A Study on the Conclusion of 'Football Spectators Act 1989' in England - The Condition of "Gewalt" on the Law in Hooligan Matters- Hiroyuki TSUKISHIMA (Kobe City University of Foreign Studies) Abstract

'Football Spectators Act 1989' was expected to be a strong fort against football violence in England. The purpose of enforcement of this decree was to eradicate all "hooligans" in all the stadiums inside and outside of England, which was one of the points of the greatest concerns for the British Government' s policies. However this law betrayed the hope of the British Government and this led to an institution of a change in the law. The purpose of this study is to examine the matters skeptically and consider the reason why this law did not satisfy the policy by referring to a concept of "Gewalt" propounded by Walter Benja- min (1892-1940).   The conclusions of this study follow below. 1. In this Act, legal definition about physical exertion displayed by spectators in stadiums    was absolutely unconcerned. On top of this, the Crown Court was authorized as making    every judgment that was based on their own criteria. 2. According to the concept of "Gewalt" by Benjamin, the power of "Gewalt" is indispensa-    ble in a law-enforcement. Therefore, this act was enforced by the power of "Gewalt", that    is the British Government itself. However, Benjamin also reveals that a law never pre-    sents a valid reason for making every decision. 3. To enforce a law has a pursuit of personal interests and it always has to remain skepti-    cal. Intensification of "hooligan" activities since 1970s and eruption of violence such as    "Heysel tragedy" in 1985 were regarded as "crisis" for the British Government, since    "hooligans" breached their ideals in English football.