individual communication to the united nations ... - Community Law

26protection and this serious breach of her human rights remains uninvestigated andunpunished.Comparable positions in other jurisdictionsUKThe Protection from Eviction Act 1977 makes it a criminal offence for any person toevict a residential occupier without following the correct legal procedure. The act alsomakes it an offence for a landlord, their agent or any person to harass a residentialoccupier with the aim of making them leave their home. The UK Act appears to givemuch broader protection and applies more widely than the Victorian residentialtenancies legislation. It would appear that under the UK Act, the eviction of theAuthor by Mr Barker would have been a criminal offence and could have attracted upto two years imprisonment.US - New JerseyOn January 12, 2006, New Jersey introduced laws making unlawful evictions a"disorderly persons offense". 63 Some of the consequences of this legislative changewere:The law requires police or any other public officials who find out about anunlawful “self-help” eviction to warn the landlord or his workers to stop. If thelandlord does not stop, then the landlord has broken the law. If the policearrive after the landlord has already locked the tenant out, the police must tellthe landlord to let the tenant back in. If the landlord refuses, then the landlordhas broken the law.Police must make sure that tenants who are illegally evicted get back into theirhome or apartment. If the landlord tries to keep the tenant from going back in,the police must stop the landlord. The police must also give the landlord asummons to go to court, or even arrest the landlord if he refuses to let thetenant back in.A landlord who tries to get a tenant out by doing any one of the followingthings is breaking the law. These things are now disorderly persons offenses:(1) The landlord uses violence or threats of violence to get the tenants out; or(2) the landlord says or does other things to try to scare the tenants intoleaving; or (3) the landlord takes the tenant‟s property and puts it outside; or63 Although Disorderly Persons offenses are handled in the municipal court and are considered offensesinstead of New Jersey Criminal Charges, a person convicted of one of these charges may potentially besubject to a variety of punishments, including incarceration and fines. A municipal Judge has the discretionto fine a defendant up to US$1,000 and to incarcerate them for up to six (6) months in jail if they pleadguilty or are found guilty of a Disorderly Persons offense. Certain Disorderly Persons offenses also carrywith them the mandatory loss of driving privileges, even if the offense had nothing to do with operating amotor vehicle. There are additional statutory fines and penalties that can make a finding of guilt very costlyto the defendant.Ashling Gandy v Australia, Individual Communication to the Human Rights Committee