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Conversation about the laws making headlines, and the laws that shape everyday life.

The Law Show is your guide to the law and the legal decisions that have a bearing on everyone in the UK.

Weekly conversation that will give you an in-depth understanding of the law stories making news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. Whether it's unpicking a landmark legal ruling, explaining how laws are made or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide.

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Law in Action

The Law Show: Sexual Risk Orders

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21/06/2016

Sexual Risk Orders

BBC Radio 4 - The Law Show, Sexual Risk Orders

Policing the daily life of potential sex offenders before they are given a conviction.

How the police are using a new law to restrict the daily life of potential sex offenders before they have a conviction. Plus the controversy over rising court fees rumbles on.

A man living in Yorkshire has been told he must give the police 24 hours before he plans to have sex - despite having no conviction, after being cleared during a rape trial last year. 

This restriction on his behaviour is a result of a Sexual Risk Order - what some have dubbed 'Sex ASBOS' - which have been designed to prohibit the activity of people deemed to be a potential threat to the public. This could be limiting access to the internet or preventing people from being alone with children - but is there a fine line between crime prevention, and unfairly punishing people who have no criminal record?

Plus: The decision to raise court fees in England and Wales has been a controversial one and this week the House of Commons Justice Committee published its report on the policy. It didn't pull any punches. Joshua Rozenberg speaks to committee chairman Bob Neill MP. 

Finally: the quality of the courtroom performance of witnesses can determine the difference in winning or losing a case. Law in Action finds a court where people are actively encouraged to kick up a song and dance - the Karaoke Court. 

In East London artist and law graduate Jack Tan has created a mock courtroom, with all the traditional trappings of the law re-imagined. He wants to revive the spirit of Central Arctic Eskimo song duels, in which claims were resolved through singing. A paying audience will help to decide disputes between a number of litigants, singing their case in front of a real-live circuit judge who'll act as an arbitrator. 

CONTRIBUTORS

Bob Neill MP, Chair of the House of Commons Justice Committee

Hugh Davies QC, Three Raymond Buildings

Detective Superintendent Nigel Costello, North Yorkshire Police

Jack Tan, Artist

PRODUCERS: Richard Fenton-Smith & Ben Crighton.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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