Criminal Law
Criminal Law Michealmas Term Essay 1 Questions about causation are simple factual ones. Therefore juries require no direction in answering them. Discuss Causation is an element of 'Result Crimes', in which the conduct itself does not constitute a crime, for example, shooting a gun, but rather the conduct along with it's harmful consequence, for example, shooting a gun at a person and the person dying. It is this gap between the conduct and harmful result, which gives rise to the uncertainty as to who's conduct caused the harmful result, and even if the harmful result was due to a human action, or just a natural event. When determining the chain of causal events leading up to a result, only the facts are relevant. However, once the causes are determined, principles of law must be applied to identify which of these causal acts were unlawful, as a person cannot be convicted for an innocent act. Therefore, causation is a question of fact and law. The main method for identifying causes to a harmful result is the 'But-For' test, with which all actions but for which the harmful result would not have occurred, are causes of the result. In the majority of cases, questions of causation are simple, even in homicide cases where the burden of proof lies on the prosecution. For example (1.0), if A shoots B, and B drops dead on the spot, it does not have to be proven that it was the
Criminal law essay
BEHAVIOUR Criminal law is essentially concerned with the regulation of behaviour. This may involve prohibitions on some kinds of behaviour such as stealing another person's property or harming them deliberately. Some criminal laws may require a specific action, such as having insurance when driving a car, or complying with regulations. In some instances it is the combination of behaviour with a particular situation that defines a crime such as being drunk in a public place. In others it is the combination of status with behaviour such as the purchase of alcohol by someone under 16 years of age. Illegality covers a multitude of actions, responsibilities, circumstances and statuses and hence the diversity of acts that may be characterised as criminal is considerable. Thus it is impossible to offer a simple explanation of why someone acts criminal. Furthermore, people do not act in an identical fashion. Some people are more prone to self-indulgence; others are more violent in character. The causes of criminal behaviour are complex and multiple. They are multiple because crime does not relate to only one form of action. For instance, the causes that lead a teenager to commit arson may be very different from those that lead an old- age pensioner to fraud. Therefore we should not expect to find a single cause for all types of criminality. RULES The rules which determine whether
Common Law and Equity Essay.
Common Law and Equity Essay. In very early times - before King Alfred (849-899), there was no system of justice, which applied to the whole of the country. The population was not ruled by a single monarch, transport and communications were available to very few and no law books were available, however, the population was very small at this time, therefore meaning it was not required as much as nowadays. In 1066, William I made changes to the old system, introducing the Curia Regis and appointing judges - common law was first introduced during this time. The king's representatives were sent throughout the land to check local administration and hear local cases. Case were interpreted and customised to suit the whole country. The Common law however, was not written down immediately, however after a period of time it was written down and later a further development was made and the ruling made by kings, were also written down. This was a huge development for Common law in the legal system as it gave some sort of guidance with cases. Henry II also played a major role in the development of the Common law. Henry II made tours by judges to local villages/shires. Henry II then divided the country into circuits and circuit judges were introduced. Initially judges would use local customs to decide cases, yet over a period of time things began to change and the judges would
Distinction Between Criminal And Civil Law.
Distinction Between Criminal And Civil Law It is important to realise that civil law is very different from criminal law. Criminal law is part of public law while civil law is in the separate category of private law. The reason that criminal law is part of public law is that crime is regarded as an action against the state and society as a whole. Civil law is called private law because the issues it deals with are between two individuals. The two types of law have different aims and are dealt with in different courts. In civil law, a private party (e.g., a corporation or individual person) files the lawsuit and becomes the plaintiff. In criminal law, the government, who is called the prosecution, always files the litigation. Criminal law sets out the type of behaviour, which are forbidden at risk of punishment. A person who commits a crime is said to have offended against the State, and so the State has the right to prosecute them. This is so because there is often an individual victim of crime as well. For example, if a defendant commits the crime of burglary by breaking into a house and stealing, the State prosecute the defendant for the burglary, although it is also possible for the victim to bring a private prosecution if the State does not take proceedings. However, if there is a private prosecution, the State still has the right to intervene and take over the matter.
Explain the role and effectiveness of the law commission
(a) Explain the role and effectiveness of the law commission The Law Commission is the main law reform body. It was set up in 1965 by the Law Commission Act It is a full time body that consists of a chairman, 4 law commissioners, support staff to assist in research, and 4 parliamentary draftsmen. The Law Commission is an independent, government-funded organisation, which reviews areas of the law that need updating, reforming or developing. It makes recommendations to Parliament, and these recommendations are published in its report series. The Law Commission helps ensure that laws provide effectively for the current and future needs of our rapidly changing society. Their role which is set out in S.3 of this act states that they should: 'keep under review all the law with a view to its systematic development and reform, elimination of anomalies, repeal of obsolete and unnecessary enactments, reduction of separate enactments, the simplification and modernisation of the law.' The advantages of this law commission is that it is a full time body which shows that it is always in operation, it is the main law reform body, they have support staff to assist in research, they have a rotating chair person which shows that they have fresh ideas and brains and they have a clear role (S.3 of the act). The topics that the law commission have to consider are referred to by the Lord
Explain the theory of Natural Law.
Explain the theory of Natural Law. The roots of Natural law originated from Aristotle in the early fourth century. However they were developed later on in the thirteenth century by Christian theologian St Thomas Aquinas. He developed the theory and helped it to become the fundamental basis of catholic moral thinking. But what exactly is Natural law? And how is it applied in every day life today? Aristotle's philosophical line of thinking was concerned with creation. He believed that everything was created with a particular purpose in mind. The two main causes he was concerned with were our efficient cause and our final cause. The efficient cause of something is what causes something to be and the final cause is the end product or its purpose. For example, the efficient cause of a chair is the carpenter and the final cause is for people to sit on it. He believed we all had a particular design and purpose to fulfil and by completing this final cause then we are doing what is good. Aquinas tried to understand how we knew what a particular objects purpose was in life. He developed Aristotle's ideas and came to the conclusion that natural processes are what are right. He believed that God created everything and so the natural way things are supposed to be must be the way God wanted them to be. By fulfilling natural laws then we are doing what God intended for us and therefore
Explain what is meant by a Natural Law approach to ethics?
Explain what is meant by a Natural Law approach to ethics? In the modern world people within society that have some ability or knowledge of reason know that there are certain laws which govern the way in which the world works. An example of this in the world can be observed in the form of the laws of Gravity or that the angles of a triangle will always add up to 180 degrees. We know these things because as soon as we are able to think for ourselves we accept that there are certain rules which are just part of our universe. We can also know that these rules are certain as we can observe them working in the world in our day to day lives and see for instance how objects react when dropped. We work out these answers or observations with our reason and also compound our beliefs by talking to others who have also reached the same conclusions. The origins of these rules does not matter as some might believe they just exist without reason or some might believe that God put these rules into place but whatever their origins we believe these rules we expect them to continue to apply to objects in the world in the future as they have done in the past. Some people believe that the same can be applied to morality. They believe that good and evil, right and wrong, all follow a Natural Law which we can discover through our observations and our reason, they also believe
Who has the power in British Politics?
________________ Who has the power in British Politics? ________________ The UK political system is a multi-party system. Since the 1920s, the two largest political parties have been the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. Before the Labour Party rose in British politics the Liberal Party was the other major political party along with the Conservatives. Though the minority governments have been an occasional feature of parliamentary politics, the first-past-the-post electoral system used for general elections tends to maintain the dominance of these two parties, though each has in the past century relied upon a third party to deliver a working majority in Parliament. The first thing I am writing about is the power of the voter. I think the voter is powerful because they decide who runs the country. I have two points to back this up. The first is that the UK is a democratic country meaning the government rules by the people. This is important because in other countries where they don’t have a democracy, such as Syria, it is not as fair because the country is a dictatorship. Meaning that it is run by an unelected government. This makes it unfair as the people of the country or the voters don’t have a say in who runs their country. The voters choose who makes the government. David Cameron is the current Prime Minister. He has set up a coalition government with the
869 Words Essay On Human Rights
Essay Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Human Rights is a non-binding declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, partly in response to the atrocities of World War II. Although the UDHR (Universal Declaration of human Rights) is a non- binding resolution, it is now considered to be a central component of international customary law which may be invoked under appropriate circumstances by national and other judiciaries. The UDHR urges member nations to promote a number of human, civil, economic and social rights, asserting these rights are part of the "foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world." The declaration was the first international legal effort to limit the behaviour of states and press upon them duties to their citizens following the model of the
Lay Magistrates
Lay Magistrates In the English Legal System, most of the criminal cases are tried in magistrates' courts and they are usually attended by about 30,000 of unpaid part-time judges which called the lay magistrates. In this essay, I set out the nature of the part-time magistrates and evaluate the effectiveness of them. The lay magistrates are also called the Justices of the Peace. According to the Justices of the Peace Act 1979, they are appointed by the Lord Chancellor on the recommendation of local committees. They must live in or within 15 miles of the commission area. The word "lay" means that they are not legal professionals and have no formal legal training or education. But they are an important element in the legal system because they hear 97% of the criminal cases and decide who is guilty or innocent to a criminal offence. According to the Criminal Justice Act 1991, they can impose fine to the offender up to £5,000 and sentence imprisonment to six months. So that their importance can not be underestimated. Since the lay magistrates are recommend by advisory committees, the committees themselves are also appointed by the Lord Chancellor on the advice of the chairman of the committee. It is argued that their appointments are lacking democratic legitimacy. It is because the selection process is not open to the public. As Darbyshire wrote: "Lay magistrates are
