EU Crypto Free Trade Area

[Neil Dunbar]

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Brian Gladman wrote:

>   So my interest is in a situation where:
>
> * a law has been on the books for many years
>
> * it has never ever been used to mount a prosecution
>
> * despite the fact that it has been visibly broken many times during this
> long period
>
> I suspect that your answer is still valid but it would be a first use of the
> law in question and it might be seen as a precedent.

Definitely in the 'I am not a lawyer, but...' vein:

In Scots law, there is (I believe) something called 'disuitude' (sp?),
which seems to correspond to what you describe. If a law is deemed
through lack of use to be obsolete, then a judge can hold that it is
no longer applicable. This is to stop people being hanged for stealing
sheep (of course, in Scotland, the problem isn't *stealing* sheep :) )

The criterion that the law has *never* been used doesn't apply: just
that the law hasn't been used in a long time. I do get the impression
that Scots judges are more than a little reluctant to apply the principle,
which seems to me like legal nitroglycerine.

NB: This probably translates into Australian law, which is based in
large part on Scots law.

Nicholas, can you fill in more detail? Without a copy of Enid Marshall
to hand, I'm floundering a bit...

Neil

--
------------------------------
Name: Neil Dunbar   Email: nd@hplb.hpl.hp.com
Address: HP Laboratories, Filton Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS12 6QZ
Tel: +44 (0) 117 922 9471   Fax: +44 (0) 117 922 9742
 "If I could choose the life I lead, then I would be a spaceman..."
--All statements are the author's own, and not the opinion of HP--



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