English legal system case report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

English legal system case report - Essay Example ited type of knife has been described by this section as one that has an automatically opening blade (Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act (c.37), 1959). However, in this knife, the blade should open when hand pressure is applied to a button or other device attached to the knife handle. Such offence attracts the following punishment, on summary conviction. For a first offence the offender will be sentenced to prison for a term that does not exceed three months or to a fine that is limited to  £50 or to both (Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act (c.37), 1959). In this case, the chief inspector charged the respondent with an offence under the provisions of section 1 of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959. The charge was that on 26 October1959, the respondent had made an offer of sale with respect to a prohibited variety of knife. This knife opened automatically on pressure being applied to a device that was attached to the handle of the knife (Souper, 2008). The respondent consented to the police constable’s request to examine the knife. Thereafter, the latter confiscated the knife and submitted it to the superintendent of police. Subsequently, he returned to the shop and informed the respondent that the knife had been determined to be a flick knife and that he would be reported for offering it for sale (Souper, 2008). In court the appellant contended that the display of the knife in the shop window by the respondent with its price, constituted an offer of sale of the knife, in accordance with the provisions of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959. This was contested by the respondent, who stated that he had never offered the knife for sale, as per the interpretation of the 1959 Act (Souper, 2008). The plaintiff’s main contention was that the display of Knife in the shop window does not amount to an offer. The court held that as this Act was devoid of a definition, the term offer for sale had to be determined from the law of contract. As a