header-logo header-logo

Raising the bar

Has Conn made harassment a high-threshold offence? ask Tim Lawson-Cruttenden and Catherine Atkinson

 

 

Many believe that the use of harassment law has expanded far beyond the intentions of Parliament. So has the recent case of v City Council ([2007] EWCA Civ 1492), [2007] All ER (D) 99 (Nov) stemmed that unwarranted expansion, or has it narrowed the definition of harassment so severely that protection is afforded to no one? The decision in may have successfully prevented claimants trying to use harassment law to pursue stress claims but is the decision limited to those cases or does it have ramifications for all harassment claims?

Parliament enacted the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (PHA 1997) to prevent behaviour that could not be remedied by the existing criminal law. Section 1(1) states that a person must not “pursue a course of conduct: (a) which amounts to harassment of another; and (b) which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other”. Breach of s 1 is a criminal

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

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
back-to-top-scroll