Resumen
The Public Order Act 2023 creates new criminal offences and police powers specifically targeting protest tactics that cause serious disruption, primarily in response to direct-action campaigns by groups such as Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion. The Act supplements earlier provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 by criminalising specific tactics including locking on, tunnelling, and interference with key national infrastructure. It introduces Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (SDPOs) allowing civil conditions to be imposed on persistent protest-related offenders. The Act has been controversial: the Joint Committee on Human Rights raised concerns that some provisions may be incompatible with Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of expression and assembly). Several provisions were successfully challenged in the courts — the House of Lords amended the Bill significantly and the government overrode these amendments using Commons privilege, prompting criticism from constitutional law scholars. The Act came into force on 2 May 2023.
Puntos clave
- Section 1: locking on offence — attaching oneself, another person, or an object to another person, object, or land in a way that causes or is capable of causing serious disruption; maximum 6 months on summary conviction
- Section 2: going equipped for locking on — possessing an article intending it to be used to lock on; maximum 6 months
- Section 3: tunnelling offence — creating or assisting the creation of a tunnel, or being present in a tunnel, that causes or is capable of causing serious disruption; maximum 3 years on indictment
- Section 6: obstruction of major transport works — wilfully obstruction or interference with persons engaged in construction or maintenance of major transport infrastructure; maximum 6 months
- Section 7: interference with use or operation of key national infrastructure (petroleum, gas, electricity, water, road, rail, airport infrastructure) — maximum 12 months
- Sections 17-19: suspicion-less stop and search powers in specific protest contexts — authorised by superintendent-level officer for 24-hour periods in a specified area; controversial provisions challenged as incompatible with Article 8 ECHR
- Sections 20-28: Serious Disruption Prevention Orders — civil orders made by the Crown Court or magistrates imposing conditions (prohibitions or requirements) on individuals who have been convicted of protest-related offences or who have contributed to serious disruption on at least two occasions
Partes y secciones
Historial de enmiendas
2024 — Human rights litigation
In National Council for Civil Liberties v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] (Divisional Court), the stop and search provisions in ss.17-19 were challenged as incompatible with Articles 8, 10, and 11 ECHR. Proceedings were ongoing as of 2026.
2024 — Judicial review of SDPOs
The definition of 'serious disruption' used in the SDPO provisions and the new offences was subject to challenge, noting the same term was given a narrower meaning in Supreme Court litigation under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (Director of Public Prosecutions v Ziegler [2021] UKSC 23).