UK to proceed with rape law reform despite objections from judges News
UK to proceed with rape law reform despite objections from judges

[JURIST] The UK government is planning to proceed with proposals [consultation paper, PDF] designed to increase rape convictions despite objections [JURIST report] from the Council of Circuit Judges (COCJ) [official website], the Guardian reported Monday. Solicitor General Mike O'Brien [official profile] said that the reforms, including a proposal to allow expert testimony to dispel rape myths and the automatic introduction of videotaped interviews with rape victims when they first go to authorities, must proceed because of record low [BBC report] rape convictions in the UK.

The government is likely to drop a proposal to legally define the point at which an individual becomes too intoxicated to consent, which the COCJ criticized as being too complicated to apply. The COJC said it would prefer to leave the issue to be decided on a case-by-case basis by juries. Rape convictions in the UK declined from 33 percent of reported rapes in 1977 to 5.7 percent in 2006. The Guardian has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

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On November 11, 1620, 41 Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, creating a civil government for Plymouth Colony.

Armistice signed, ending WWI

On November 11, 1918 at 11:00 AM, the Allied Powers signed an armistice with Germany, ending World War I. Armistice Day is marked every year in Europe on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" with two minutes of silence.

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