Sydney Massage Parlor Wins Prostitution Court Case

An Australian court ruled that a massage parlor accused of illegal prostitution can stay in business because there wasn't enough evidence of paid sex to meet the legal definition of “brothel,” reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Hornsby Council reportedly spent nearly $100,000 building its case against the Hornsby Massage Centre, including hiring a private investigator to have sex with a prostitute and submit a graphic report as evidence.

Chaninat and Leeds’ Thailand private detectives have been conducting investigations and surveillance in Thailand for court case evidence since 1997.

After a year-long court battle, the case was dismissed because, according to the ruling judge, the council had not met the "standard of proof" that the premises met the definition of brothel with more than one prostitute providing services, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Hornsby Council reportedly plans to lobby for an “urgent review” of the “legislative definitions” of a brothel.

Read the full story here.

Northern Ireland Makes Paying for Sex a Crime in New Law

According to The Guardian, Northern Ireland passed a controversial law on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 targeting prostitution clients by making it illegal to pay for sex.

The legislation outlawing buying sex is found in one clause in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill, and was subsequently approved in the Stromont assembly’s affirmative vote on the overarching bill.

According to The Guardian, at least one politician, Justice Minister David Ford, opposed addressing several different issues in one piece of legislation, stating that he didn’t believe “the complexities of prostitution can be adequately addressed in a single clause in a bill.”

Chaninat and Leeds’ Thailand prenuptial attorneys are internationally recognized experts in the field of international prenuptial law.

A recent survey of Northern Ireland sex workers revealed that an overwhelming majority of sex workers also opposed the new law and didn’t believe criminalizing their clients would serve to “protect” them, but would actually have the opposite effect. According to The Guardian, “about 17,500 men pay for sex in Northern Ireland every year.”

Keep reading:

Northern Ireland: 98% of sex workers oppose new law criminalising clients

Northern Ireland ban on paying for sex is approved by Stormont assembly

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