header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

Criminal damage: lawful excuse?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2025. All Rights Reserved.
17 May 2024 / Nicholas Dobson
Issue: 8071 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Human rights
printer mail-detail
172563
Justifying criminal damage in the name of protest: Nicholas Dobson looks at an Extinction Rebellion spraypaint rebellion and the ‘lawful excuse’ defence
  • In s 5(2)(a) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 (lawful excuse), ‘circumstances’ must relate to the destruction of, or damage to, the property and ‘do not include the political or philosophical beliefs of the person causing the damage’.
  • A judge may withdraw a defence from a jury if no reasonable jury properly directed could reach a particular conclusion.

Despite the Criminal Damage Act 1971, protest by property damage has become popular among activists. So, when is criminal damage not criminal at all? Answer: if a lawful excuse can be established. For, by s 1(1) of the 1971 Act (destroying or damaging property): ‘A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence’ (emphasis added).

What is ‘without lawful

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Traders’ convictions quashed in Libor shock
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
NLJ this week: Pro bono power without the red tape
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: DNA evidence—justice on ice?
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
NLJ this week: Small firms call for tech clarity as AI looms
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: Fraud claims climb as courts brace for AI threats
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll