Cavendish Publisher Ltd Essay Example

Cavendish Publisher Ltd Essay Example Cavendish Publisher Ltd Essay Cavendish Publisher Ltd Essay The old view of the judges role, the so-called declaratory theory of law, was that they were merely declaring the existing law. Lord Esher stated in Willis v Baddeley26: There is no such thing as judge-made law, the judges do not make the law, though they frequently have to apply existing law to circumstances as to which it has not previously been authoritatively laid down that such law is applicable. The modern view is that judges do make law. Lord Radcliffe said: there was never a more sterile controversy than that upon the question whether a judge makes law. Of course he does. How can he help it? 27 The reality is that judges are continually applying the existing rules to new fact situations and thus creating new laws. Law must adapt to changing circumstances and Parliament can be slow28. Therefore, from any disadvantage you could always derive some positive elements. The making of law in decided cases offers opportunities for growth and legal development, which could not be provided by Parliament. The courts can more quickly lay down new principles, as the judges from time to time have to deal with cases of first impression or extend old principles, to meet novel circumstances. If a new event that has not been decided before comes to the court (original precedent), it is likely that the judge will look at cases which are close in principle and decide to use similar rules. This idea of creating new law by analogy can be seen in Hunter v Canary Wharf29. The interference with the reception on Hunters television because of Canary Wharf Tower having been built was likened to the case of Bland v Molselely30, in respect to the loss of a view. There has built up over the centuries a large quantity of cases that illustrate a vast number of the principles of English law. The cases exemplify the law in the sort of detail that could not be achieved in a long code of the Continental type. However, therein lies another weakness of case law. Its very bulk and complexity make it increasingly difficult to find the law31. Moreover, the advantage of certainty is diminished, as there are too many cases that seem really confusing. It is fair to say that judicial precedent has considerable significance within the laws of England, however it is important to see whether the significance is justified, and whether it is current position is adequate. Consistency plays a central role in justifying the decisions taken in particular case. Some believe that treating two cases in the same way can lead to the law being inflexible and rigid and a lack of freedom is formed. This to a certain extent is true but I feel that if two cases are very alike with just material facts being different, then they should be treated in the same way. This leads to fairness and certainty as mentioned previously. However, there are a lot of factors, which make it difficult to achieve consistency, as statements of law on a legal issue are usually made by more than one judge and a single judge make several stamens of law32. Practically any legal system has official hierarchies of decision-making, where superior courts have the power to resolve inconsistent statements of lower court judges. Therefore, there is a degree of inconsistency where the decisions delivered by different judges on certain points of law. In any cases, the rules of precedent do not explain why judges obey the rules of precedent. Neither do they indicate the degree of consistency that is likely to be precedent at any given time33. On the whole the advantages are outweigh the disadvantages and it the best system we have at the moment and still remains highly significant in English legal system. The Practice Direction of 1966 allows the Highest Court in the hierarchy to reverse previous decisions that helps to ensure that old and out dated rules can no longer apply to modern society. Due to the increase of case law the importance of judicial precedent will increase, as it will cover nearly every legal situation. It cannot be achieved by any codified legal system. Even though a part of British constitution has now been codified in statutes it only brings advantages. It can be referred to and it will be easy to see when someone breaches these rights. Before the Human Rights Act was made, citizens had nothing to back them up when they felt their rights as a citizen had been infringed apart from taking the case to the European Court in Strasbourg. Now, there are many different cases that allow citizens to do things they were never previously lawfully allowed to do. The Human Rights law is now entrenched in the UK Judicial system, and so it will be much more difficult to repeal an entrenched Act of Rights when there is a breach of basic human rights. It will be actionable directly in the UK courts. Word count: 3,905 1 Penny Darbyshire, English Legal System, 5th edn, Sweet Maxwell, p. 22 2 Gary Slapper David Kelly, The English Legal System, 6th edn. , Cavendish Publisher Ltd. , pp. 68, 89 3 J. Stone, The Ratio of the Ratio Decidendi, 22 Modern Law Review,1959, pp. 597-8

ghost essays

ghost essays Using all of his seemingly infinite faculties to compose Hamlet, Shakespeare gives each significant character in the play all the depth and emotion of a living human being. Because of this, the characters, as well as the plot, become extremely intricate and difficult to define. Simply assigning a "label" to each character does not do justice to their complexity because no one character acts according to any easily discernible guidelines. By this reasoning, it is difficult to determine for certain whether the ghost of Hamlet's father is either a "Spirit of Health" or a "Goblin Damn'd." In order to do this, it is necessary to look, not at the ghost's intentions, but at the effect of its message on Hamlet's life. If an assessment of the ghost had to be made, it would probably be considered a "Goblin Damn'd" rather than a "Spirit of Health," based on the disastrous effects its words had on the course of Hamlet's life. When the Ghost utters the fateful words "Revenge his [the Ghost's] foul and most unnatural murder," Hamlet's life is forever changed for the worse. Not only does Hamlet's quest for revenge divide his family and friends, but it also divides Hamlet himself. Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not "seems." In the exchange that follows this line between the Queen and Hamlet, Hamlet's distaste over his mother and uncle's brief period of mourning becomes evident. It also demonstrates some of Hamlet's suspicion concerning the circumstances surrounding his father's death. This exchange, however, occurs befor...

Social policy development for the aged in the modern day context Dissertation

Social policy development for the aged in the modern day context - Dissertation Example Over the past couple of decades, the senior citizens have become contributing members of the society in their own way (Chung, McLarney and Gillen, 2008). The complete change in the perception about the elderly in the past few decades warranted for a change in the way policy makers devised policies to meet their meets. In 2002, under the aegis of United Nations, the Second World Assembly was conducted in Madrid and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging was declared. The conference proposed a strong plan for providing social care and social development for the elderly, and for providing supportive environments for the same (DESA, 2002). This plan forms the basis of several countries own policies. Though the awareness regarding the need for a social policy for the elders is a recent development, many nations have already formulated policies regarding this. For most developed nations, these policies for the elderly revolve around improving the social status that the senior cit izens have and ensuring that they continue to function at their optimum (Voit and Vickers, 2012). Policies continue to focus on their safety and healthcare, but also endeavor to enhance participation in cultural and social activities. The overall aim is therefore to improve the quality of life for the elderly members of the society. Most nations like the United States and Canada have active Elderly Assistance Programs that function with the help of the government and the non-governmental organizations and help provide a supportive environment to the elderly citizens (Litwin, 2000).On the other hand, in the developing nations, such policies are in a nascent stage only. However, much of the policymaking related to the aged is undertaken in a normative manner with the government paving the way to develop new benefits or incentives for the elderly in a bid to make their life more comfortable. There appears to be little focus on understanding the perceptions of the elderly and their opin ions on what social policies related to them need to imbibe. The current research therefore endeavors to fill this gap by exploring the perceptions and opinions of the elderly and hence to present an assessment of their needs from their perspectives. The following research questions will guide the research: Research Questions 1. Are the senior citizens of XYZ satisfied with the quality of social policy aimed at them? 2. What are some of the changes that are needed for social policy so that the needs of the older citizens are adequately met? Literature Review A review of the available literature has highlighted the fact that The Elderly Assistance Programs of several countries are found to have become more and more responsive to the needs of the overall development of the seniors (Everard et al 2000). For example, in the European Union (EU), several innovative policies have been implemented that provide for the elderly to engage themselves more with their lives. Countries in the EU p rovide facilities that enable the elderly to have free or subsidized access to the cultural institutions. Also, there are several initiatives and programs that the elderly can participate in or lead, like the EU environment care programs that