16th June 2007, 07:06 PM
Thanks for that Simon (and welcome to BAJR - Simon is a/the leading expert witness in archaeology) - that is a very good summary of the situation and what we are faced with. My understanding of the situation is the same as yours. Broadly we are faced with either projects grinding to a halt or the risk of censure.
This isnt the first time there has been a major shift in the intrepretation of the burial laws and I wonder to what extent the MoJ has the powers to make such judgement rather than a court.
I have suggested to Sebastion Payne that he collates the number of projects that are affected rather than relying on the MoJ estimate of 20-30.
There are other issues to consider - what are the defences against prosecution for example, how far are the offences de minimus or would a prosecution be in the public interest.
There is also the issue of how IFA codes of conduct interact with this major shift in legal interpretation.
Peter Wardle
This isnt the first time there has been a major shift in the intrepretation of the burial laws and I wonder to what extent the MoJ has the powers to make such judgement rather than a court.
I have suggested to Sebastion Payne that he collates the number of projects that are affected rather than relying on the MoJ estimate of 20-30.
There are other issues to consider - what are the defences against prosecution for example, how far are the offences de minimus or would a prosecution be in the public interest.
There is also the issue of how IFA codes of conduct interact with this major shift in legal interpretation.
Peter Wardle