Racial Attacks Group, The Response to
Racial Attacks and Harassment: Guidance for the Statutory
Agencies (London: Home Office, 1989), at para. 1, footnote 1
[hereinafter Report of the Racial Attacks Group].

143. Report of the Racial Attacks Group, supra, footnote 48,
at para. 1.

144. U.K., House of Commons, Third Report from the Home
Affairs committee, Session 1985-86, Racial Attacks and
Harassment, Report, together with the Proceedings of the
Committee, Minutes of Evidence and Appendices, HC 409
(London: HMSO, 1986), para. 1, at iv, para 32, at xiv-xv.

145. Report of the Racial Attacks Group, supra, footnote 48. 

146. Among its comments: Individual agencies had to first
start by recognizing the existence of racial harassment as a
serious problem. While such awareness may be obvious in
areas where there is a large minority ethnic population,
where the numbers of ethnic minorities are small in other
areas of Britain the problem can too easily remain
invisible. As well, individual agencies (such as the police,
housing, and educational authorities) had to accept
responsibility for taking action in their own sphere of
influence, should consult with local minority ethnic bodies,
and should draw up an explicit policy for dealing with
racial harassment. Agencies should make it clear to
potential victims that they have effective procedures for
responding to racial harassment and for assisting victims,
and should also make it clear to potential perpetrators that
racial harassment will not be tolerated. The report then
focussed on specific issues designed to make the individual
agencies respond better to the problem. It was recommended
that the police build up as complete a picture as possible
of the nature and extent of the problem locally, ensure that
victims know how to report incidents, take steps to make it
easier for victims to report incidents, and increase
confidence in the police response to reported incidents. In
areas where racial harassment is a particularly serious
problem, a chief officer should consider establishing a
special squad to investigate incidents and collect
intelligence on possible suspects. As well, the police
should ensure that prosecuting lawyers are specifically
informed about the existence of a racial element in the
commission of a crime. The report commended the policy of
the Crown Prosecution Service in regarding the existence of
a clear racial motivation in an offence as an aggravating
feature pointing towards prosecution, assuming there is
sufficient evidence to justify proceedings. It also stressed
the importance of making the court appearance less stressful
for the victim of a racial attack, and the importance of
treating racial motivation to commit a crime as an
aggravating factor at sentence.

147. The Second Report of the Inter-Departmental Racial
Attacks Group, The Response to Racial Attacks: Sustaining
the Momentum (London: Home Office, 1991).

148. Ibid, pp. 4-7; Annex 6A, p. 67.

149. See, e.g., W. E. Saulsbury and B. Bowling, The Multi-
Agency Approach in Practice: The North Plaistow Racial
Harassment Project (London: Home Office Research and
Planning Unit, Paper 64, 1991), cited in, and the results of
which are summarized in, B. Bowling and W. Saulsbury, "A
Multi-agency Approach to Racial Harassment" (1992), 32
Research Bulletin/Home Office Research and Statistics
Department 34; A. Sampson and C. Philips, Multiple
Victimisation: Racial Attacks on an East London Estate
(London: Police Research Group, Crime Prevention Unit
Series, Paper 36, Home Office Police Department, 1992); P.
Neyroud, The Multi-Agency Approach to Racial Harassment
(London: Police Requirements Support Unit, Home Office
Science and Technology Group, 1992); P. Neyroud, "Multi-
agency Approaches to Racial Harassment: The Lessons of
Implementing the Racial Attacks Group Report" (July, 1992)
18 New Community, No. 4, p. 567.

150. See, e.g., Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT), ss. 66-67.

151.  See "A Bill for An Act to amend the Crimes Act 1914 to
create an offence of racial incitement and to amend the
Racial Discrimination Act 1975 to make racial vilification
unlawful", 1990-91-92, The Parliament of the Commonwealth of
Australia, House of Representatives, 1st reading, 16
December, 1992.

152. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Report
of the National Inquiry into Racist Violence in Australia,
Racist Violence (Canberra: Australian Government Publishing
Service, 1991), pp. 275-277 [hereinafter Racist Violence].

153. Racist Violence, ibid. This exhaustive report, over
500 pages long, examines, among other issues, the history
of racist violence in Australia, racist violence against
aboriginal persons, racist violence on the basis of ethnic
identity, and racist violence against people opposed to
racism. It makes 85 findings and recommendations in total
to combat racial violence throughout all levels of
Australian society.

154. Crimes Act 1914, No. 12 of 1914, as amended.

155. Racial Discrimination Act 1975, No. 52 of 1975, as
amended.

156. Racist violence, supra, footnote 58, pp. 296, 302.

157. Ibid, pp. 298-302. Another recommendation dealt with
the process by which incidents of racist violence could be
prosecuted. As regards enabling prosecutions for the
proposed crimes of racist violence to be commenced, the
report stated that it would be appropriate, where cases are
brought to the attention of the Race Discrimination
Commissioner pursuant to the Racial Discrimination Act
1975, that the Commissioner be given the power to refer
potential criminal cases to the Director of Public
Prosecutions. Ibid., pp. 304-305.

158. The Law Reform Commission, Multiculturalism and the
Law [Report No 57] (Sydney, Australia: The Law Reform
Commission, 1992).

159. Ibid, p. 153.

160. Ibid, footnote 64, p. 153

161. Ibid footnote 64, pp. 155-156.

162. Ibid footnote 64, pp. 156-157

163. This draft legislation for the proposed offence is set
out in Appendix A of the Report, Ibid., footnote 64, Draft
Legislation, p. 283.

164. Telephone conversation with Commissioner Christopher
Sidoti of the Australian Law Reforrn Commission, Tuesday,
January 12, 1993.

165. The Law Reform Commission, supra, footnote 64, p. 158.

166. Ibid., p. 161

167. Race Relations Act 1971 (N.Z.), 1971, No 150, s. 25.

168. Letter sent to the author dated December 18, 1992,
from Margaret Thompson, Chief Executive Officer Policy and
Research, Department of Justice, New Zealand.

169. These sections are translated in The American Series
of Foreign Penal Codes, 28, The Penal Code of the Federal
Republic of Germany (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1987). For a
discussion of the evolution of these crimes in Germany, see
E. Stein, "History Against Free Speech: The New German Law
Against the 'Auschwitz' -- and Other -- Lies" (1986) 85 Mich. L.
Rev., p. 277.

170. This summary is taken from a letter sent to the author
from Der Bundesminister der Justiz, dated April 7, 1993.

171. For a summary of the criminal law in this area, see
the "Circulaire du ministre de l'Interieure, Philippe
Marchand, envoyee le 21 mars 1991 aux prefets, concernant
la lutte contre le racisme, I'antisemitisme et les
resurgences du nazisme" in Rapport de la Commission
nationale consultative des droits de l'homme, La Lutte
Contre Le Racisme et laXenophobie 1991 (Paris: La
Documentation francaise, 1992), pp. 327-328. See also M.
Veron, "Le renforcement du dispositif repressif contre la
discrimination et le racisme. Presentation des lois des 12
et 13 juillet 1990" in (Octobre 1990) 2 Droit Penal, No.
10, 1.

172. R. Oakley, Racial Violence and Harassment in Europe,
ref. MG-CR (91) 3 rev. 2, a consultant's report prepared
for the Council of Europe ([Strasbourg]: Council of Europe,
[1993]), pp. 24-25.

173. The New Penal Code for France contains several
sections that aim at prohibiting certain hateful or
discriminatory conduct. See, e.g., Articles 211-1--213-5
(genocide and other crimes against humanity), 225-1--225-4
(certain discriminatory conduct where the discrimination is
based on a person's origin, sex, race, state of health,
handicap, ethnicity, religion, etc.); 432-7 (punishment
where the discriminatory act is committed by a public
servant); 225-18 (attack on a corpse, violation of a
cemetery where the attack is motivated by the deceased
person's race, ethnicity, nationality or religion). See Loi
Nø 92-863 a 92-686 du 22 juillet 1992, JO 23 juill. 1992,
p. 9864, 9875, 9887, 9893. For an analysis of the new Penal
Code and the text of the Code, see Le Nouveau Code Penal
(Lois du 22 juillet 1992), La Semaine Juridique (Paris:
Editions Techniques 1992).

174. Article 225-18, ibid.

175. The Swedish Penal Code (Stockholm, Sweden: Ministry of
Justice, National Council for Crime Prevention, 1990), ss.
1, 5, 6, pp. 13-14.

176. Ibid, ss. 3, 5, pp. 18-19.

177. Delbetaenkande av utredningen foer atgaerder mot etnisk
diskriminering, Organiserad rasism: EDU:s delbetaenkande om
atgaerder mot rasistiska organisationer ([Stockholm?]: SOU,
1991: 75), English summary, pp. 2728. For further
discussion of the measures taken in Sweden to combat
racism, see Racial Violence and Harassment in Europe,
supra, footnote 78, pp. 38-39.

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