ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses a type of excessive legislation called overcriminalisation by reviewing the main political philosophies that define which acts are eligible for criminalisation in the first place. It outlines how overcriminalisation may occur in contemporary society and review the negative consequences thereof. The chapter analyses the new coercive control legislation by enquiring into whether it is an appropriate focus of criminal law, or if it represents a case study for overcriminalisation and discusses the concept of excessive legislation. Echoing harm theorists, legislation “ought in all cases whatever scrupulously to respect privacy”. The distinguishing nature of coercive control legislation is that it eschews the incident-based model. Coercive control is the term coined to describe an abuser’s ongoing and systematic strategy to attain and maintain power and control in an intimate partner relationship. Various advocates for a coercive control offence justify it in legally moralistic terms.
