Not dead, just sleeping: Canada's prohibition on blasphemous libel as a case study in obsolete legislation
Article
Article Title | Not dead, just sleeping: Canada's prohibition on blasphemous libel as a case study in obsolete legislation |
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ERA Journal ID | 34024 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | |
Author | Patrick, Jeremy |
Journal Title | UBC Law Review |
University of British Columbia Law Review | |
Journal Citation | 41 (2), pp. 193-248 |
Number of Pages | 55 |
Year | 2008 |
Place of Publication | Vancouver, BC. Canada |
ISSN | 0068-1849 |
Abstract | Since the first Criminal Code in 1892, Canada has had a law on the books prohibiting the publication of a 'blasphemous libel' The statute resulted in five reported prosecutions over the years, the last in 1935. Although it hasn't been used in over 70 years, dead laws don't always stay dead: England's prohibition on blasphemy, for example, was inert for 55 years before leading to a conviction in 1977 and Ireland's remained unused for 141 years before an (unsuccessful) prosecution was brought in 1996. |
Keywords | blasphemy; blasphemous libel; desuetude |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 500405. Religion, society and culture |
480410. Legal theory, jurisprudence and legal interpretation | |
480499. Law in context not elsewhere classified | |
Public Notes | File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author. |
Byline Affiliations | York University, Canada |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q1vy1/not-dead-just-sleeping-canada-s-prohibition-on-blasphemous-libel-as-a-case-study-in-obsolete-legislation
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