Obscene Publications Act
Encyclopedia
Since 1857, a series of obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...

 law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

s known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published in England and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. The classic definition of criminal obscenity is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt," stated in 1868 by John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge.

There have been several Acts of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of this name:
  • Obscene Publications Act 1857
    Obscene Publications Act 1857
    The Obscene Publications Act 1857 , also known as Lord Campbell's Act or Campbell's Act, was a major piece of obscenity legislation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

  • Obscene Publications Act 1959
    Obscene Publications Act 1959
    The Obscene Publications Act 1959 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity. Prior to the passage of the Act, the law on publishing obscene materials was governed by the common law case of R v Hicklin, which had no exceptions...

  • Obscene Publications Act 1964


Of these, only the 1959 and 1964 acts are still in force in England and Wales, as amended by more recent legislation. They define the legal bounds of obscenity in England and Wales, and are used to enforce the censorship of obscene material. Irish law diverged from English law in 1929, replacing the OPA 1857 with a new Irish act; see Irish statutes relating to censorship.

Important events in the recent history of the Obscene Publications Act have included:
  • 1960: the Lady Chatterley's Lover
    Lady Chatterley's Lover
    Lady Chatterley's Lover is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, first published in 1928. The first edition was printed privately in Florence, Italy with assistance from Pino Orioli; it could not be published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960...

    obscenity trial (found not guilty)
  • 1971: the Schoolkids Oz
    Schoolkids OZ
    Schoolkids OZ was issue 28 of the Oz magazine, famous for being the subject of a high-profile obscenity case in the United Kingdom in June 1971. The OZ trial ended on 5 August 1971.-History:...

     obscenity trial (found guilty, overturned on appeal)
  • 1976: the Inside Linda Lovelace
    Linda Lovelace
    Linda Susan Boreman , better known by her stage name Linda Lovelace, was an American pornographic actress who was famous for her performance of deep throat fellatio in the enormously successful 1972 hardcore porn film Deep Throat...

    obscenity trial (found not guilty)
  • 1984: the Gay's the Word
    Gay's the Word (bookshop)
    Located at 66 Marchmont Street in the Bloomsbury district of London, Gay's The Word is the only specifically lesbian and gay bookstore in the UK. 2011 marks the 32nd anniversary of the founding of the store, which first opened its doors on 1 January 1979...

    prosecution (charges dropped)
  • 1991: David Britton
    David Britton
    David Britton is a British author, artist, and publisher. In the 1970s he founded Weird Fantasy and Crucified Toad, a series of small press magazines of the speculative fiction and horror genres...

    's "Lord Horror" prosecution (not prosecuted - banned under the act, but later overturned)
  • 2009: Darryn Walker found not guilty under the Obscene Publications Act for posting a story entitled "Girls (Scream) Aloud", a fictional written account on an internet erotic story site describing the kidnap, rape and murder of pop group Girls Aloud
    Girls Aloud
    Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...

    .
  • 2010: A man charged over an online text chat.


Scottish prohibitions on obscene material are to be found in section 51 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982
Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982
The Civic Government Act 1982 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which makes provision for a wide range of civic government matters....

.

External links

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