The Electronic Commerce Directive (Hatred against Persons on Religious Grounds or the Grounds of Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2010
These Regulations give effect to Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8th June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce) (“the Directive”) in relation to the offences of stirring up hatred against persons on religious grounds or on the grounds of sexual orientations contained in Part 3A of the Public Order Act 1986 (“the 1986 Act”). Part 3A was originally inserted into the 1986 Act by the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006, which created a number of offences in England and Wales relating to the stirring up of religious hatred. The Directive was given effect in relation to those offences by The Electronic Commerce Directive (Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006) Regulations 2007 (“the 2007 Regulations”), which these Regulations revoke. Section 74 of and Schedule 16 to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (“the 2008 Act”) amend Part 3A of the 1986 Act so as to extend the offences in England and Wales which previously related to the stirring up of religious hatred so that they now relate also to the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.