An appellate criminal court vacated custodial sentences imposed on anti-fracking protesters, concluding that direct action protests are covered by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and that the protesters should receive non-custodial sentences because they showed remorse.

In January 2017 the British Oil and Gas Authority granted an oil and gas exploration and production company a license to explore for shale gas by fracking.  In July 2017 defendants climbed on top of trucks carrying drilling equipment, causing the road to be blocked for 11 hours.  Defendants were convicted of public nuisance, and the judge determined that their conduct crossed the "custody threshold" justifying a sentence of detention.  Defendants appealed their sentences.  The appellate court rejected the argument that any offense committed in the source of protesting, as a matter of domestic and ECHR law, should not receive a custodial sentence in the absence of violence against the person.  However, the appellate court concluded that direct action falls within the scope of article 10 and 11 of the ECHR, which protect freedom of speech and association, and determined that because defendants expressed remorse for the disruption they caused, they should not have been subject to custodial sentences.

R v Roberts

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R v Roberts - opinion

Filed

An appellate criminal court vacated custodial sentences imposed on anti-fracking protesters, concluding that direct action protests are covered by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and that the protesters should receive non-custodial sentences because they showed remorse.

In January 2017 the British Oil and Gas Authority granted an oil and gas exploration and production company a license to explore for shale gas by fracking.  In July 2017 defendants climbed on top of trucks carrying drilling equipment, causing the road to be blocked for 11 hours.  Defendants were convicted of public nuisance, and the judge determined that their conduct crossed the "custody threshold" justifying a sentence of detention.  Defendants appealed their sentences.  The appellate court rejected the argument that any offense committed in the source of protesting, as a matter of domestic and ECHR law, should not receive a custodial sentence in the absence of violence against the person.  However, the appellate court concluded that direct action falls within the scope of article 10 and 11 of the ECHR, which protect freedom of speech and association, and determined that because defendants expressed remorse for the disruption they caused, they should not have been subject to custodial sentences. 

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Agriculture mitigation refers to practices used to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions at every level of the agrifood systems, from production to consumption.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

R v Roberts - opinion

Risk

Impacted group

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance