The UK Pirate Party

Younger sibling of Sweden’s anti-PC, anti-mass surveillance, pro-liberty and free speech Pirate Party, the UK Pirate Party is fielding 10 candidates for the general election. As their website puts it, these candidates are preparing “to take the fight for free culture, evidence based policy, copyright and patent reform, and an end to warrantless blanket mass surveillance to Westminster.”

I listened to its justice spokesman Mark Chapman talking with Andrew Neill on the Daily Politics today. Courteous, thoughtful and uncompromisingly pro-liberty, he did an excellent job. No grandstanding, no tub-thumping, just intelligent and honest replies to probing questions (I think even the battle-hardened Neill warmed to him). If there was a candidate standing in my constituency, I would definitely vote for him or her.

Among many other thoughtful policies, it would immediately repeal poorly-defined, over broad criminal laws that are used to stifle liberty (prime candidates for the pooper include the Communications Act of 2003, which is woefully outdated and allows people to be arrested for making jokes on Twitter, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, which is loosely defined and authorises multiple violations of basic human rights, including testimony obtained under torture).

There are many other reforms to take us away from the illiberal authoritarianism of mass government snooping in favour of more intelligent targeted surveillance (“We don’t want to add more hay to the haystack when we’re looking for the needle,” as Mark Chapman put it).

Here's what they say about the justice system:

The Justice system in the UK is disproportionately applied in many cases, and many judicial mechanisms are hidden from public scrutiny. We are committed to creating a transparent, reasonable and fair justice system for all.

There should be no more secret courts. All judicial process should be fair, open and accountable, Justice must be seen to be done. The police must be transparent and accountable; we would ensure independent oversight of all investigations into police wrongdoing - police internal investigations should run their full course even if an officer under investigation resigns or retires. We will insist that searches of personal property should only be done with reasonable suspicion of a serious criminal offence.

Judicial review of all other officials should be protected; it is essential that courts prevent officials from acting outside of their legal powers. We would remove restrictions on who can ask for a judicial review, and give High Court judges the discretion to conduct reviews without interference.

Alcohol and drug abuse or dependency should no longer be treated as criminal issues; people suffering from alcohol or drug addiction need help, not punishment. Contaminated drugs can kill; people should be able to submit dangerous or contaminated drugs to officials, without fear of being prosecuted. Safe locations should be provided for heroin addicts to inject, with sterile equipment and under medical supervision.

The poor are served disproportionately by the justice system. Legal representation must be available to all; it should not be a privilege for those who can afford it. We would reverse cuts to Legal Aid and introduce reforms to guarantee access to legal representation for all. Sanctions would discourage frivolous motions.

Fines issued to convicted criminals should be proportionate to the person's wealth, in order to penalise people equally. We would introduce a system of "Day Fines", where punishments are assessed based on annual income; fines are then scaled accordingly, to punish people equally. This would also apply to commercial fines, which would scale fairly for both large multinational and small businesses.

Imprisonment should be a last resort, and should be a process of rehabilitation, rather than punishment. Removing prisoners' vote violates their human rights. Voting is an essential part of society; by allowing prisoners to meaningfully participate in society, we can rehabilitate them back into it. Prisoners would be permitted to vote in the constituency they were registered in prior to incarceration.

www.pirateparty.org.uk/policy/justice/home

Definitely worthy of some serious thought if you have a candidate standing in your constituency, IMHO.