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10 unusual facts about Protection from Harassment Act 1997


AMP v Persons Unknown

The judge cited Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the "Right to respect for private and family life", and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 as the basis of his decision.

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

A person is guilty of an offence under section 32(1)(a) if he commits an offence under section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which is racially or religiously aggravated withtin the meaning of section 28.

A person is guilty of an offence under section 32(1)(b) if he commits an offence under section 4 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which is racially or religiously aggravated withtin the meaning of section 28.

Harassment

In the UK, there are a number of laws protecting people from harassment, including the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

Hate crime

The specified crimes are assault, criminal damage, offences under the Public Order Act 1986, and offences under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

Majrowski v Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust

Lord Nicholls, Lord Hope, Baroness Hale all held that there was a new statutory tort for harassment in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, and it made employers vicariously liable.

He claimed that his manager, Sandra Freeman bullied and harassed him, in breach of section 1 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

Public nuisance

Thus, for example, s1 Protection from Harassment Act 1997 would now be used in cases involving multiple telephone calls, and s63 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 confers powers on the police to remove persons attending or preparing for a rave "at which amplified music is played during the night (with or without intermissions) and is such as, by reason of its loudness and duration and the time at which it is played, is likely to cause serious distress to the inhabitants of the locality".

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005

SOCPA also amended the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 so that "pursuing a course of conduct" amounting to harassment could mean approaching two people just once, rather than one person at least twice, as before.

Stalking Bill 1996

Following the failure of the Stalking Bill to be enacted, an offence of "harassment" was later created in England and Wales by the enactment of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, which came into force on June 16, 1997.