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KembaraXtra-Case Law-Blake v DPP (1993) OBD
I. Case Identification
I. Case Identification
- Case Name: Blake v DPP (1993)
- Citation: OBD
- Defendant (D): A vicar
- Action: Demonstrating against military force in Iraq and Kuwait.
- Specific Act: Wrote a Biblical quotation on a concrete pillar outside the Houses of Parliament using a marker pen.
- Initial Conviction: Criminal Damage
- Defendant's Claim/Defence:
- Sought to use s 5(2)(a) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971.
- Basis of Defence: Claimed to be acting under the instructions of God.
- Argument: This constituted consent to damage property, thus providing lawful authority for the act.
- Core Ruling: A belief, no matter how genuine, powerful, or honestly held, that one has the consent of God (and consequently the "law of England") to damage property, does not constitute lawful authority as an excuse.
- Outcome: Appeal dismissed.
- Divine Instruction vs. Lawful Authority: A subjective, religious belief in divine instruction or consent, even if sincerely held, does not translate into a legally recognised "lawful authority" for committing criminal damage under English law. The concept of "lawful authority" is determined by secular legal frameworks, not personal religious conviction.
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