The Criminal Law Act 1977 (c.45) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It creates the offence of conspiracy in English law. It also created offences concerned with criminal trespass in premises, made changes to sentencing, and created an offence of falsely reporting the existence of a bomb.
Main provisions
Part I - Conspiracy
Part II - Offences relating to entering and remaining on property
This Part implemented recommendations contained in the Report on Conspiracy and Criminal Law Reform (Law Com 76) by the Law Commission.
Section 6 - Violence for securing entry
Section 6 creates an offence of using or threatening unauthorised violence for the purpose of securing entry into any premises, while there is known to be a person inside opposing entry. Violence is taken to include violence to property, as well as to people.
This section has been widely used by squatters in England and Wales, as it makes it a crime in most circumstances for the landlord to force entry, as long as the squatters are physically present and express opposition to the landlord's entry. "Squatters rights" do not apply when the property appears to be occupied (e.g. there are signs of current use, furniture, etc.).
Section 6 is referred to in printed legal warnings, which are commonly displayed near the entrances to squatted buildings. Squatters are not protected by the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, which makes it a crime to evict tenants without following the legal process.
Reasonable force used by a bailiff executing a possession order would not be considered unauthorised violence, so landlords can still legally regain possession through the courts.
Laws regarding squatting residential properties were revised in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
Section 7 - Adverse occupation of residential premises
Section 8 - Trespassing with a weapon of offence
Section 9 - Trespassing on the premises of foreign missions etc
The purpose of this offence is to fill the lacuna that might otherwise have been left in the law by the abolition of the common law offence of conspiracy to trespass by section 5(1) of the Act.
Section 10 - Obstruction of court officers executing process for possession against unauthorised occupiers Section 11 - Power of entry for the purpose of Part II of the Act Section 12 - Supplementary provisions
Section 13 - Abolitions and repeals
This section abolished existing offences and repealed earlier statutes that were superseded by Part II of the Act.
Subsection (1) abolished the common law offence of forcible entry and any offence at common law of forcible detainer.
Subsection (2) repealed: The Forcible Entry Act 1381 15 Ric 2 c 2 The Forcible Entry Act 1429 The Forcible Entry Act 1588 The Forcible Entry Act 1623
Part III - Criminal procedure, penalties etc
This Part implemented recommendations contained in the Report of the Interdepartmental Committee on the Distribution of Criminal Business between the Crown Court and Magistrates' Courts (Cmnd 6323) (1975).
Section 14 - Preliminary
This section provided that sections 15 to 24 had effect for the purpose of securing that, as regards mode of trial, there were only three classes of offence, namely offences triable only on indictment, offences triable only summarily and offences triable either way, for laying down a single procedure applicable to all cases where a person who had attained the age of seventeen appeared or was brought before a magistrates' court on an information charging him with an offence triable either way, and for related purposes.
Section 15 - Offences which are to become triable only summarily
Section 16 - Offences which are to become triable either way
Subsection (2) replaced section 19 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1952. This section was replaced by section 17 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.
Section 17 - Offence which is to become triable only on indictment
This section made the offence of criminal libel triable only on indictment. It did this by repealing section 5 of the Newspaper Libel and Registration Act 1881. It was repealed by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1993 because it was spent by virtue of section 15 of the Interpretation Act 1978.