Should climate change activists face criminal charges?

The Protesters

Jake and Aisha, both aged 18, are friends and climate change protesters. Neither have been in trouble with the police before. Jake has a place at university to study law and wants to become a barrister. Aisha is about to go to medical school to train to become a doctor. They recently attended a climate change protest demonstration in their town centre. Protesters were encouraged to block the highway to cause maximum disruption. This was done peacefully, without the use of any force or violence. The protesters did so to draw attention to their protest movement. A large number of protesters were arrested, including Jake and Aisha, on suspicion of committing public order and road traffic offences. The police are keen that they are all prosecuted.

 

The Prosecutor

Molly is a solicitor and works for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). She is concerned about climate change and believes that many governments are not doing enough to protect the environment. She understands why people protest about climate change and is sympathetic to their cause. Molly is required to advise the police whether Jake and Aisha should be charged and prosecuted.

 

The Defence Lawyer

Fred is a newly qualified barrister. He specialises in criminal defence work. On the day of the protest he was meant to be representing someone in court. Fred wasn’t able to get to court because of the traffic disruption and the case was handed to another barrister to deal with. Fred is not a supporter of climate change protest and was annoyed that he lost valuable work due to the climate change protest. If Jake and Aisha are charged with any offences, let’s assume Fred is likely to be instructed to represent them.

 

The District Judge Lawyer

Deepa is a district judge working in the magistrates’ court. Before she was appointed a judge she was a practising criminal defence solicitor for many years. During her time in practice, Deepa often represented protesters, but she has never been a member of any protest group. Like Molly, she does have some sympathy for the climate change protest movement. If Jake and Aisha are charged, their cases will be dealt with by Deepa.

 

The law, practice and ethical obligations of lawyers

Although the police are responsible for charging a suspect with an offence, this will usually be done on the advice of a prosecutor who works for the CPS. The CPS are an independent public body. The responsibility for charging advice will be down to a particular prosecutor and so in this case, Molly could, in theory, decide that Jake and Aisha should not be charged because of her own sympathies. However, this decision is actually based on very strict criteria contained in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The prosecutor is required to apply to what is called the Full Code Test. This has two stages: firstly, the evidential stage, and secondly, the public interest stage, each of which set out detailed criteria for the prosecutor to follow. Importantly, Molly will be personally accountable for this decision, so if she gets it wrong she might face disciplinary action.

If the evidence against Jake and Aisha is sufficient to give a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the interests of justice to prosecute, Molly will have to advise the police to charge Jake and Aisha, despite her own personal views and sympathies. This respects the rule of law, because as a private citizen, no one is above the law regardless of how much support and sympathy the public may have for that person.

The same can also be said about Deepa, who will be required to sit in judgment objectively and impartially. Although Deepa has some sympathy with the climate change protest movement, she has not been a member of any similar protest group so she would not be regarded as being biased in the case. If she were, then her judicial obligations would require her to stand down from dealing with the case. If Deepa is required to sentence Jake and Aisha, she will be required to follow very detailed sentencing guidelines which are aimed at achieving objectively consistent sentences for any given offence.

By contrast, Fred may not be very sympathetic towards Jake and Aisha, but as a barrister he is required by his professional code of conduct to “promote fearlessly and by all proper and lawful means your client’s best interests and to do so without regard to your own interests.” Fred is also subject to what is called the ‘cab-rank rule’. This requires Fred to take on any case he is competent to deal with, taking into account his level of expertise and experience. So Fred must represent Jake and Aisha if so instructed.

Finally, what would be the consequences for Jake and Aisha if they either pleaded guilty or were convicted following a trial? Even if they were only fined or made the subject of a conditional discharge, the regulatory bodies (here the Bar Standards Board and the General Medical Council) may not allow them to enter their chosen professions because they will now have a criminal record.

 

Postscript

In January 2020, Counter-terrorism police placed Extinction Rebellion (a non-violent protest group) on a list of extremist ideologies that should be reported to the authorities running the Prevent programme, which is aimed at catching those at risk of committing atrocities.

Extinction Rebellion was included in a 12-page guide produced by counter-terrorism police entitled ‘Safeguarding young people and adults from ideological extremism’.

 

  

Did you find this question interesting?

If you enjoyed this topic, these are the courses we think would be best suited for you.

LLB Law

Our law degree known as an LLB or Bachelor of Laws is equivalent to a BA or BSc. If your career aspiration is to be a solicitor or barrister in the UK, this degree is perfect for you.

Discover more

LLB with Criminology

Our LLB with Criminology degree combines your legal studies with an exploration of criminology including crime, criminal justice and criminal behaviour.

Discover more

Explore other topics within Law or go back to our Real World hub.