Sep 11 - Gibraltar Harassment Laws To Be Brought In Line With UK
The Government has published a Bill which will be taken at the next sitting of Parliament to amend the Crimes Act 2011 and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 2011.
The main amendments in the Bill are to Parts 6 and 7 of the Crimes Act in order to fulfil manifesto commitments on protection from harassment and to criminalise hate crimes.
Part 6 of the Crimes Act 2011 already contains some provisions for the protection from harassment. These provisions are being expanded to bring Gibraltar legislation on harassment on a par with the UK. The Bill introduces new sections allowing for injunctions to protect persons from harassment, restraining orders on acquittal from a criminal charge and a new offence of harassment of a person in his home. In addition, the Bill introduces two new offences: stalking and its aggravated version, stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress. It further sets out new police powers to enter and search premises in relation to these offences. The new provisions are designed to address specific stalking behaviour as opposed to harassment more generally.
The Bill amends Part 7 of the Crimes Act 2011 to include offences based on hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation and to extend the range of aggravated offences to include aggravation based on hatred due to religion, age, disability and sexual orientation (currently aggravation is only based on hatred due to race). The Bill also makes provision for the increase of sentences for criminal offences where there has been racial aggravation and aggravation related to religious belief, sexual orientation, disability and age.
HMGoG is grateful for the input and assistance of GGR in connection with the hate crimes provisions which are being introduced in this Bill.
