To what extent (if at all) is it true to say that the United Kingdom constitution is based on a separation of powers?
Constitutional and Administrative Law Coursework Assignment To what extent (if at all) is it true to say that the United Kingdom constitution is based on a separation of powers? In addressing this question, it would be useful to explain just what the doctrine of the separation of powers consists of. The concept of the separation of powers goes back to the time of ancient Greece however it only came to be considered as a real 'grand constitutional principle' when the French theorist Montesquieu wrote 'L'Esprit des Lois' (The Spirit of the Laws). In this work, there was an argument for a strict separation of powers, that is the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. So in other words, the power to make the law, the power to govern the state and the power to apply and interpret the law should be separate for the protection of the liberties and freedoms of the individual. Montesquieu justifies his view and this is effectively shown by several passages of his work. 'When legislative power is united with executive power in a single person or in a single body of magistracy, there is no liberty'. The reasons given by Montesquieu for this was that the holder of that power, whether it is an individual or a group can create tyrannical laws and then exercise them in a tyrannical manner. He also said, 'Nor is there liberty if the power of judging is not separate from legislative
The concept of retribution implies.
Theories to be discussed:- * Retribution * Rehabilitation * Incapacitation * Deterrence The concept of retribution implies: A criminal deserves to be punished because he has done something socially or morally evil... * Is eye for an eye punishment In 1993 Michael Howard, the then Home secretary made a statement saying: "Let's make one thing absolutely clear; Prison works, it ensures we are protected from murderers, muggers and rapists; and it makes many who are tempted to commit crime think twice. This may mean that more people will go to prison. I do not flinch from that, we shall no longer judge the success of our system of justice by a fail in our prison population" (Ashton J, Wilson D: 16: 1998) * conviction for rape can carry a life sentence Look at R v Billam (1986), which sets out sentence tariffs for rape. This case set out guidelines for imprisonment of rapists, Billam suggests that rape carries an automatic custodial sentence, 'other than in wholly exceptional circumstances', the maximum sentence for rape is life, although, In terms of mitigation, if a plea of guilty is entered, effectively relieving the victim of the ordeal of having to appear in court, the guidelines state that this 'should normally result in some reduction from what would otherwise be the appropriate sentence'. Rehabilitation: Emphasis on the individual can be seen no more clearly
How satisfactory is the current law on non-fatal offences against the person?
How satisfactory is the current law on non-fatal offences against the person? (25) Non-fatal offences against the person are assault, battery, assault or battery occasioning actually bodily harm, malicious wounding and GBH with intent. The first two offences are defined in the Criminal Justice Act 1988, with the remainder being found in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. There is a variety of sentences available ranging from imprisonment for 6 months to a life sentence for the most serious offence of GBH with intent (s.18 OAPA 1861). Some would argue that the OAPA 1861 is a very badly drafted piece of legislation, which is merely a consolidation of a number of old offences being grouped together. Because of this, there have been many appeals against convictions regarding this act. There is still no clear statutory definition of assault and battery, while the definitions of the more serious offences are contained in act over 100 years old, leading some to think that they are outdated. Much of the vocabulary in the Act is misleading, with the would "maliciously" having two definitions, one for the s.18 offence, and another for the s.20. This has led the Joint Charging Standard to clarify the issue of what charge to bring for different levels of injury, although even that is wrong; any injury which causes blood to flow could be charged as wounding, even a grazed knee.
Problem question on Occupiers liability Act 1957
TORT - NON-ASSESSED SPRING WORK Question Ingrid, a landlord, lets two adjacent flats to Jane and Karl. Jane is an amateur inventor who, as Ingrid is aware , uses the kitchen of her flat to conduct experiments in producing an artificial substitute for petrol. At its present state of development, Jane's invention causes headaches in humans and is fatal to plants. Unfortunately, even before Ingrid initially acquired the building, there were cracks in the partition wall between the two flats and the fumes from Jane's petrol-substitute penetrate through the walls into Karl's flat. Karl complains of headaches, but Jane says that her invention will save Western civilisation. Karl breaks into Jane's flat while she's out, takes the petrol substitute and deposits it in Lucy's garden, a poor old lady who lives nearby. The fumes kill all the vegetation in the adjoining gardens but, when her neighbours complain Lucy says she's too poor and old to do anything about it. When they reach Max's neighbouring land the fumes penetrate a gash in the bark of a tree which overhangs the highway. As a result, 2 months later the branch falls onto the highway and damages Oliver's car. Advise the parties Response Ingrid The Occupiers Liability Act 1957 is concerned with liability of an occupier of premises to his or her visitors. It is essential to establish whether Ingrid qualifies as an occupier
Contract Law
Contract Law Question 1. Part A . The Sunday Sentinel has for many years run a weekly crossword competition Readers are invited to complete a large and very difficult crossword, and send it in to the paper. The total prize each week is £5,000, and this is split between those readers sending in correct answers. a) In one week, one of the crossword clues was printed in error, with the result that there was no clue for the word that was supposed to appear in the crossword. It was announced in the Monday edition of the sister paper , the Daily Sentinel, that the competition was cancelled for that week. However, Bel only takes the Sunday Sentinel, and on Tuesday sent in an entry which was in fact wholly correct - she had worked out that the clue was a mistake, and guessed the answer. This was the only correct answer, but the paper refused to pay. The issue that arises here is that did Bel accept the offer contained in the crossword puzzle and in addition did she provide any consideration for her promise contained in the offer? The final issue that needs to be considered is whether the offer once made can be withdrawn or revoked. The general rule is that the offer can be revoked up until the time it is accepted. The offer was announced in the Sunday sentinel and then cancelled the following day. Bel did not post her entry until Tuesday which meant that the newspaper
Contract Law/Case study
Becks has lived with his girlfriend, Posh, for three years. They each contribute 50% of the council tax and house rates and have shared the other household expenses equally. Becks offered to buy for £10,000 Posh's share in Big Bank plc which she had inherited from her father. They were worth £100,000 and Becks knew this. Posh agreed because she was afraid that if she did not agree, Becks would leave her. Rooney, Beck's brother, threatened to tell Becks that he and Posh had had an affair before Becks had started to live with Posh. Rooney forced Posh to sign a guarantee for a loan which Rooney was borrowing from a bank as his business was in difficulty. The guarantee was secured by a charge on the flat in which Becks and Posh lived and which Posh owned. Advise posh as to her legal position. What would your advice be based on the following alternative assumptions- (a) Becks had left Posh threatening to publish intimate photographs which he had taken when they were living together; (b) Rooney had become insolvent and the bank was seeking to enforce the guarantee; (c) When Posh had agreed to the sale and guarantee she was only seventeen years of age. When advising Posh as to her legal position in the given scenario, I will look at each aspect of the case separately. I will determine what the legal rules are and how, if at all, they should be applied to the
Freedom of Expression
"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise we don't believe in it at all" this famous quote by Noam Chomsky could be debated about without coming to a conclusion for the simple that the term "freedom of expression" can mean various things to different people and include or exclude certain benefits. Therefore, no one can really agree or disagree with freedom of expression for everyone without arguing about the very definition of it. According to BusinessDictionary.com freedom of expression is defined as "Right to express one's ideas and opinions freely through speech, writing, and other forms of communication but without deliberately causing harm to others' character and/or reputation by false or misleading statements. Freedom of press is part of freedom of expression." This is only one example of how to define freedom of expression keeping this definition in mind, I do agree with freedom of expression if it entails what was put out in the definition. I will explain how the limiting of freedom of expression is directly related to the creation of laws in society and what the laws are supposed to achieve in relation to substantive/procedural, statutory/common and public/private. If freedom of expression offends other peoples beliefs, culture, ideas, identity that is when limitations on this "expression", although insults is not really expression it is
Viscount Sankey's Golden Thread Speech
In this essay I will be illustrating the importance of Viscount Sankey's speech in the case of Woolmington v DPP [1935] All ER, utilising references as evidence to support my findings and demonstrate my understanding. In the case of Woolmington v DPP Woolmington had shot and killed his wife, Violet, who had left him a month earlier and gone to stay with her mother. When charged with Violet's murder Woolmington claimed that he hadn't intended to shoot Violet and the gun had accidently fired when he was attempting to show her the gun, insisting the gun was only to scare Violet into returning to him. The ruling took place in the House of Lords, where the issue was focused around if the statement of law in 'Foster's Crown Law'1 was correct where it states 'where a death occurred it is presumed to be murder unless proven otherwise'. In his summary, Swift J brought Fosters Crown Law to the attention of the jury, stating that 'the prosecution prove the killing, and in the absence of explanation that is murder.'2 This suggests that according to Fosters law there is only a necessity for the prosecution to prove the actus reus, or the actual physical aspects of murder of killing an individual as opposed to proving both mens rea or the mental aspect of an action, and actus reus. Swift J went onto comment that 'Consider whether you entertain the slightest doubt that this was a
Council Directive 2004/707 on transporting retired people (fictitious), adopted on 1 November 2000, requires all Member States: a. to implement measures by March 2007 giving all retired EU workers beyond the age of 65 years the right to travel within the
Council Directive 2004/707 on transporting retired people (fictitious), adopted on 1 November 2000, requires all Member States: a. to implement measures by March 2007 giving all retired EU workers beyond the age of 65 years the right to travel within the Member State on all forms of domestic public transport free of charge; and b. to implement measures by March 2008 giving all EU workers the right to claim one complimentary flight per year to any other EU Member State from any national airline. Sadie is a Polish national living in London who, at 65 years old, has recently retired from her job as a part-time care assistant in the local nursing home. Now that she has more time on her hands, she wishes to spend more time with her family in Birmingham by travelling by train to see them on a fortnightly basis. She asks Virgin company, the company operating the trains from London to Birmingham, to allow her to travel for free. Virgin refuses to do so. Bill, a Spanish national was a teacher for 15 years in Spain before he moved to the UK. After working for 3 years as a secondary teacher in the UK, he decided to take life easier and stopped his job. At 55, he has agreed with friends that he will take care of their gardens as long as they cook for him afterwards. He now wishes to spend the winter of every year in Spain where the warmer climate is better for his health. Bill goes
Observation in Magistrate Courts
Magistrates Court Observation This essay will attempt to give a detailed account of an observation in a Magistrates Court. With reference to history from authors such as Skyrme and official web sites, put together by the magistrates association. In the latter part of the twelfth century, in 1195 King Richard I 'commissioned certain knights to preserve the peace in unruly areas' (magistrates-association). Their responsibilities were to the Crown, and included the maintenance of the law and to enforce it as far as possible. From this time on, the Bench, or the Magistrates as we know them now were known as 'Keepers of the Peace'. An Act in 1327, made it law that 'good and lawful' men were to be 'appointed in every county to 'guard the peace'; Justices of the peace still have the power over disruptive and disorderly people. The power and decisions made are not of a punishment, but more as a deterrent to prevent the offender from recommitting the crime (magistrates-association). It was not until 1919 that women were able to become magistrates. This was when the removal of the Sex Disqualification Act came into practice. On the 31 December 1919, Mrs Ada Summers, Mayor of Stalybridge became the fist female magistrate. Then on the first January 1920, at least six other women were appointed to the same post. From year to year this number had significantly increased and
