Part VIII Examples of Legal Risk, 27 Vague Laws

Subject(s):

Financial regulation

This chapter continues the discussion of examples of legal risk, focusing on over-ambitious legislation, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002), and market abuse. In the UK, there is a tendency pass laws with ambitious titles, that suggest they can, for example, ‘prevent’ fraud or terrorism. However, the truth of the matter is that no amount of legislation will ever eradicate bad behaviour simply by making it an offence. Over time, legislation may have an influence on moral perceptions in society and that, in turn, may affect the way a substantial number of people behave. One example of over-ambitious legislation is the POCA 2002. This law has been criticized by the Financial Markets Law Committee as giving rise to legal uncertainty, especially with regard to ‘in what circumstances conduct outside England and Wales is criminal within the meaning of POCA’.