Legal Case Summary
Shaw v DPP [1962] AC 220
Conspiracy to Corrupt Public Morals – Prostitution – Public Morals – Court’s Ability to Create New Offence
Facts
The defendant created magazines, which contained personal adverts for prostitutes. This included their personal contact details, photographs and descriptions of their services. The solicitation of prostitution was now illegal by virtue of the Street Offences Act 1959. The defendant also received money from the prostitutes for the directory; thus, he was living on the earnings of prostitutes. The defendant was convicted of conspiracy to corrupt public morals, as well as acting contrary to s30 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 (living on the earnings of prostitution) and s2 of the Obscene Publications act 1959 (publishing an obscene article).
Issues
The defendant appealed the conviction of conspiracy to corrupt public morals, arguing that this was not a charge recognised by the law of England. The issue for the Court was whether there was a charge of conspiracy to corrupt public morals and if the court had the discretion to create such an offence.
Decision/Outcome
The appeal was dismissed and the conviction was upheld. The Court found the defendant’s decision to feature prostitute adverts in his magazines as dangerous to the welfare of society and it was their duty to protect the public majority’s morals, as well as safety and order. This meant that the Court was able to create offences in order to adapt to changing standards in life and in regard to the values and morals of society. Thus, this case created the new offence of conspiracy to corrupt public morals and established that an offence that was not written in criminal statute could be recognised as a legal charge.
Updated 20 March 2026
This case summary remains accurate as a description of the House of Lords’ decision in Shaw v DPP [1962] AC 220. However, readers should be aware of two important subsequent developments.
First, the offence of conspiracy to corrupt public morals was preserved by statute. The Criminal Law Act 1977 abolished most forms of common law conspiracy but expressly preserved conspiracy to corrupt public morals and conspiracy to outrage public decency (see section 5(3) of the Criminal Law Act 1977, as it stands on legislation.gov.uk). These offences therefore continue to exist, but on a narrowed and codified basis alongside the Act’s statutory conspiracy provisions.
Second, the broader proposition in Shaw that the courts retain a residual power to create new criminal offences has been substantially undermined by later authority. In R v Knuller (Publishing, Printing and Promotions) Ltd [1973] AC 435, the House of Lords, while upholding the existence of conspiracy to corrupt public morals and conspiracy to outrage public decency, expressed serious reservations about the courts’ capacity to create new offences, with several Law Lords doubting that Shaw should be read as a general authority for judicial creation of crimes. The article’s statement that this case established that courts can freely create new offences should therefore be read with caution in light of Knuller and subsequent judicial reluctance to extend this principle. The Street Offences Act 1959 and the Sexual Offences Act 1956 provisions mentioned in the article have since been repealed and replaced, principally by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the Policing and Crime Act 2009, though this does not affect the case’s legal or historical significance.
