Personal statment for ucas Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Statment for ucas - Personal Statement Example Of most importance is that I received awards with two prestigious prizes in Europe entitled ‘The Small Montmarte in Bitola in Macedonia and TheEvora’ which appeared in the local dailies at the time. It is about this time when I joined the Roedean School in the United Kingdom where I sat for my GSE and passed well. Then, I joined the Lancaster University where I accomplished my first year in Fine Arts. I became convinced that I had a passion for Architecture hence put extra efforts to become an architect. I became fascinated in applied art as opposed to previously drawing and/ or creating. Nevertheless, I was certain that there existed a strong connection between doing arts and architecture. Moreover, aesthetic perspective suggests that the hand is the most direct linkage between my mind and the paper. Another reason that inspired me further in Architecture was during my Course at the Lancaster University, there was investigation of modernism history that has a huge impact on the course. Scholars affiliated to this field have continually described architecture to suit the normal life. Forinstance, an English critic of Aestheticism, Walter Pater declared that â€Å"all art continually aspires to the condition of music†. Another English artist, William Morris argued that â€Å"architecture was the primary form to which other arts could be related, and it could be a meeting place for artists and craftsmen†. In a general sense, the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, physiological needs is the physical requirements for human survival. As such, architecture is a shelter, a protection, a necessity but also exists as a form of art, and the discovery of cave by the Caveman and the building of the Orthodox by the Ancient Greek. Pertaining to achievements,I participated in a Guinness World Records art project known as â€Å"Brushstrokes over

The challenges in ageing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The challenges in ageing - Essay Example Understanding of the nature of major challenges associated with the ageing population is becoming an increasingly critical aspect of modern health care system. A considerable body of evidence is now available to show that the process of aging is largely due to molecular damage caused by reactive oxygen species, electrophiles, and other reactive endobiotic and xenobiotic metabolites (McEwen et al. 2005). Ageing is associated with the degeneration of functional capacity in all parts of human body, and at all levels of organisation from molecules to complete organ systems. This process is normally referred to as 'senescence' and comprises genetic and external factors (Mera 1992). Quality of life of elderly patients depends more on ageing-related disease than solely on chronological characteristics. 'Natural' transformations in the status of the organism during the process of ageing, such as the changes in the immune, cardiovascular and endocrine systems (Martin, & Sheaff 2007), occur simultaneously with pathological processes associated, in their turn, with variety of age-related diseases, such as wear and tear of skin, muscles, and skeleton (Freemont, & Hoyland 2007), cardiovascular system (Greenwald 2007), etc. These two types of changes interact closely in various types of age-related diseases such as hearing loss, noise damage, skin damage, hypertension, increased body mass index, etc (Martin, & Sheaff 2007). At the cellular level the process of ageing is associated with chromosomal, nucleic acid, protein and other changes (Terman et al. 2007). The pathways involved in these changes have been revealed to possess common features with disease processes. This discovery is very essential for it enables the researchers to identify and describe some mechanisms that play the key role in the interaction between which natural and abnormal ageing-related changes. Specifically, the interactions between environment, nutrition, disease and the process of ageing have become the focal point of research intended to reveal the basic mechanisms of the pathogenesis of age-related disorders (Martin, & Sheaff 2007). Sensory impairments, especially those related to hearing and vision, often substantially limit elder adults' intellectual functioning and ability to interact with their environments (Baltes & Lindenberger, 1997). Many of the illnesses and chronic physical conditions that are common in late adulthood tend to have substantial impacts on particular aspects of cognition, as do many of the medications used to treat them. Accumulation of these factors may produce a noticeable decline that elder adults experience in intellectual functioning, as opposed to the normal process of growing old (APA, 2003). In addition to sensory integrity and physical health, psychological factors such as affective state, sense of control and self-efficacy, coupled with active use of information processing strategies and continued practice of existing mental skills may influence elder adults' level of cognitive performance (APA, 2003). Over the last two decades, the importance of professional psychological services has been increasingly

The Empowerment Of Civil Society By Using Technology Media Essay

The Empowerment Of Civil Society By Using Technology Media Essay The use of Information technology over the years has become a means of political and social change resulting in the empowerment of civil society and also effecting public opinion though sharing information via internet blogging, informative websites, etc. It has also been very successful in exposing violations of human rights, civil liberties, corruption, and misuse of power by various international organisations and governments. One such website which has created an international uproar between officials of states and civil society is Wikileaks. In my essay I shall discuss the impact of information technology on civil society following which I shall discuss the positive and negative activist and legal effects Wikileaks has on civil society and states. I shall also discuss the effect of Information technology and Wikileaks on democracy, fundamental human rights, secrecy and transparency. Over the years many people around the world have become increasingly aware of the expanding use of information technology, which has become a tool for social and political change globally. The use of internet all over the world has empowered civil society and many social activists to share information instantly with one another. Technologies such as internet websites, electronic mail, mobile phones, etc., have given more power to activists to communicate effectively with more people around the world than ever before. The internet increases access to publications, news stories, reports and gives opportunities to discover information that is normally suppressed (e.g. Wikileaks). The internet can be used as a medium or tool for whistle blowers and journalists to publish information concerning unethical behaviour of governments and corporations which can be difficult to trace and censor. Due to the advancement of information technology and as a result the age of the internet, there is ve ry little that is really secret these days.  [1]  However the drawbacks to such information technology is that it is also misused for wrongful purposes, such as terrorism, sex-trafficking, cyber hacking, as well as spreading information which can be false or dangerous and as a result harmful to others etc. The internet has showed that it is a useful space in which citizens can debate, discuss or negotiate on many social, political and economic issues. Such discussion has a profound effect on public opinion around the world and encourages society towards a true democratic system. It is also an effective tool for civil rights organisations to communicate to people and to groups in different parts of the world through email, websites and forums. Moreover, due to the advancement of information technology civil activists can keep in touch with supporters and campaigners effectively and effortlessly.  [2]   Wikileaks is a website which describes itself as an activist organisation or in other words the intelligence agency of the people.  [3]  Wikileaks is an international non-profit organisation that works for transparency and publishes submissions of private or secret, classified information from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers.  [4]  The website relies on Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states, Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.  [5]  The website works towards uncovering government, individual and corporate corruption though leaked sources and bringing it to the attention of civil society. In 2006 Wikileaks won many awards from organizations such as Amnesty International and the Economist for exposing issues around the world.  [6]   The advancement of information technology allows the internet and so as to say Wikileaks the ability to receive and publish leaked information cheaply and quickly. In addition the website has the ability to bypass the legal framework that would otherwise have to go though courts and officials to consider before being disclosed. Wikileaks has been successful in uncovering many illegal activities and corruption scandals starting from 2006 when it published information concerning assassination details of government officials by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, corruption by the family of the former Kenyan leader Daniel arap Moi, allegations of illegal activities at the Cayman Islands branch of the Swiss Bank Julius Baer and the revelation of involvement of politicians and businessmen in the 2008 Peru oil scandal.  [7]  Wikileaks has been successful in uncovering many human rights violations and civil liberties. Some of the most famous revelations that it uncovered were the documents regarding hidden war crimes or prisoner abuse. In March 2007 Wikileaks published a leaked manual of the US military for the Guantanamo prison camp. In July 2010, Wikileaks published the Afghan War diary, which was a compilation of more than 76,900 documents concerning the war in Afghanistan. The documents stated the number of innocen t deaths of civilians that had been covered up by the international forces. Also in October 2010 Wikileaks, along with some media organisations, released the Iraq War logs which included almost 400,000 documents. The documents revealed evidence of torture and more than 109,000 violent deaths between 2004 and 2009 including 66,081 civilians. This was considered one of the biggest leaks in US military history.  [8]  In November 2010 Wikileaks started to publish US state department diplomatic cables. Many of these cables were labelled confidential, secret or top secret by the US state department. This further antagonised governments, more so than the leak of previous documents. The US government therefore suggested that the revelation of such documents put at risk lives of several of its people and allies around the world.  [9]   A number of civil rights activists were divided over the actions taken by Wikileaks. Many activists supported Wikileaks and the importance of uncovering and exposing such documents which revealed and brought to the attention of the world violations of human rights, civil liberties, corruption, and misuse of power by various international organisations and governments. Activists believed that this would support and justify the idea of a fair, functional and democratic civil society. Many civil activists believed that such misuse of power to cover such violations needed to be addressed openly though legal means in order to protect citizens from arbitrary government authority.  [10]  In addition it can also be said that due to the popularity that Wikileaks has gained over the years, documents published on the website could also have an effect on potential political reform. Also documents published on the website could have either a positive or a negative effect on civil society incl uding political or economic decisions made by states, as well as international relations and policy decisions. In such cases one can argue that information technology has been successful in uniting people all over the world by sharing knowledge, debating political and economic issues, revealing human rights violations and civil liberties thereby bringing change to public opinion and encouraging a free transparent democratic society. On the other hand several activists did not agree to the actions taken by Wikileaks particularly in the case of the Afghan War Diary. They believed that the exposure of such documents led to the revelation of identities of many people who had collaborated with the coalition in Afghanistan, which endangered such people to further violence. Press freedom groups, many human rights groups including Amnesty International, accused Wikileaks of being irresponsible for the publication of the afghan war logs.  [11]  The criticism of Wikileaks gave rise to the public opinion that it was doing more harm than good. Many argued that this would most probably increase internet surveillance, more secrecy and further restrictions. In addition it encouraged people to believe that the publication of classified secret government information would make it more difficult to support and protect people and sources after such information is disclosed. Furthermore, the consequences of publishing such docu ments on Wikileaks would result in the loss of protection of the sources mentioned within the documents and sources from where the information was retrieved. The outcome of such revelations could therefore lead to an extreme kind of transparency which would result in the loss of jobs, reputation or lives, etc., for such sources, which questions the fact of how this would positively support democracy and civil society. Therefore one can also argue that information technology can be used to leak confidential information which can result in stricter laws, regulation and increased internet surveillance. Whilst Wikileaks brought to light many issues concerning corruption and violations of human rights and civil liberties through the publication of documents and diplomatic cables, this release of classified information angered governments throughout the world, especially the United States which was associated with many of the of leaks. As a result governments pressured many online companies to limit or block their association with Wikileaks. Amazon dropped Wikileaks from its servers, which temporarily caused Wikileaks to be inaccessible. Later, Swiss bank PostFinance froze the Director of Wikileaks website Julian Assanges assets, while PayPal, a money transfer website, disabled Wikileaks account which it used to collect donations. MasterCard and Visa also followed suit by refusing donations to Wikileaks.  [12]  Hence it can be argued that governments and corporations are also activists and use information technology to promote their own agenda for instance in the case of Wikileaks , clamping down on activities which they do not consent to or which are not beneficial to them economically or politically. When financial services were denied to Wikileaks, a group of anonymous activists under the name of Anonymous carried out decentralised attacks on many corporations websites such as MasterCard and Visa. Around the world thousands of online protesters got together to form a virtual internet attack under the name of Operation Payback. Operation Payback used denial of service (DDoS) attacks to temporarily close down the websites which had opposed Wikileaks. This way such websites cannot handle the level of web traffic and are temporarily inaccessible to users around the world. DDoS attacks are internet piracy actions and not hacking but are nevertheless illegal and traceable. It is believed that through such a system of online attacks, Wikileaks produced one of the first global internet civil-disobedience movements.  [13]  Thus one can say that internet activists can also use information technology to rebel and forcefully further their cause against individuals, corporations or the s tate through the internet. While many online activists admit that the attack was illegal they disagree on it being malicious criminal hacking since they believe that they did not intend to bring any collateral damage to the public. Online activists believed this would raise awareness of internet censorship and protect freedom of expression. They argued that that the internet should be free and not controlled by governments. Many of these activists believed that the grounds for stoppage of donations though corporations was more politically motivated than legally towards the Wikileaks website. On the other hand, these corporations argued that Wikileaks violated the companies terms of service concerning illegal behaviour. Furthermore activists pointed out that while many leading newspapers such as the New York Times and the Guardian, etc. also published parts of classified documents from Wikileaks, no action was taken against them.  [14]  The Wikileaks case therefore raises several questions on popular partic ipation of civil society using the internet and information technology to disseminate information in an effort to voice their opinions and bring about social and political awareness to instigate changes in a society. The Wikileaks saga has created many future legal concerns over the use of information technology and the internet in particular. There are concerns over increased forms of internet censorship and surveillance. The US has introduced a bill called the Securing Human Intelligence and Enforcing Lawful Dissemination Act which is aimed at preventing websites such as Wikileaks publishing classified information which could result in the compromise of national security. The US is also in the process of introducing the wiretapping bill which is currently under discussion. The bill is aimed at wiretapping all kinds of online communication and internet traffic which includes foreign based service providers and will require software developers to enable peer-to-peer communication, redesign their service and allow interception.  [15]  However many information technology advocates have argued that by implementing so many restrictions over the internet would create holes that could be exploited by hackers and undermine the right to freedom of speech. The US furious over the leak of confidential diplomatic cables, tried to invoke the Espionage Act 1917 to prosecute the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for the leak of classified government documents. Under the Act, it a crime to disclose classified information unlawfully however it does not state any distinction on who discloses such classified information. Activists have argued that this would be complicated since the founder is technically the publisher and not the one who revealed the classified information. The man who did reveal the classified information Bradley Manning is currently being prosecuted for leaking the confidential government documents. Thus by arresting Julian Assange, or any of the leading newspapers that were involved, would further mean that any citizen who addresses or discusses classified information can be arrested on national security grounds.  [16]  Assange being a foreign citizen he would have to be extradited to the US to stand trial for espionage (if a country is prepared to hand him over). The US first amendment of the Constitution provides a lot of protection for publishers of state secrets, not including government officials. If the government is successful to get around the Constitution and charge Assange, it may end up damaging the press freedoms enjoyed by every publisher. It would result in Wikileaks paying the price for freedom of the press in the US and many parts of the world.  [17]  Many journalist activists have argued that to criminalise what Wikileaks is doing is to criminalise investigative journalism. They argue that the media is responsible to report material that comes within its possession and any pressure to shutdown Wikileaks or prosecute those who publish official leaks or companies that are doing business with it, is a threat to democracy, which relies on a free and fearless press.  [18]   However criminalising Wikileaks will not be an easy task. Wikileaks has multiple servers in many jurisdictions with generous whistleblower-protection laws. These servers are all subject to the laws of the state, where they are each connected in. The laws in these states protect the safety of such information being passed on from the servers. Currently Wikileaks is protected by the laws of different jurisdictions to pass information freely, however it is unsure whether these laws will continue to favour Wikileaks in the future if there is any pressures from other states to change or limit them.  [19]  Critics argue that the legal impact of Wikileaks on information technology will create a borderless nature of the internet. They say that Wikileaks has encouraged the fact that the internet can also be used to undermine the relationship between legally significant (online) phenomena and physical location. That the increase in the use of computer network all over the world is destroyi ng the link between geographical location and (i) the authority of local government to assert control over internet behaviour (ii) the effects of internet behaviour on people or things (iii) the legality of the efforts of a local government to enforce rules applicable to worldwide phenomena; and (iv) the ability of geographical location to give notice of which sets of rules can apply. This could make online organisations or individuals absent themselves or even exploit legal or social norms of any country by the use of multiple servers, mirrors or other information technology tools.  [20]   The legal impact of Wikileaks will have a negative effect on information technology. Due to much legislation in the pipeline in the US aiming to increase restrictions on the use of internet; censorship and blocking of websites would affect users, organizations and library associations around the world. The consequence of Wikileaks will be used as a case to support such new bills, surveillance practices and use of information technologies which extend capabilities of censorship and data surveillance, thereafter resulting in less transparency and freedom of speech.  [21]  If Wikileaks is shut down permanently then most probably a new Wikileaks will appear anytime in the future. Information security is never a single security measure since it is always more of them together meaning the measures are not only information technology related, but also involve organizational issues, human resources management, physical security and legal protection. The problem with information technolog y and the internet is that it is advancing day by day. The internet has the power for information to be quickly copied, duplicated, published and spread around the world. If Wikileaks is closed down, then new websites similar to Wikileaks will spring up or new technological ways to publish information will spring up. In other words, the threat of leaking information to the public is constantly increasing. Therefore making it harder and harder to regulate and waiting for new legislation /laws for trying to curb it. It is very difficult to draft a law that targets Wikileaks and websites alike at the same time also leaving intact many legal systems concerning press freedoms.  [22]   Information technology has become a tool for social and political change worldwide. The use of internet has globally empowered civil society and many social activists to share information instantly with one another thereby effecting public opinion around the world and encourage society towards a true democratic system. Wikileaks has been successful in exposing violations of human rights, civil liberties, corruption, and misuse of power by various international organisations and governments. On the whole I believe that citizens of a functioning democracy should be able to know what the state is saying and doing in their name and not engaging in acts of counter-democracy.  [23]  Information technology such as Wikileaks plainly improves those abilities. However I also believe that there should be equilibrium, where democracy and fundamental rights are not undermined by too much secrecy or too much transparency. The right to publish should be equal to the citizens right to know. Neve rtheless a balance should be kept for the need of personal privacy, confidentiality and disclosure in the interest of the public at the same time guaranteeing liberty, accountability and true democratic choice. (2998 words)

Capital Punishment Essay -- Death Penalty

Capital Punishment The definition of capital punishment is the legal punishment of death for violating criminal law. The person who gets capital punishment is the ones who committed serious crimes. Methods of capital punishment throughout the world are by stoning, beheading, hanging, electrocution, lethal injection and shooting. The two most common methods capital punishment use in the United States are lethal injection and electrocution. The lethal injection is the most used form of capital punishment. It’s an intravenous shot that kills the criminal quick and painless. When capital punishment is done by electrocution the criminal is strapped to a chair that a volts of electricity is pass through. In America if all people agree with capital punishment there will be less crimes. Capital punishment is different in each state, so depending on what state a crime is committed there’s different punishments for committing serious crime. To deter and reduce serious crimes all states need to have the same laws. Crimes can only be reduced or deterred by making people frightened of being arrested, convicted, and punish for crimes the commit. When a person commits a serious crime, which causes another life to be lost, they should have their right to live taken. If there was a standard law in which capital punishment was permitted in all fifty states, serious crimes will be reduce. When people already know that if they will be executed for taking another life, people will think...

Judicial Precedent in the English Legal System

The doctrine of judicial precedent is based on the principle of stare decisis which means ‘to stand by what has been decided’. It is a common law principle whereby judges are bound to follow previous decisions in cases where the material facts are sufficiently similar and the earlier decision was made in a court above the current one in the court hierarchy. This doctrine of precedent is extremely strong in English law as it ensures fairness and consistency and it highlights the importance of case law in our legal system. Black's Law Dictionary defines â€Å"precedent† as a â€Å"rule of law established for the first time by a court for a particular type of case and thereafter referred to in deciding similar cases. † For this system to operate successfully, in both criminal and civil courts, three things are required – a settled court structure, a ratio decidendi and accurate records of the decisions made by superior courts. A settled court structure is required as judges need to know which decisions they are bound to follow. The English Court hierarchy was largely established by the Judicature Acts 1873-75. The House of Lords was made the final appeal court in 1876 under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, in 2009 the Supreme Court became the final appeal court. There are two court systems, criminal and civil, and they both contain various appeal routes in a vertical court structure. As the UK is a member of the EU, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights bind all English Courts in respect to matters within their jurisdiction. For criminal cases the Supreme Court, formally the House of Lords, is the most superior court in the hierarchy. It binds all courts lower than itself and generally follows its own past decisions. The next court below in the hierarchy is the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), they are bound by the past decisions of the Supreme Court/House of Lords and its own past decisions. Both Supreme Court and Court of Appeal have a way of avoiding following their own binding precedent which I will discuss later. Below the Court of Appeal is the Queen’s Bench Divisional Court, they are bound by both Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. They are bound by their own past decisions however they can take a flexible approach in order to protect the liberty of the individual in question. The last two courts in the hierarchy are the Crown Court and Magistrates Court. These courts are bound by the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Queen’s Bench Divisional Court however they are not bound by their own decisions and they do not bind any other court. The civil court hierarchy is different; the Supreme Court is still the superior court, followed by the Court of Appeal (Civil Division). The next court down the hierarchy is the Divisional Courts of The High Court, which are bound by the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, also bound by their own decisions. The next court is the High Court, they are bound by the decisions of all three superior courts and the decisions of the High Court bind the two inferior courts which are the County Court and Magistrates Court. The inferior courts are bound by all superior courts but they are not bound by their own past decisions. The ratio decidendi, ‘the reason for deciding’ is the legal principle which the decision of the court is based upon. It is the ratio decidendi which forms the binding precedent which must be followed in future cases of similar fact, the same court and all courts below it. An example of a ratio decidendi is in the case of R v Howe (1987) where the House of Lords held that the plea of duress was no defence against the charge of murder; this judgement became binding precedent which must be followed by the Supreme Court and all courts below it. It is also important to mention the obiter dictum which forms the remainder of the judgement. An obiter dictum means ‘other things said’ and these statements do not bind however they can form highly persuasive precedent. An example of an obiter dicta statement is also found in the case of R v Howe (1987) where the judge stated that if the charge had been attempted murder rather than murder, then duress would still not have been available as a defence. This statement was obiter dicta because it did not directly relate to the facts of this particular case. This persuasive precedent was followed in the case of R v Gotts (1992) where a defendant charged with attempted murder tried to use the defence of duress in the Court of Appeal. The ratio decidendi of R v Gotts (1992) then formed its own binding precedent. Other persuasive precedents include decisions of the Scottish courts and those made in the courts of other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada. This may be because a case with these particular facts has not been heard in the English Courts before but may have been heard in another country. This was the case in R v R (1991) where the Court of Appeal and House of Lords followed previous decisions made by the Scottish courts that a man could be found guilty of raping his wife. Another persuasive precedent are dissenting judgements which come from the appeal courts. In the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal the cases are heard by more than one judge and sometimes a decision is reached by only a majority of these judges. The judges in the minority will also give a judgement for why they came to their decisions and this is called a dissenting judgement. A dissenting judgement was followed by Lord Denning in the case of Candler v Crane Christmas (1951). The final requirement to ensure effective operation of judicial precedent is that there needs to be accurate records of the decisions of the superior courts. These can be found in Law Reports. It is crucial that accurate records are available so that it is possible for the binding and persuasive precedents to be found. One example of a law report is the All England Law Report, law reports are also found in the media, The Times publishes law reports weekly. The reports contain all relevant information relating to the case – names of litigants, cases used, solicitors, barristers, a summary of the facts and the judgement itself. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to judicial precedent and how it operates in the courts in England and Wales, most advantages have corresponding disadvantages. One advantage is the certainty it provides, as the courts follow past decisions. Due to this certainty people are more aware of what the law is and have a better idea of how it may be applied in their case. In the House of Lords Practice Statement 1966 it points out how important certainty within the law is. Another advantage is consistency and fairness in the law so it can be seen that similar cases are decided in a similar way. In order for law to be credible it must be consistent. For example, the ratio of R v Howe that duress is no defence to the charge of murder must be followed in cases of similar material fact. There is a wealth of detail contained in the reported cases. The principles set out in the cases are a response to real life situations and things that may have occurred and this can guide future litigants. Over time the law will become more precise as it will gradually be built up by all the variations of facts that come before the courts. Judicial precedent is also flexible and there is room for the law to change as the Supreme Court can use the Practice Statement to overrule cases. An example of flexibility is in R v R, after the judgement was made, Parliament amended the Sexual Offences Act 1956, stating that marital rape is a crime. The doctrine of precedent also allows for new or ‘original’ precedents to be created. This will occur when there are no previous decisions on the case before the court or there is no legislative provision. Therefore an original precedent makes legal provisions for a matter for which there was previously no law. An example of this, where the matter had no come before the court before and Parliament had no guidance to offer, is found in Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority (1985). In this case the House of Lords had to decide whether girls under the age of 16 could be prescribed contraceptives without parental consent. The Lords decided that girls could be prescribed contraceptives in this circumstance, provided they could understand the issues involved. Judicial precedent can also been seen as a useful timesaver. Where a principle has already been established, cases with similar material facts are unlikely to have to go through a lengthy litigation process. A major disadvantage of judicial precedent is how rigid it is. An unjust precedent can lead to further injustices, as once the Supreme Court sets an unjust precedent it won’t be overruled until a case with similar facts goes on to the Supreme Court on appeal. The chances are that this may not happen for many years. Also, the law may become outdated and require modernisation. An example of this is where judges since the 1960's had felt that the law stating a builder did not owe a duty of care to persons they had sold a house to was unfair. Lord Denning made obiter comments regarding this to the effect that a duty should be owed. However the law was not changed until 1978 in Batty v Metropolitan Property Realisations Ltd where it was held that a duty of care was owed. Sometimes the law will only be changed if an individual had the courage, the persistence and the money to appeal their case. It can be very difficult for anyone to conduct thorough research into the law; hundreds of judgements are made every year so it can be hard to discover the precise law on a matter. In order to find this out a person may have to search through many volumes of law reports, the complete official law reports are estimated to run to almost half a million pages. The judgements are often complex and therefore it can be difficult to determine what the ratio decidendi of a case actually is. In the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court there is more than one judgement to consider and a common ratio must be decided by the judges in future cases. A judge may also give more than one ratio, for example in Rickards v Lothian (1913) where Lord Moulton gave two ratios for not holding the defendant liable. Judgements themselves are often long with no clear distinction between comments made and the reasons for the decision. In Dodd's Case (1973) the judges in the Court of Appeal were unable to find the ratio in a decision of the House of Lords. Also, the use of distinguishing to avoid past decisions have lead to some areas of law becoming very complex. It can also be argued that judges are overstepping their constitutional role by actually making the law rather than just applying it. Judicial precedent maybe seen as undemocratic as it is the role of Parliament to create law, the judiciary are there to enforce it. In the same way it can also be seen as undemocratic as judges are not elected and therefore should not be making law. Another disadvantage is that there is no opportunity for the judge to research or consult experts on the likely outcomes or effects of their decisions. Therefore judges are confined to making their decisions based on the arguments presented in the course of the case. Despite the doctrine of judicial precedent being a major factor in the English legal system, there are a number of ways by which a judge may avoid following a precedent. Distinguishing is a method which can be used by a judge to avoid following a precedent. If a judge finds that the material facts of a current case are sufficiently different from those of a previous precedent and can draw a distinction between them, then he is not bound by the previous decision. Two cases that demonstrate this process are Balfour v Balfour 1919) and Merritt v Merritt (1971). In both cases a wife was making a claim against her husband for breach of contract. The judgement in Balfour was that the claim could not succeed as it had been a domestic arrangement rather than a legal one and therefore was not legally binding. In Merritt the court held that there was a legal contract between husband and wife and the agreement had been made in writing and took place after they had separated. This distinguished the case from Balfour, the agreement in Merritt was not just a domestic arrangement, and it was a legally enforceable contract. This provided sufficient differences between the cases that the judge in Merritt did not have to follow the judgement made in Balfour. Another mechanism which can be used by judges to avoid following precedent is overruling where a court in a later case states that the legal ruling decided in an earlier case is wrong. Overruling is where a higher court does not follow a precedent set in a previous case, either by a lower court or by itself. This may occur when a higher court overrules a decisions made in an earlier case by a lower court. An example of a superior court overruling a previous precedent set by a lower court is Hedley Byrnes v Heller and Partners (1964) which was a claim for damages arising from negligent and misleading advice. The House of Lords overruled the decisions of the majority in the Court of Appeal in Candler v Crane Christmas (1951) and held that there can be liability for making a negligent mis-statement. However, too frequently overruling casts doubts on the certainty of the law and leads to inconsistencies. For lawyers to be able to give good advice the law must remain relatively â€Å"safe to predict† and this not the case if senior judges use every available opportunity to reverse the decisions of their predecessors. Some alarm was caused in the 1986 case of R v Shivpuri (1986) which was the first use of the Practice Statement in a criminal case. The House of Lords overruled their own previous decision made in Anderton v Ryan which had only been made twelve months earlier as they believed that the law (Criminal Attempts Act 1981) has be incorrectly applied. On the other hand, the House of Lords have often been reluctant to overrule even bad previous decisions. This was illustrated in Jones v Secretary of State, where the decision in R v Dowling was allowed to stand even though four of the seven Law Lords thought it was wrong. The need for certainty is still highlighted in the decision of the House of Lords since 1966. Both of these practises can be useful in allowing flexibility within the law but can also lead to uncertainties and inconsistencies which undermine the reliability of the system. However, where these two parallel ideas of certainty and flexibility is concerned, there will never be one definite solution to satisfy all. Disapproving can also be used by judges to avoid following precedent; this is where a judge states in his judgement that he believes the decision in an earlier case is wrong. This may occur where the present case is on a related point of law but the point of law is not sufficiently similar for the earlier decision to be overruled. It can also occur where the judge in a lower court in the hierarchy than the court which made the original decision. In this situation the lower court cannot overrule the superior court however they can disapprove of the decision by expressing their view that it was wrong. An example of this is found in the case of R v Hasan (2005), this case was about the availability of the defence of duress by threats, to a criminal offence. The main point of the case was whether a defendant could use the defence of duress if he should have realised that he was putting himself in a position where he might be pressurised into committing an offence. Reversing is similar to overruling however it occurs where a higher court does not follow precedent set by a lower court in the same case. Reversing is where the same case has gone to appeal and the appeal court reaches the opposite decisions to that of the lower court. An example of reversing is found in Fitzpatrick v Sterling House Association Ltd (2000). In this case the Court of Appeal refused to allow the homosexual partner of a deceased tenant to take over the tenancy due to regulations laid out in the Rent Act 1977. On appeal the House of Lords reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal. The Practice Statement 1966 was issued by the House of Lords, declaring their intention not to be bound by their own previous decisions. The Practice Statement allowed the House of Lords to change the law if they believe that the decision made in an earlier case is wrong. It gave them to the flexibility to refuse to follow an earlier judgement when ‘it appears right to do so’. This was shown in the case Herrington v British Railways Board (1972) which involved the law on duty of care owed to a child trespasser. In the case of Addie v Dumbreck (1929), the judgement was that an occupier of land would only hold a duty of care for injuries to child trespassers if they were caused deliberately. In Herrington the Lords held that social and physical conditions had changes since 1929 and therefore the law should also change. The judgement in Herrington was that land owners did owe a duty to prevent injury or death to child trespassers. The Court of Appeal can also refuse to follow its own previous decisions under three exceptions that were bought up in the case of Young v Bristol Aeroplane (1944) These exceptions are as follows; If a previous decision conflicts with a later House of Lords (Supreme Court) decision, it must follow the decision of the House of Lords; if there are two conflicting previous decisions then the Court of Appeal must choose between them. †¢If its previous decision was made per incuriam e. g. mistakenly or without care †¢If the House of Lords (Supreme Court) has ove rruled a previous decision of the Court of Appeal There is an additional reason for the Court of Appeal to depart from following its own past decisions and that is where it has been disapproved by the Privy Council. Privy Council opinion has only persuasive value, it is not binding. An example of this is where Morgan Smith killed a former flatmate during a fight. His defences were that he did not intend to kill or cause grievous bodily harm; that he was suffering from diminished responsibility; and that he was provoked. The focus of the appeal was on the objective part of the test for provocation and whether the reasonable person could be given certain characteristics of the accused, in this case the characteristic of having a severe depressive illness. The Court declined to follow the opinion in Luc Thiet Thuan v R (1996). It is also important to mention in the effect of the Human Rights Act 1998 on judicial precedent. If the precedent was set before the Human Rights Act came into force, the precedent may be contrary to it. As with judicial precedent itself, there are also a number of advantages and disadvantages to the avoidance of precedent by the courts. One advantage is that it allows potential for growth and means that case law is not completely rigid. The different mechanisms for avoiding precedent allow judges to develop and modernise the law when it is necessary. An example of this is the case of Hall v Simons (2000) where the House of Lords modernised the law and held that barristers could be held accountable for negligently presenting a case in court. In this case the court refused to follow the decision made in the case of Rondel v Worsley (1967) as it was deemed that the commercial world had changed significantly since 1967. Sometimes precedents can be developed to a point in which they are seen to be unfair, avoiding precedent allow these unfair laws to be replaced with more appropriate ones. In the case of R v R and G (2003) which involved two very young defendants convicted of arson, the House of Lords used the Practice Statement to avoid following the precedent set in the case of Caldwell (1981). The question facing the House of Lords was whether the defendants had foreseen the risk; they held it was unfair to judge the actions of an 11 and 12 year old by the standard of a reasonable person. The House of Lords brought about a change in the law meaning that if the question of recklessness should come up, a subjective test is used which requires the defendant to have foreseen the risk. A disadvantage of avoiding precedent is that the law changes as a result, creating laws retrospectively. This can be seen as being unjust, as the precedent that is set applies to events that have already happened. It may be that the defendant in a case committed an act that at the time of commission was actually within the law. This was the case in R v R (1991), at the time of the attack, the law stated that a man could not be found guilty of raping his wife. Due to the retrospectively law making, the defendant was found guilty and imprisoned. When there is a chance that a judge may avoid precedent it can remove the certainty within the law and make the outcome of some cases uncertain. This is unwelcome as justice requires that cases and defendants are treated in the same way. It also causes problems for legal professionals, who will not be able to advise with certainty on the likely outcome of a case. In criminal law certainty is particularly needed because the liberty of the defendant is at stake. In the case of Howe (1987), the House of Lords held that duress was no defence for murder, whether the defendant is the principle or an accessory. This case overruled the earlier House of Lords decisions in DPP v Lynch (1975), where it was held that duress was available as defence when charged with being an accessory to murder. Also, avoiding judicial precedent does not conform with the idea of separation of power. Only Parliament should create new law and it is the role of the judiciary to apply it. However when judges avoid following precedent they inevitably create new law. 1. Black's Law Dictionary, p. 1059 (5th ed. 1979).

AIDS Medicine

In a world where everything seems to have an equivalent price, doing some treatment to alleviate the sufferings from AIDS becomes only a dream for most victims. Because of the high costs of medical instruments and medications for the treatment of the disease, not all people are getting the most appropriate resolution for their health problems. In light of technological advancements in the field of health care, too many people are still on the verge of suffering because of the impact of commercialism to the industry lead by the capitalists’ point of view. The argument presented by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa was the most significant intuition if the world population would really want to arrive at a solution for the problem induced by AIDS. No one else in the world knows better than Mbeki about the sufferings of his countrymen, not because of AIDS but because of a more dreaded situational problem-the cost of the AIDS treatment. Seriously enough, medical products for the treatment of the said disease are very steep for an ordinary person to avail. It is sometimes very ironic that with the availability of the modernized science, there are still very wide gaps which reflect the kind of living different people has. The scope of the problem about AIDS becomes very little compared to the scope of the problems induced by monopolized character of the capitalists. Giving more reasonable prices for AIDS medicines can always be maintained as long as the capitalist sectors will cooperate. Unfortunately, the world is not used to playing at its chances especially when it comes to money. People can sacrifice their ethical and moral responsibility just for the sake of saving even the tiniest penny for profit. Because of such scenario, it was a good opportunity that Mbeki greatly encouraged the international community to stand by what is considered to be of greater ethical goal-to deliver the right medical product and services at costs affordable to the general public. In his deliberations about the process, he was able to signify how each little steps of reform can arrive at a significant resolution. He was very clear on his opinion that making the medicines available at much cheaper prices will bring the worth of scientific knowledge to better perspectives. In such a case, his outlined procedures can be a very effective tool to combat the monopolistic attitude of the investing world. First, it was a very good suggestion to encourage the greater population to step up a call for a cheaper price for all medical products for AIDS. This will at least give a consensus that capitalists are no longer reliable sectors in the aspect of world economic order. Second, Mbeki’s suggestion to let government’s fund or at least subsidize the expenses for research and development is one very good approach to allocate the international capital for an appropriate cause. Thirdly, his call for international unity about setting a particular organized department is one big positive idea. This way, nations will be able to effectively monitor whatever the current market trends will be in terms of medical pricing. Moreover, each of the world states will gain access to a wide number of alternatives to acquire cheaper medicines for their respective populations. Human knowledge is a wonderful gift that should only be used for the betterment of all people concerned. But with high prices of medications for AIDS, this ethical notion may just be compromised especially if people under the poverty line would not be able to avail cheaper medicine products for the disease.