Law Lords to rule on sex cases

The Law Lords were today being asked to rule on a legal row over whether the sexual history of women rape complainants can be used in evidence by the defence.

Lawyers for Home Secretary Jack Straw were challenging a Court of Appeal ruling, won last December by a man accused of rape, that his human right to a fair trial would be infringed by a recently introduced law stating that the victim's sex life should not normally be mentioned in court.

The man, who cannot be named because his trial is still pending, claims the woman had consensual sex with him shortly before the alleged rape and that that is relevant to his defence.

The appeal judges held that, to avoid distortion of the trial process, a woman could be questioned about her sex life if the defendant honestly believed she gave her consent.

Last week, a women's rights pressure group, the Fawcett Society, failed in a plea for the right to intervene in the case by challenging the all-male constitution of the law lords.

But another campaigning group, Justice for Women, is expected to make representations on the merits of the case during this week's House of Lords hearing.

Legislation designed to protect rape complainants against having their sexual histories dragged up in court was passed in 1999 after lobbying by women's groups, who argued that past sexual activity was irrelevant to the question of whether the woman had consented on a given occasion.

Several prosecutions are on hold pending the Law Lords' decision on whether the legislation breaches Human Rights Act provisions relating to the right to a fair trial.

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