Prince Andrew, the lawyer explains: «A critical matter, however not a constitutional disaster» | EUROtoday

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With the arrest of the previous Prince Andrew, the British monarchy enters one in every of its most delicate phases in latest a long time. But what’s the scope of the accusation and what results will it have on the Crown’s property? We talked about it with Robert Hazell, barrister and founding father of the Constitution Unit, University College London’s suppose tank specializing in constitutional reform.

Professor Hazell, how critical is the crime alleged in opposition to the prince and what ought to the prosecution show?

«This is a critical accusation: the crime of misconduct in public workplace, i.e. abuse of public perform. It is a standard regulation crime, subsequently not offered for by a selected statutory regulation, however deriving from customary regulation. To get hold of a conviction, the prosecution must exhibit that, on the time of the info, the prince held a public workplace and that he abused the belief related to that position in such a critical method as to represent an actual betrayal of public belief, with out cheap justification.”

What legal consequences could Prince Andrew face?

“Being a common law crime, the theoretical maximum sentence can reach up to life imprisonment.”