Rule of Law

ASSESSMENT

This assessment is made up of two parts / components and you MUST COMPLETE BOTH

The basis of the assessment:

During a ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest in Bristol in 2020, four individuals were charged with criminal damage under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 for toppling the statue of Edward Colston and throwing it into the Bristol harbour. At the trial, the four’s defence lawyer argued that the statue was so indecent and potentially abusive that it constituted a crime by its very presence. Colston was linked to the slave trade. On the 5th January 2022, a jury acquitted the four of criminal damage. Yet there was no denying that they had taken the action of toppling the statue and throwing it into the harbour.

Bearing the above in mind, address the following question under the TWO PARTS BELOW:

How might one assess this outcome from the perspective of the rule of law? Use at least two definitions of the rule of law that we have looked at in the module in answering the question.

In order to do this, you need to do the following:

Part 1 (up to 500 words):
Briefly identify the key differences between formal and substantive versions of the rule of law.
Provide an outline or plan of how you think the question should be addressed if presenting it in an essay.

To help you, look at the judge’s direction to the jury in R v Milo Ponsford, Sage Willoughby, Rhian Graham & Jake Skuse at https://legalhackette.com/2022/01/09/r-v-milo-ponsford-sage-willoughby-rhian-graham-jake-skuse/