December 20, 2021
Pupil Barrister, Alex Benn, has been cited in the Law Commission’s final report into hate crime laws, which sees it make a number of recommendations for reform in this area of the law.
Alex’s piece, ‘Classism as Hate Crime: Proposing Class as a Protected Ground in Criminal Law’ [2021] 10 Crim LR 809-827, was published in the Criminal Law Review in October 2021.
The academic article explores hate crime laws in England and Wales. In particular, it considers the Law Commission’s consultation paper, and how the relevance of both class and classism to hate crime laws has been overlooked. Law Commission’s final report, published on 7th December 2021, considers which groups should be recognised in the context of hate crime laws. “Class” did not meet the four criteria the Commission had set for inclusion in its consultation document.
Responding to the Law Commission’s final report, Alex comments:
‘It is good to see that the Law Commission has at least recognised the possibility of class as a protected ground for the first time. This represents a small step in the right direction.’
Read Alex’s article in the Criminal Law Review here: [RLC – Articles]
Similarly, read Alex’s article on classism and discrimination law here: [Oxford Human Rights Hub Journal 30]
Read Law Commission’s Hate Report here: [Law Commission: Hate Crime report]