Necessity, Non‐Violent Direct Activism, and the Stansted 15: Reasserting ‘Hoffmann's Bargain’ Article Swipe
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· 2021
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12715
· OA: W4200337422
In Thacker and ors the Court of Appeal overturned the convictions of the ‘Stansted 15’ due to a misdirection on the substantive offence. However, the court rejected their necessity defence, following Jones , as their actions were political, outweighing a desire to avoid a risk of death or serious injury; in a ‘functioning democratic state’ their claims should have been pursued through conventional means. This is a reaffirmation of what we call ‘Hoffmann's Bargain’; in Jones , Lord Hoffmann noted that non‐violent protestors who act proportionately can expect the state to act with restraint, but a necessity defence is unavailable. We argue that this rejection of the defence is mistaken and overly broad for direct action cases. It also fails to acknowledge Valderamma‐Vega , where the Court of Appeal held that defendants who claim duress may act for different motives as long as one is the avoidance of death or serious injury.
