The town's Rotary Club heard from a former Aberystwyth University professor on the topic of 'bad laws' at their latest meeting.

Club president Hywel Davies welcomed members and guest to a well-attended first meeting of 2023 and noted that this would be the 75th year in the history of Aberystwyth Rotary Club. Several events are being planned to celebrate this landmark.

The guest speaker at the meeting was Emeritus Professor John Williams, formerly of the Department of Law and Criminology at Aberystwyth University, whose spoke on the topic of ’bad laws’.

A simplistic view of a law is that it is passed to solve a problem, however passing a law in Parliament, or in the Senedd, is only the first step. All too often, the circumstances to which the law relates change as society evolves and technology advances.

For example, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 established the legal framework that governs infertility treatment, but it soon became out of date and some of its definitions, such as that of the embryo, were found to be flawed.

Similarly, legislation does not age well in relation to the internet, the environment and money laundering, all being areas which are difficult for the law to keep up with.

Good law makes people change their behaviour. When seat belts were introduced, they were rarely worn until it became a legal requirement in 1983. Consequently, fatalities dropped by 29 per cent and injuries by 33 per cent and the wearing of seat belts was no longer seen as an intrusion.

Less successful laws often have unintended consequences. Mexico City, one of the most polluted conurbations in the world, began instituting car bans in 1989.

It allowed car owners to drive in the city based on their licence plate numbers – odd numbered vehicles one day, even numbered the next (like Aberystwyth Recycling Centre during Covid!). To get around the law, drivers purchased a second car so that they had one odd numbered and one even numbered, but these were usually old, more polluting, cars and so the problem was made even worse.

At the start of the 20th century, Hanoi had a major rat infestation. The French authorities of the time introduced legislation which included a bounty for each rat’s tail. The wild rats were difficult to catch so the locals bred their own, cut off their tails and released the tailless rats into the wild and so the population increased!

The closure of pubs on a Sunday in some counties in Wales led to flourishing trade in private clubs on that day – the students’ union at the university being a good example. These are illustrations of a perverse incentive – one that has an unintended and undesirable result that is contrary to the intentions of its designers.

While ignorance of the law is not an excuse, there are some peculiar circumstances in which the law can be broken. The use of a mobile phone when driving is an offence, but in drive- through restaurants the driver will inevitably use a mobile phone to order food.

There is a need for more public education of the law. Professor Williams noted that the Old College building, currently undergoing major refurbishment, will have a ‘Law Room’ which will help raise such a profile.

In Wales the challenge of introducing and reviewing legislation is a significant one given the relatively small scale of the Senedd and its civil service. In the UK, more thought needs to be given to how laws are made particularly in light of future developments.

Past president Hywel Jones thanked Professor Williams for his informative and entertaining talk.

Are you a member of a group in your community? Do you have news, photos and videos of your latest activities to share? Send them to [email protected]