Ridiculous laws abound in every country. Some of them arise in special historical circumstances or because of legal precedents. Time passes, the situation changes – but what is written in the penal code, you can’t knock out with an axe. Lawmakers are usually too lazy to change anything! One thing that saves the day is that as a rule, the most stupid and absurd ones are not enforced.

On the other hand, there are also various fake laws, about which people often write on the Internet, but in reality they do not exist. For example, the ban on kissing at railway stations is attributed to England and France – supposedly in this way the authorities guarantee that passengers will take a seat on time and the train will move according to schedule.

Australia

One of the funniest bans in Australia says that you have no right to appear in the street in pink shorts on Sundays. In second place, the ban on screwing in a light bulb yourself is always recalled – supposedly only a qualified electrician has this privilege. In fact, no Australian police officer will not fine you for all these “transgressions”.

But you can actually pay money if you store, buy or sell more than 50 kilos of potatoes in Western Australia. This law has been enforced since the food wars with the British metropolis. In the same region, you’ll pay a $1,000 fine if you try to crumple a can of beer between your bare breasts. And in South Australia, you’ll be charged $10,000 for disrupting a wedding ceremony. 

England

Britain is also full of weird laws that, thankfully, no one enforces. On paper you’re not allowed to clean carpets in the street between 8am and 10pm, drive cattle around town during daytime without proper permission, or turn a stamp depicting the king or queen upside down. The only place where it’s really dangerous to make jokes with banknotes is in Asia: in Thailand you’ll get a fine if you step on a banknote with the image of a monarch, and in India it’s forbidden to take rupees out of the country.

But if you feed seagulls in the Suffolk coastal county, you should probably take about €3.000 out of your pocket – local authorities don’t like these birds so much. And tourists in London should remember the fine for cycling on the sidewalk will cost you £100 and if you park your car and leave it running for over three minutes you’ll pay £120.

The stupidest law in Britain according to the locals is the law against dying inside the Houses of Parliament. The law was passed in 1313 and the explanation is simple: if you die in Parliament, the state must bury you at its own expense. So if you’re going on a tour of Parliament – hang on!

Belgium

If you are in Belgium in the cold season – remember the ridiculous law that prohibits residents to throw snowballs at each other. Five years ago Belgium decided by law that a snowball and a stone are the same thing. And if you value your €100, find something more fun to do – better roll down a snow slide or make a snowman. Not everywhere will you be able to do it with impunity!

Canada

Yes, it is prohibited to make snowmen over 75 centimeters in the Canadian town of Souris. In the town of Petrolia in Ontario it is forbidden to whistle, shout, or make any loud noises 24 hours a day at any time of the year, even if you have won the jackpot at an online casino. The local community is extremely negative to noisy tourists, which warns in advance on its official website. But that’s nothing compared to the absurd ban on publishing, distributing and storing crime-related comics! I wonder how that line even made its way into Canadian law. Fortunately, no one has issued any real fines for reading comic books yet.

Egypt

If you’re thinking of admiring birds through binoculars near the airport, you’d better not. You could end up under arrest and even go to jail for trying to spy on government aviation.

Italy

Another country is the leader in ridiculous bans. One of the most famous of them is the ban on feeding pigeons in St. Mark’s Square. The reason is simple: the birds deface monuments and spread disease. The penalty is about $600. In Venice and Florence is also better not to pamper the pigeons with bread, as local authorities take care of the historical facades.

Interestingly, in other Italian cities lawmaking is also in full swing. In Eraklia it is forbidden to build sand castles – allegedly it disturbs those walking along the promenade. On Venetian beaches it is forbidden to collect seashells (fines from €25 to €250). In Capri you are not allowed to wear wooden shoes, because they make a loud noise. And in Eboli you have to pay €500 if you get caught kissing in the car.

(However, this is nothing compared to kissing in Dubai and Indonesia: there you can pay not only a fine, but also your own freedom.)

Germany

This country has a strange law according to which you are not allowed to brake on the autobahn. Even if you have a flat tire or run out of fuel. You might manage to somehow persuade the cops to take your side but you’ll probably have to say goodbye to a hundred euros.

Switzerland

Most different publications write that in this country it is forbidden to flush the toilet after 10 pm – allegedly to respect the rules of silence. In fact, no one will fine you for it. But you can easily shell out $109 for a walk in the Alps naked! This law has been in place since 2010.

Singapore

You can pay as much as $500 if you don’t flush a public toilet. You can’t bring chewing gum into Singapore, let alone chew it, which will cost you $400. Oh, and speaking of birds, the local government took a toll on them too. You will have to pay up to $1000 if you want to feed the birds.

THE USA

And the list of countries with stupid and absurd laws is closed, of course, by the United States. Some states have dozens of ridiculous legislative initiatives. Sometimes they only make the locals smile. And sometimes they threaten with real fines. For example, in Illinois, you can be charged $1,000 if you hit rats with a baseball bat. In Minnesota, up to $2,000 if you drive through town with dirty tires. Colorado state authorities will fine you $500 for killing a dog (though if you steal it from a neighbor, you could go to jail for 10 years).

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The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter) brings together the fundamental rights of everyone living in the European Union (EU). It was introduced to bring consistency and clarity to the rights established at different times and in different ways in individual EU Member States.

The Charter sets out the full range of civil, political, economic and social rights based on:

• the fundamental rights and freedoms recognised by the European Convention on Human Rights
• the constitutional traditions of the EU Member States, for example, longstanding protections of rights which exist in the common law and constitutional law of the UK and other EU Member States
• the Council of Europe’s Social Charter
• the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, and
• other international conventions to which the EU or its Member States are parties.

The Charter became legally binding on EU Member States when the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force in December 2009.

How is the Charter different from the European Convention on Human Rights?

The Charter is sometimes confused with the European Convention on Human Rights. Although containing overlapping human rights provisions, the two operate within separate legal frameworks:

• The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union was drafted by the EU and is interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
• The European Convention on Human Rights, on the other hand, was drafted by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and is interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights.

The Charter can be seen as the overarching framework for human rights in the EU, of which the European Convention on Human Rights forms only one part, albeit an important one.

Unlike the European Convention, which has been incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act, the Charter of Fundamental Rights only applies to matters concerning EU Law but it can be raised in courts in the United Kingdom on such matters.

What does the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights do?

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) provides independent advice to EU institutions and Member States on the rights set out in the Charter. FRA also engages in legal and social science research to identify areas in the EU where further work needs to be done to meet international standards. 

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The Act did not create human rights for British people. The rights and freedoms it covers were set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty that has been in force since 1953. The Act makes it easier to protect these rights by applying them to our own domestic law. It also means you can take complaints about human rights breaches to a British court rather than having to go to Strasbourg in France.

What rights are protected?

There are 16 basic rights protected by the Human Rights Act. As you would expect, they concern issues such as life, liberty and freedom from slavery and inhuman treatment. But they also cover rights that apply to everyday life, like what we can say and do, our beliefs and the right to marry and raise a family.

Who has to comply with the Human Rights Act?

The Act applies to:

• all public authorities (such as central government departments, local authorities and NHS Trusts), and
• all other bodies whether public or private, performing public functions such as delivering publicly funded care and operating prisons.

Public authorities must follow the Human Rights Act in everything they do. They must respect and protect your human rights when they make individual decisions about you. They must also follow the Human Rights Act when they plan services and make policies.

The duty to comply with the Act does not apply directly to private individuals or companies that are not carrying out public functions. But there are situations where a public authority has a duty to stop abuse of human rights by an individual or company. For example, a public authority aware of child abuse has a duty to protect the child from inhuman or degrading treatment.

The rights in the Act are legally enforceable. This means that if an individual thinks their rights have been breached, they can take the organisation concerned to court.

Can human rights ever be restricted?

Some human rights – like the right not to be tortured – are absolute. These ‘absolute’ rights can never be interfered with in any circumstances.

But most human rights are not absolute. Some are described as ‘limited’ which means they can be restricted in certain circumstances as specified in the relevant Article of the European Convention on Human Rights. For example, the right to liberty can be limited if a person is convicted and sentenced to prison.

Other rights are described as ‘qualified’. Which means they can only be restricted in order to protect the rights of other people or if it’s in the public interest for specific reasons such as the prevention of crime. For example, the Government may  restrict the right to freedom of expression if a person is encouraging racial hatred.

The Human Rights Act 1998 does not cover all of your human rights. Others are contained in the international human rights treaties which the United Kingdom has signed and ratified. Those treaty rights are binding on the UK in international law, which means that the UK has agreed to them and the Government must comply with them. However, the method for holding the Government to account for its compliance with treaty rights is different from the enforcement method for the Human Rights Act. To find out how these other human rights are protected, see our section on Monitoring and promoting UN treaties.

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They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life.

They can never be taken away, although they can sometimes be restricted – for example if a person breaks the law, or in the interests of national security.

These basic rights are based on shared values like dignity, fairness, equality, respect and independence. 

These values are defined and protected by law.

In Britain our human rights are protected by the Human Rights Act 1998.

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