Criminal Law Legislation Update
| Published date | 01 June 2013 |
| Date | 01 June 2013 |
| Author | Laura McGowan |
| DOI | 10.1350/jcla.2013.77.3.836 |
| Subject Matter | Criminal Law Legislation Update |
Criminal Law
Legislation Update*
Laura McGowan†
Primary legislation
Sections 109 and 110 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 come into
force on 6 April 2013. The effect of this is that ss 57–59 of the Sexual
Offences Act 2003 will be repealed on that date and replaced with a new
s. 59A offence. There are also complex transitional provisions in place.
Section 59A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, as inserted, replaces,
expands and combines into one single integrated offence the three
separate trafficking offences in ss 57–59 of the 2003 Act, which made it
an offence to traffic into, within or out of the UK, a person for the
purposes of sexual exploitation.
Under s. 59A(1) it is a criminal offence for a person (A) to intention-
ally arrange or facilitate the arrival in or entry into (s. 59A(1)(a)), travel
within (s. 59A(1)(b)), or departure from (s. 59A(1)(c)) the UK or any
other country of another person (B) for the purposes of sexual
exploitation.
Section 59A(2) provides that the arranging or facilitating is done with
a view to the sexual exploitation of B if A intends to do anything to or in
respect of B, or believes that any other person is likely to do something
to or in respect of B, after B’s arrival, entry or departure from the UK
which, if done, will involve the commission of a relevant offence.
Section 59A(3) makes equivalent provision for the meaning of ‘sex-
ual exploitation’ where B is trafficked within the UK, but here the
exploitation may take place during or after the journey.
It should be noted that whether something is done for the purposes of
‘sexual exploitation’ depends on the commission of a ‘relevant offence’.
‘Relevant offence’ means any offence under the law of England and
Wales which is an offence under Part 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
or under s. 1(1)(a) of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (s. 60(1)(a) of
the 2003 Act, as substituted), or anything done outside England and
Wales which is not an offence as set out in s. 60(1)(a), but would be if
done in England and Wales. Section 1(1)(a) of the Protection of Chil-
dren Act 1978 provides that it is an offence for a person to take, or
permit to be taken or to make, any indecent photograph or pseudo-
photograph of a child.
The new offence under s. 59A has extra-territorial jurisdiction:
s. 59A(4) provides that a UK national commits an offence under s. 59A
regardless of where in the world the arranging or facilitating takes place
* As at 27 March 2013.
† Barrister, Carmelite Chambers; e-mail: laurajmcgowan@gmail.com.
177The Journal of Criminal Law (2013) 77 JCL 177–179
doi:10.1350/jcla.2013.77.3.836
To continue reading
Request your trial