Loophole over selling banned DVDs 限制级DVD销售出现法律漏洞
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-08-25 01:41 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Retailers1 who sell violent video games and 18-rated DVDs to children cannot be prosecuted2 because of a legal blunder 25 years ago.

出售暴力电玩和向未成年人出售限制级DVD的零售商不会遭到起诉,因为25年前的一个法律失误。

The law was meant to protect children from <a href=explicit3 DVDs" width="226" border="0" src="/upimg/090825/4_020226_1.jpg" />
The law was meant to protect children from explicit DVDs

Dozens of prosecutions5 under a 1984 Act have been dropped because the government of the day failed to notify the European Commission about the law.

But previous prosecutions will stand, according to the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).

The Lib Dems said the error had "thrown film censorship(影片审查) into chaos6".

The Video Regulations Act (VRA) was brought in by Margaret Thatcher's government and set down that videos and video games must be classified and age rated by the British Board of Film Classification.

It made it illegal to sell violent video games to children and the most explicit(明确的,详述的) adult films could be sold only in licensed7 sex shops.

'Unfortunate situation'

Culture Media and Sport Minister Barbara Follett has written to the industry bodies to inform them the act was "no longer enforceable".

In her letter, she said: "Unfortunately, the discovery of this omission8(省略,疏忽) means that, a quarter of a century later, the VRA is no longer enforceable against individuals in United Kingdom courts."

Mrs Follett said the government hoped to remedy(治疗,补救) the "unfortunate situation" as quickly as possible.

She asked the industry bodies to handle the situation with "care and sensitivity" to ensure "minimal9" advantage is taken of the loophole(枪眼,换气孔).

The loophole means no-one can be prosecuted until the law is passed again and that will take three months.

A spokeswoman from the government department said retailers had agreed to keep to the rules on a voluntary basis and previous prosecutions will still stand.

"Our legal advice is that those previously10 prosecuted will be unable to overturn their prosecution4 or receive financial recompense(报偿,赔偿)," she said.

'Outrageous11' delay

Ministry12 of Justice figures for 2007, the latest available, show 87 people were convicted under the act for offences including supplying material which should be sold only in sex shops and selling unclassified work.

The Liberal Democrat's culture spokesman Don Foster said: "The Conservatives' incompetence13 when they were in government has made laws designed to prevent video piracy14 and protect children from harmful DVDs unenforceable(不可能的) and thrown film censorship into chaos.

"This must be a massive embarrassment15 to the Tories, especially as David Cameron was the special adviser16 to the home secretary in 1993 when the law was amended17."

But the shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was "outrageous" such an administrative18 error could go unnoticed for so many years.

"Much of the problem would have been avoided if they had sorted out the classification of video games earlier, as we and many others in the industry have been urging them to do," he added.

The error was discovered during work on the UK government's Digital Britain project, which aims to boost broadband and new media in the UK.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 retailers 08ff8df43efeef1abfd3410ef6661c95     
零售商,零售店( retailer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
  • Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。
2 prosecuted Wk5zqY     
a.被起诉的
参考例句:
  • The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
  • The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
3 explicit IhFzc     
adj.详述的,明确的;坦率的;显然的
参考例句:
  • She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
  • He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。
4 prosecution uBWyL     
n.起诉,告发,检举,执行,经营
参考例句:
  • The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
  • He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。
5 prosecutions 51e124aef1b1fecefcea6048bf8b0d2d     
起诉( prosecution的名词复数 ); 原告; 实施; 从事
参考例句:
  • It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
  • Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来,政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
6 chaos 7bZyz     
n.混乱,无秩序
参考例句:
  • After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后,城市一片混乱。
  • The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
7 licensed ipMzNI     
adj.得到许可的v.许可,颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
  • Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗?
8 omission mjcyS     
n.省略,删节;遗漏或省略的事物,冗长
参考例句:
  • The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
  • The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。
9 minimal ODjx6     
adj.尽可能少的,最小的
参考例句:
  • They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
  • I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家,所以我的花费很小。
10 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
11 outrageous MvFyH     
adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的
参考例句:
  • Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
  • Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。
12 ministry kD5x2     
n.(政府的)部;牧师
参考例句:
  • They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
  • We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
13 incompetence o8Uxt     
n.不胜任,不称职
参考例句:
  • He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
  • She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得,本是老板无能,但她却成了替罪羊。
14 piracy 9N3xO     
n.海盗行为,剽窃,著作权侵害
参考例句:
  • The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
  • They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。
15 embarrassment fj9z8     
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫
参考例句:
  • She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
  • Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
16 adviser HznziU     
n.劝告者,顾问
参考例句:
  • They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
  • Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
17 Amended b2abcd9d0c12afefe22fd275996593e0     
adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
  • He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。
18 administrative fzDzkc     
adj.行政的,管理的
参考例句:
  • The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
  • He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。
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