<p>Given that it is generally used to prosecute relatively minor transgressions, the common law crime of breach of the peace has generated an inordinate amount of controversy. The diverse range of conduct that has fallen under its auspices has attracted considerable academic criticism. The last major study of the topic was undertaken in 1990 by Michael Christie in his book <italic>Breach of the Peace</italic>. Since then, due at least in part to the demands of <span class="vid_spn">Article 7</span> of the <a href="https://international.vlex.com/vid/convenio-europeo-libertades-fundamentales-67895138">ECHR</a> which (as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights) requires offences to be clearly defined in law, the ambit of the offence has significantly narrowed. While past cases had encompassed conduct likely to cause upset, annoyance or disgust (see e.g. <italic>Wilson v Brown</italic> 1982 SLT 361; <italic>Young v Heatly</italic> <a href="https://vlex.co.uk/vid/young-v-heatly-807234669">1959 JC 66</a>), in the landmark case of <italic>Smith v Donnelly</italic> <a href="https://vlex.co.uk/vid/smith-v-donnelly-807365445">2001 SLT 1007</a> it was stressed that “conduct severe enough to cause alarm to ordinary people and threaten serious disturbance to the community” was now required (para 17, per Lord Coulsfield). In addition, the creation of various new statutory offences means that much wrongful conduct that would previously have been prosecuted as a breach of the peace can – in theory at least – be captured elsewhere.</p>
<p>As such, the time is perfect for the law to be re-examined and it is this that Pamela Ferguson's book sets out to do. The aim of the text is to “define and critique the common law crime of breach of the peace” (1). The first three substantive chapters are devoted primarily to description. Chapter two provides an interesting historical account of the origins and development of the offence. Chapter three contains a description of the modern development of the law, an account that is impressively comprehensive and detailed. It is supplemented by two very useful appendices which categorise all reported breach of the peace cases according to the nature of the conduct (appendix B) and the locus in which it took place (appendix A), this latter being particularly valuable given the controversy over the definitional requirement of a public element (on which, see below). Chapter four describes the various analogous offences that have been created by statute in recent times, of which there have been many. The most relevant to the account are those created by the <a href="https://vlex.co.uk/vid/sexual-offences-scotland-act-808199009">Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009</a> (most notably coercing a person into looking at a sexual image, communicating indecently, sexual exposure and voyeurism), the <a href="https://vlex.co.uk/vid/criminal-justice-and-licensing-808192453">Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland)</a>...</p>
