Knuller v DPP [1973] AC 435
Conspiracy to Corrupt Public Morals – Homosexual Practices – Shaw v DPP followed – Courts no longer Create New Criminal Offences
Facts
The defendant was the director of a company, which published regular magazines for distribution. Inside the magazines, there was a page that had columns to advertise homosexual practices. It was concluded that this information encouraged males to meet up and engage in homosexual activity. The defendant was convicted for conspiracy to corrupt public morals.
Issues
The defendant appealed his conviction for conspiracy to corrupt public morals. This was on the issue of whether there was an offence of conspiracy to corrupt public morals recognized by the law of England and if he could be convicted of such an offence.
Decision/Outcome
The appeal was dismissed and the conviction was upheld. The law does recognise conspiracy to corrupt public morals as an offence, as this was created by Shaw v DPPand this was to be followed. This case established that the courts has a duty to protect society’s morals and can enforce their own decisions. Lord Reid commented that he did not agree with the Shaw v DPPverdict and he had dissented in that case, but he also did not wish to reconsider this decision now. He stated that while decisions are not always binding on other courts, there is a need for certainty in the law that means not every disagreeable decision should be reversed. The courts now have no power to create new criminal offences and can only be created by Parliament.
Updated 19 March 2026
This article accurately summarises the House of Lords’ decision in Knuller v DPP [1973] AC 435. The core legal principles discussed — the recognition of conspiracy to corrupt public morals as a common law offence following Shaw v DPP [1962] AC 220, and the principle that courts no longer create new criminal offences — remain historically accurate statements of the law.
However, readers should be aware of important subsequent legal developments. The offence of conspiracy to corrupt public morals, as a common law conspiracy, was significantly affected by the Criminal Law Act 1977. Section 5(3) of that Act preserved common law conspiracies to corrupt public morals and to outrage public decency, while abolishing most other forms of common law conspiracy. The offence therefore survives in a modified statutory framework.
More broadly, the context of the case — the criminalisation of the advertisement of homosexual contact — is now of historical interest only. The Sexual Offences Act 1967 (which had decriminalised certain homosexual acts between consenting adults in private) was the backdrop to the original litigation, but the law has changed substantially since. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 comprehensively reformed sexual offences law in England and Wales, and the Equality Act 2010 provides strong protections against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
The principle that courts cannot create new criminal offences, affirmed in this case, was further confirmed by the House of Lords in R v Rimmington; R v Goldstein [2005] UKHL 63. This article remains a useful summary of the case itself, but students should situate it within these broader statutory and social law changes.
