Indecency
A dictionary definition of Indecent
- not conforming with accepted standards of behaviour or morality.
- not appropriate
Indecent has wide application in UK Law but is not defined in any legislation. It is therefore something of which jucidical notice is taken; however, the dictionary definition may be used in the event of argument on its scope.
In R v Stanley (1965), Lord Parker tried to explain indecent items in relation to obscene items:
- The words 'indecent or obscene' convey one idea, namely, offending against the recognised standards of propriety, indecent being at the lower end of the scale and obscene at the upper end of the scale
In Knuller v DPP, Lord Reid said that indecency includes 'anything which an ordinary decent man or woman would find to be shocking, disgusting or revolting'.
In R v Graham-Kerr (1988), Stocker L.J. said that the appropriate test in the case of the Protection of Children Act 1978 was the application of the 'recognised standards of propriety' stated in R v Stamford (1972).
Obscenity is defined in the Obscene Publications Act
Quotation
- "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" — Attorney Joseph Welch, addressing Senator McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954.
See also
