Law

2008-09-05T07:11:00.001-07:00

The Death Penalty, Is it Good Or Bad?

I am and always have been the pro death penalty, however, even though I am pro death penalty, I probably would not be willing to pull the switch or push the button. I do not think that this makes me a hypocrit. Please bear with me while I explain.

As I stated, I am pro death penalty. I am not, however, pro death penalty as an act of revenge or retribution. I believe that in certain instances it does act as a deterrent to crime and can save lives. I realize that some people have no respect for life, not even their own, and would commit violent acts no matter what the penalty. I also realize that some people get caught up in the heat of passion and don't think about the consequences of their actions. There are people, however, that do care about themselves even if they don't care about others and the only thing that stops them from commiting certain crimes is the idea that they might, if caught, be executed. They may not have a conscience, they may not care about the harm they do others, they may not believe in or care about an afterlife but, they do care about their own skin and they want to protect themselves from harm. Many of these people don't care if they go to prison but they do want to live. Many of them while in prison would murder other prisoners or guards but don't because they don't want to turn their life sentence into a death sentence. If the death penalty saves even one or two innocent lives, I believe that it is worth having.

On the other hand, I am not omnipotent, I don't know everything. I realize that some, or even many, innocent people may have been executed by mistake. However, I believe that many more innocent lives have been saved than lost because of the death penalty.

I also know that the death penalty can be more expensive and cost the taxpayers more than incarcerating someone for life. However, if it saves innocent lives, it is worth the extra cost. Additionally, if the death penalty process was streamlined the cost would be far less.

Having stated the foregoing, I still probably would not be willing to pull the switch or press the button. Luckily for me there are others that for some reason, either out of a sense of duty or for some other reason, are able to and will do the deed.

My problem stems from uncertainty. Is there a God (I hope so.), and if there is a God, did he send down the Ten Commandments? If God did, what did God mean by "thou shalt not commit murder" (Note: It is not "thou shalt not kill" it is "thou shalt not commit murder", check with a theologian.)? Is it murder to execute a murderer or is it carrying out God's will by protecting other people. Would I loose my soul and an afterlife by executing a murderer. I would be willing to loose my soul in order to protect my love ones by killing someone who threatened them, or to go to war in order to protect my family and country but I might be too selfish to be willing to loose my soul by carrying out a legal execution. I just thought of something, could this selfishness cost me my soul? Oh boy, one more thing to ponder. I either don't have enough faith or I have too much faith. I can't be sure which it is, but I assume that it is not enough faith, because, if I truly believed in a just God, I would be able to trust in him and leave it in his hands.

Finally, I say I probably would not be willing to push the button. I say probably because you never know what you would do when it comes right down to it. I don't think I'd have the guts, however, if there was no one else to do it, who knows?

Laws in India

2008-09-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Laws in India - Alphabetical Listing Supreme Court India Judgments Search Free Banking Laws Consumer Laws Corporate Laws Criminal and Motor Accident Laws Direct Tax Laws Environment Laws Family Laws Foreign Exchange Laws Indirect Tax Laws Intellectual Property Laws Information Technology law Legal and Professional Laws Media Laws Miscellaneous Laws NRI Related Laws Property Laws Service and Labour Laws
Indian Laws on CDs - Civil Laws, Criminal, Banking, Insurance and IPR
	Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI Act)
	Civil Procedure Code (CPC) 1908
Direct Tax Law

	The Income Tax Act, 1961 - New Income Tax Return Forms for 2007-08 click here
	The Expenditure Tax Act, 1987
	The Interest Tax Act, 1974
	The Gift Tax Act, 1958 ( Abolished )
	The Wealth Tax Act, 1957
	The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2006
Indirect Tax Law

	The Central Excise Act,1944
	The Medicinal And Toilet Preparation (Excise Duties) Act, 1955
	Service Tax : Statutory Provisions (1994)
	Central Sales Tax, 1956
	Delhi Sales Tax, 1975
	Customs Act, 1962
	The Additional Duties Of Excise (Textiles And Textile Articles) Act, 1978
	The Agricultural Produce Cess Act, 1940

Corporate Law

	THE COMPANIES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2006
	The Company Act, 1956
	The Company Secretaries Act, 1980
	The Monopolies And Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969
	The Prevention of Money-Laundering Bill, 1999
	The Securities Contract (Regulation) Act, 1956
	The Sick Industrial Companies Act, 1985
	The SEBI Act, 1992
	Apprentices Act, 1961
	The Depositories Act, 1996
	The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992
	The Partnership Act, 1932
	The Sale of Goods Act, 1930
	The National Securities And Depositories Limited - ByeLaws, 1996
	Companies (Foreign Interests) Act, 1918

	The Companies (Donations To National Funds) Act, 1951
Environment Law

	Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,1981
	The Delhi Prohibition of Smoking and Non-Smokers Health Protection Act, 1996
	The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
	The Forest Conservation Act, 1980
	The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

Service and Labour Law

	The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
	Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
	Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996
	Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996
	The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
	Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
	The Dangerous Machines (Regulation) Act, 1983
	The Employment Exchange (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959
	Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
	Employees State Insurance Act, 1948
	Employers Liability Act, 1938
	Equal Remuneration Act,1976
	Factories Act, 1948
	Indian Dock Labourers Act, 1934
	The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
	The Industrial Disputes (Banking and Insurance Companies) Act, 1949
	The Industrial Disputes (Banking Companies) Decision Act, 1955
	The Industries (Development And Regulation) Act, 1951
	Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
	Labour Law (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishment) Act, 1988
	The Maharashtra Mathadi, Hamal and Other Manual Workers (Regulation of Employment and Welfare) Act, 1969
	The Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Union and Prevention Of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971
	The Maternity Benefits Act, 1961
	The Minimum Wages Act, 1948
	The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
	The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
	The Payment of Wages Act, 1936
	Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1962
	The Plantation Labour Act, 1951
	The Public Servants (Inquiries) Act, 1850
	Sale Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976
	The Trade Unions Act, 1926
	The Weekly Holidays Act, 1942
	Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923

Property Law

	Assam (Alteration Of Boundaries) Act, 1951
	Assam Alienation Of Land (Regulation) Act, 1980
	Assam State Legislature (Delegation Of Powers) Act, 1980
	Assam State Legislature (Delegation Of Powers) Act, 1981
	The Delhi (Delegation Of Powers) Act, 1964
	The Delhi Development Authority (Validation Of Disciplinary Powers) Act, 1998
	The Delhi Lands (Restrictions On Transfer) Act, 1972
	The Delhi Laws Act, 1912
	The Delhi Laws Act, 1915
	The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Validation Of Electricity Tax) Act, 1966
	The Benami Transactions(Prohibitions) Act, 1988
	The Delhi Apartment Ownership Act, 1986
	The Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954
	The Delhi Land (Restrictions on Transfer) Act, 1972
	The Delhi Land Revenue Act, 1954
	The Delhi Rent Act, 1995
	The Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958
	The Hindu Disposition of Property Act, 1916
	The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971

Foreign Exchange Law

	The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974
	The Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act, 1999
	The Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976
	The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992

Family Law

	Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
	The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
	The Foreign Marriage Act, 1969
	The Guardians And Wards Act, 1890
	The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
	The Hindu Minority and Gaurdianship Act, 1956
	The Indian Divorce Act, 1869
	The Maternity Benefits Act, 1961
	The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937
	The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986
	The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939
	The Special Marriage Act, 1954
	The Hindu Succession Act, 1956
	The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956
	Indian and Colonial Divorce Jurisdiction Act, 1940
	The Anand Marriage Act, 1909
	The Arya Marriage Validation Act, 1937
	Matrimonial Causes (War Marriages) Act, 1948
	The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929

Legal and Professional Law

	The Advocates Act, 1961 TIPS for Lawyers on Advocates Act, 1961
	Apprentices Act, 1961
	The Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952
	The Company Secretaries Act, 1980
	The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971
	The Notaries Act, 1952
	The Acting Judges Act, 1867
	The Calcutta High Court (Jurisdictional Limits) Act, 1919
	The Calcutta High Court (Extension Of Jurisdiction) Act, 1953
	The Central Laws (Extension To Jammu And Kashmir) Act, 1968
	The Central Laws (Extension To Arunachal Pradesh) Act, 1993
	The Continuance Of Legal Proceedings Act, 1948

Intellectual Property Law

	The Copyright Act, 1957
	Trade and Merchandise Mark Act, 1958
	The Trade Marks Act, 1999

NRI Related Laws

	The Emigration Act, 1983
	The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992
	The Foreign Marriage Act, 1969
	The Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act, 1999
	The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929
Consumer Laws

	The Consumer Protection Act, 1986
	The Essential Commodities Act, 1955
	Jammu & Kashmir Consumer Protection Act 1987

Media Laws

	The Cable Television Networks(Regulation) Ordinance Act, 1995
	The Cinematograph Act, 1952

Criminal and Motor Accident Laws
	The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
	Indian Penal Code, 1860
	The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
	Indian Contract Act, 1872
	The Fatal Accidents Act, 1855
	The Indian Evidence Act, 1872
	The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986
	Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1962
	The Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976
	Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
	Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002
	Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
	Motor Vehicles (AMENDMENT) Act 2000
	The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1938
	The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1961
	The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1993
	The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1990

Banking Laws

	Bankers Book Evidence Act, 1891
	The Hire-Purchase Act, 1972
	The Industrial Disputes (Banking and Insurance Companies) Act, 1949
	The Industrial Disputes (Banking Companies) Decision Act, 1955

IT Laws

	Information Technology Act, 2000

Miscellanous Law

	Constitution of India
	The Arms Act, 1959
	The Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952
	The Court Fees Act, 1870
	Indian Contract Act, 1872
	The Indian Trusts Act, 1882
	The Delhi Co-operative Society Act, 1972
	The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
	The General Clauses Act, 1897
	The Limitation Act, 1963
	The Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956
	The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991
	The Societies Registration Act, 1860
	The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act - 1956
	The Narcotic Drugs and PSYCHOTROPIC Substances Act 1985
	The Narcotic Drugs and PSYCHOTROPIC Substances Act - Amendment 2001
	The Suits Valuation Act, 1887

Family law

2008-09-05T07:05:00.001-07:00

Family laws in India are different for different religions and there is no uniform civil code.

Hindu Law

As far as Hindus are concerned there is a specific branch of law known as Hindu Law. Though the attempt made by the first parliament after independence did not succeed in bringing forth a Hindu Code comprising the entire field of Hindu family law, laws could be enacted touching upon all the major areas affecting family life among Hindus in India.[citation needed]

Muslim law

Indian Muslims' personal status laws are largely based on Sharia. The development of the law is largely on the basis of judicial precedents. The contribution of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer in the matter of interpretation of the statutory as well as personal law is significant.

Christian Law

As for Christians, there is a distinct branch of law known as Christian Law which is mostly based on specific statutes.

Christian law of Succession and Divorce in India have undergone changes in recent years. The Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act of 2001 has brought in considerable changes in the grounds available for divorce. By now Christian law in India has emerged as a separate branch of law.It covers the entire spectrum of family law so far as it concerns Christians in India. Christian law, to a great extent is based on English law but there are laws that originated on the strength of customary practices and precedents.

Christian family law has now distinct sub branches like laws on marriage, divorce,restitution, judicial separation, succession, adoption, guardianship,maintenance, custody of minor children and relevance of canon law and all that regulates familial relationship.

General Law

After independence, some efforts were made to modernise Indian family law, the most recent being the Domestic Violence Act (2005). It is significant because for the first time the term ‘domestic violence’ has been widened in meaning and scope from the culture specific restriction of ‘dowry deaths’ and penal provisions to positive civil rights of protection and injunction. Some other areas in which reform has occurred recently are custody laws, guardianship laws, adoption laws, etc.

Law of Reciprocity

2008-09-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

What is the "Law of Reciprocity?"

I have just read a book called “The 10 Keys to Create Wealth” to fulfill your life’s purposes. I paid special attention to the chapter talking about “The Law of Reciprocity”. I kept thinking; what does that mean? It is simply this: If you want to prosper in all areas of your life then you must give back to the community by offering a valued benefit for those you around you.

Ok, what does she mean? What I mean is this. If you want to succeed in life you have to give back. It is the unwritten law of nature. God speaks of this in his word. “Give and it will be given unto you, good measure, pressed down and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”

Let me give you some examples:

A man I would like to meet, but have not yet is Michael Ellison who is the author of “The 10 Keys to Create Wealth” to fulfill your life’s purpose, is the classic example of a man using “The Law of Reciprocity” . He has achieved greatness in his family, friends, wealth and health by using this formula. He believes that by offering a wellness program to the community and by serving God at the same time he is giving something of value that benefits his clients. We all want to be healthy and gain financial wealth, don’t we? I know I do. Now my thought is; how do we achieve this? For what gain is there to have wealth and no health. What do you profit if you spend your days wealthy and sick and no one to share your wealth with?

**Give something of Value and let it be a benefit to mankind”**

Wealth is what you determine it to be. Some call it “money in the bank”, others call it having family, friends, a relationship with God, etc… I say it can be that but can also include the wealth of prospering others in all walks of life by being a blessing to them and solving a problem for them.

If you were walking down the street and found a man injured on the road would you take the time to help him? The fact is that in this day and age most of us would call 911 or the police. The Law of Reciprocity is a different approach. Go to the injured man and assess his condition, talk to him to bring him comfort and to let him know you are there to help him, call the appropriate help, stay with him until help arrives, ask him if you can pray with him or if there is another way you can help him. Call his family, his friend or clergy. Do you see the difference here? You gave him something of value. It was not monetarily given but given from a human aspect. You put yourself out there. Now in 5 years when he tells this story to his friends or family do you think he will remember your kindness? Will he remember you? What will his thought be? I think it will be something like this….You know, I will never forget how sweet she was to help me and comfort me, she even offered to call people for me and to pray with me. Do you see here how that will stay with that person? You can do it the easy way, but will they remember? Most definitely not!

I would recommend this book to anyone for this chapter all by itself however there are many golden nuggets through out the entire book. I am glad you took the time to read my article and let me leave you this final thought….

We determine and choose in life our success and our failure. What will your choice be? Mine will be success in every aspect of my life by applying “The Law of Reciprocity”!

For more articles please visit my website at

May God bless you and keep you!

2008-09-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

Customer Service Is Dead In Britain!

A Working Man's View

So What? Who cares? What is Customer Service? What are the repercussions? What does it represent? Who are the culprits? What can be done about it?

Dear Reader,

I've had enough. After being brought to the point of anger where profanity would've been my next utterance, I've decided to 'vent my spleen' in this article, highlighting the cause & effect the breakdown of quality customer service is having on our society.

I'm sure if you've ever had a bad experience with customer service, you will appreciate some of the points and suggestions I make in this article. Before I begin, let us first establish what is 'good' & 'bad' customer service.

WHAT IS GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE?

To be greeted politely with eye contact & a pleasant countenance;

To be spoken to with a clear, even, tone.

Always ready to listen than assume;

Always prepared to provide assistance.

Ensuring the customer is never kept waiting unnecessarily.

Ensuring your attitude is geared to assistance & understanding;

Providing unknown but helpful advice to the customer;

Delivering/responding on time.

WHAT IS BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE?

Intolerably long queues/idle staff;

Calls not answered within 2 minutes.

To be put on hold for more than 3-5 minutes;

Following call-scripts instead of listening to the customer's problem;

Late or no arrival of delivery with no explanation;

Unexplained & unwarranted blocks on credit/debit cards;

Unjustified high service charges or penalties by financial institutions;

Misinformation causing expense to customer;

Poor workmanship;

Sour, cynical, unhelpful attitudes;

Overcharging/hidden charges;

Withholding useful/valuable information;

Inadequately trained staff.

WHO ARE THE MAIN CULPRITS?

Mainly Banks, Supermarkets, Home Shopping Centres, Mobile Phone Companies,

Mechanics, Fast Food outlets, Service engineers - plumbers, gas fitters etc.

Virtually any large institution is, but not exclusively, a culprit of bad service.

WHO CARES?

We are in a time where a majority of people are in debt and we are in debt to the very major institutions that provide poor service.

If I'm going to spend my hard earned money with you and possibly add to my debt, the very least I can expect is to get what I pay for without fuss, rudeness and with value for money. It's as if these institutions think "you or someone else is going to spend your money with us anyway, so why should we bother about customer service? - You'll be back!"

Banks, Home Shopping Centres et al

We all lead busy lives where time is of the essence, yet the queues in Banks etc. get longer & longer. It is not unusual now for someone to spend 45 minutes of their lunch hour waiting to be served in a bank.

There have been numerous times when I've had to ask a member of staff to open another till to alleviate the queuing - why couldn't they do this of their own accord? Why did it need me to point out the obvious? This is indicative of the attitude business has towards their customers.

By the way, you are legitimately allowed to ask a member of staff or management at any venue or outlet to open another till & start serving customers if it's obvious the queues are too much for the member/members of staff currently serving.

WHY ARE THEY GETTING AWAY WITH THIS?

We are in a time where government is increasingly forcing us to 'accept our lot' in life; 'SHUT UP, BE HAPPY'!

(To prove my point I could expand here into 'Game Theory', 'Negative Freedom' and our budding totalitarian state, but I'll leave that for a future article!).

Add to this the 'sheep' & 'don't make waves' mentality of the British and you have a nation that is ripe for arrogant, sloppy business practices. >If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.

The irony is that under the present political climate it is assumed by government and the captains of industry that what we buy is a true representation of our wants & needs and therefore a true representation of democracy.

Yet we fail to see the power that belief gives us, the consumer. No matter how much small print and word trickery is invested into an organisation's Terms & Conditions, we are still protected under Consumer Law which has been strengthened considerably over the past decade.

HOW DID THESE PRACTICES SEEP INTO OUR NATION?

I would like to suggest a number of possible factors:

One factor is the Americanisation of Britain - our government taking existing American policies and tailoring them to suit the British economy - that was started under the Thatcher era, and continued with fervour under the Blair government.

Anyone who's visited the West Coast of America frequently like I have will know that 'service with a smile' is not a standard approach, be it from a public servant or an average serving citizen. The "Time Is Money" principle is applied with fervour.

A second factor is the practice of globalisation. We are in a world where foreign companies can own any company in any country, even if it's considered to be a major culturally important institution of that country.

Successive British governments from the Thatcher era onwards have made it clear that anyone willing to invest is welcome & ensure our virtually non-existent union laws make this country a viable prospect.

Add to this the fact that a company residing in Britain may have a telephony service in India and a production factory in South-East Asia, and you can see how loyalty to an ideal can be become a passing thought.

A third factor is technology. The advent of automated lines, email & text communications, in addition to internet shopping, is creating a nation where person-to-person communication is rarely practised, therefore there is less patience when performing the art of speech. Pitch, Inflection, Courtesy, Tone, Understanding, Rate & Enunciability are fast becoming a quaint approach to communicating.

A fourth factor is immigration. With a large influx of people from all over the globe, the importance of good customer service in this nation needs to be highlighted when you have people from Australia to Zaire whom haven't been raised with the British shopkeeper mentality & may have been brought up to believe that getting the job done is good enough. It isn't.

A fifth factor is staff consideration - which may range from poor pay to poor working practices to poor working environment. Good pay is not enough to motivate staff; almost every employee survey carried out on job satisfaction puts pay 3rd as the most important requirement for an employee.

Giving an employee a sense of worth goes a long way to a happy workforce - although this needs to come from the employee as well; if money is the only motivation to work and nothing else, make sure you never deal with customers. Go and work on a production line somewhere - we don't have to deal with your lack of ambition or self-worth.

Taking pride in whatever you do goes a long way to affecting your approach to a task.

HOW WOULD THIS AFFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE IN BRITAIN?

Policies can direct and shape a culture.

Policies shape the decisions of what products will or will not be available; how they will be available; how much they cost. These in turn will shape our buying and shopping habits.

This in turn will help to shape attitudes and practices throughout society.

Modern day communications have made vast savings for big business; the trade off of unhappy customers as a result seems to be worthwhile in their eyes.

Britains reputation and culture was built on its customer service. The nation continues to trade on that reputation from being the first called to provide UN relief to being the first contacted to train police forces of the developing nations. The British workforce used to think it a grave slight on their character if they were accused of bad service. Now, in the event of a complaint, the manager pretends indignation in front of the customer and ridicules their 'pettiness' behind their back. "The Customer Is Always Right" is from a bygone age.

WHAT ARE THE REPERCUSSIONS?

The repercussions are already being felt.

The increase in these no-win, no-fee companies is a testament to that.

The second stage is the unpleasant aspect of public servants being attacked, verbally or otherwise. Indeed, were the figures for physical assault on public servants and shop assistants to be measured over the past 20 years, I'm guessing they would show a sharp increase.

The third stage - which has already begun - is when customers start taking individual action in small claims courts when they are not happy with the conclusion of a complaint to a Customer Services Dept. Increased, continuous litigation on big business cannot be a good thing for a company in terms of cost and man hours.

WHAT CAN BUSINESSES DO?

Branch Services

-Any organisation that makes sure customers are not queuing for more than 5 minutes per customer will see their volume of visits triple.

-Make sure there are never more than 5 customers per till person.

-Make sure that whatever your staffs is doing - no matter how important & time sensitive they think it is - as soon as a long queue has developed, get them on the tills or assisting to clear the queue.

-Even if customers are still queuing for some time, they will appreciate the attempt and the importance you place on their custom.

-If there are processes & procedures that have to be performed throughout a business day, there should be a flexible contingency method that enables the staff member to help clear long queues then get back to their procedural matters or conclude them in a quiet period.

-Any branch of any business that takes the above stance will see their volume of customers increase.

Telephony Services

-Ensure the option to talk to an actual person is on the 1st list of menu options offered.

-Teach your staff to actually listen to the problem.

-Teach your staff not to be menu-driven when giving support.

-Ensure the Reduction of waiting times is a constant priority.

-Design the menu options you offer from the customer's point of view.

WHAT CAN CUSTOMERS DO?

Vote with your feet!

&

COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN!

When making a telephone call, have a piece of paper and pen ready.

Always seek the name & job title of the person you're speaking to and write it down.

Ask to speak to/see the manager or senior member to make a verbal complaint.

If that fails, seek the name of their customer services manager - they have to give to you.

Seek the address of the customer services department for complaints - it may be different than their standard customer service dept.

Find out the email address of the person or department you need to speak to.

Write to the relevant person. In these instances the pen is truly mightier than the sword.

Send letters recorded delivery. Someone has to sign for it.

Organisations still have to reply to a written letter by law.
click on "Useful Links" and you will see links and information on a number of organisations who provide invaluable help in this area.

WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SEE?

The Present

Customers to respond to bad service with their feet. Don't go back.

If it's a chain store, don't visit that branch; better still, the whole chain.

If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.

The Future?

-A website database where a customer enters the place of business, the person who served them, their own name and a contact no.

-A list of the good and bad accessible to all.

-Management of respective business presented with a daily/weekly/monthly list of complaints to resolve. Their response monitored.

-Highlight bad/good Company of the week/month.

-Arrange boycott of bad company/branch through their respective local press. Promote good company/branch.

BIG BUSINESS BEWARE,

WE THE CONSUMER HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!

Child Support Enforcement and Federal Criminal Law

2008-09-04T09:46:00.002-07:00

Child support enforcement is a growing area of family law. Once child support has been ordered by a Court, or agreed upon by two parents, it is not always smooth sailing. Although we hear a lot about "deadbeat parents" (and there are both moms and dads who are deadbeats), the overwhelming majority of parents pay support and take care of their children as agreed upon or ordered. But, when that is not the case, you have to know how child support enforcement works.

Child support enforcmement in one form or another is available in every state for collecting against deadbeat parents. Those child support enforcement remedies include wage garnishment, intercepting tax refunds, suspending a driver's or professional license, and more.

In addition to the child support enforcement remedies that the individual states provide, the is a federal remedy which is often overlooked, but which is very effective. That child support enforcement remedy is the Child Support Recovery Act of 1992.

Under the Child Support Recovery Act, the failure to pay child support, if willful, is a federal crime if the parent who owes support lives in a different state than the parent who is receiving the support. Relying on this criminal statute can be a very effect child support enforcement tool.

The purpose of the Federal Child Support Recovery Act was to prevent a parent from moving to a different state or a foreign jurisdiction for the purpose of evading a child support order. However, since we live in an incredibly mobile society, it is not unusual to have a support paying parent in one state and a support receiving parent living in another state. When that happens, the Federal Act is available as a remedy for interstate child child support enforcement.

A first offense under the Federal Child Support Recovery Act can result in a prison sentence of up to six months in addition to monetary fines. A second conviction can result in more jail time and greater fines.

The Child Support Recovery Act was amended in 1998 and is now know as the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act. The 1998 Act makes it a federal crime to travel to another state to avoid a child support obligation, if that support obligation is greater than $5000 and has remained unpaid for more than one year. If the obligation is greater than $10,000 and has remained unpaid for more than 2 years, if is a federal crime under the 1998 Deadbeat Parents Act simply to have not paid the child support.

The penalties available for child support enforcement under the 1998 Deadbeat Parents Act include prison sentences, fines and restitution. Restitution is the payment of money to the custodial parent in an amount equal to the child support arrearage existing at the time that the defendant is sentenced. Probation can also be imposed and can include conditions such as the payment of child support and mandatory employment. A violation of those terms of probation can result in the imposition of additional prison time.

If you are owed child support and the parent who is supposed to pay lives in another state, consult with an attorney to discuss whether the Federal Deadbeat Parents Act can help you with child support enforcement and collect the support due to you.

Investing In China: Hiring, Firing And Labor Law

2008-09-04T09:46:00.001-07:00

One of China’s major attractions for foreign investors is its low labor costs. In the central provinces entry-level laborers can be hired for as little at US$60 per month and college graduates work for as little as US$150 per month, although labor costs in the more affluent coastal provinces are about three times as high. Furthermore, because there is a shortage of skilled labor and white collar management in the coastal provinces, additional incentives might be required to attract highly qualified employees (this is not so much of a problem in the central and western provinces). Employers can be recruited and hired directly in most cases, although there are many public and private employment agencies that will assist the foreign investor in recruiting qualified staff. In joint ventures, the Chinese partner is usually responsible for recruitment, although this is something that can be negotiated between the parties.

Employment law in China is in some ways more protective of employees than US labor law. Labor matters in China are generally governed by the P.R.C. Employment Law (although certain other national legislation also provides guidance). Where national law is silent, provincial and local laws apply, but in the event of a conflict between provincial/local laws and the Employment Law, the Employment Law prevails, much in the way as federal law trumps state law in the US.

Employment contracts are generally required and normally stipulate probation periods of no more than six months. A thirty-day advance notice and good cause are normally required in order to fire an employee after the expiration of the probation period (although employee incompetence and company business reverses considered good cause subject to certain restrictions). An employee can be immediately fired for serious misconduct.

The eight-hour workday and the forty-hour workweek are standard for blue collar employees, overtime pay is mandated by law, and there are legal limitations on how much overtime can be required. Paid leave is also required, although the required length varies according to local regulations (usually not exceeding two weeks per year). There are special protections on the type of labor that can be assigned to women and teenagers, and the minimum working age is 16. None of this should be unfamiliar to those familiar with prevailing US labor practices.

Nevertheless, Chinese labor law does include certain unique features that foreign investors should be aware of:

(1) In the event of a labor dispute, arbitration is required before the case can be taken to court.

(2) There are three funds to which both employer and employee must contribute:

1. Endowment Insurance (a kind of social welfare fund) – the employee contributes 5% of his salary, employer pays an amount equal to about one-fourth of the employee’s salary (amounts vary by locality).

2. Unemployment Insurance – the employee pays 1.0%, employer pays 2.0%.

3. Hospitalization Insurance – Employee pays 2.0%, employer pays 8.0 %.

In each of the foregoing cases, the employer deducts the employee portion from the employee’s paycheck, but must pay the employer’s portion out of its own pocket in addition to the employee’s regular wages. Also keep in mind that the foregoing amounts may vary somewhat according to locality. There are also certain funds that employers must contribute to, such as an employee labor union fund (generally about 2% of payroll).

A prospective foreign investor would do well to keep abreast of breaking developments in this area, because the law is rapidly evolving.

Pucker Up On The Latest Lemon Law

2008-09-04T09:45:00.001-07:00

Is your car making you pucker up like you have eaten a lemon? A spoonful of sugar will not make it all better. You need to brush up on the latest lemon laws in your state. It seems you may have gotten a dud of a car, a car lemon for lack of a better term. So you can brush up on the latest lemon law or you can consult with one of probably many lemon law attorneys available in your state.

Let us suppose you live in California. Research the latest lemon law California has to offer by perusing through the statutes in the state of California’s Civil Code. If that does not get you yawning, nothing will! To save yourself from the boredom of reading through all that legalese, you can also consult with some lemon law lawyers. Or, read on for a summary of these statutes to see if you have a legal leg to stand on. You will have to decide if you need to start making lemonade with that car lemon.

One of the statutes of the California Civil Code states that you must make a realistic effort to have your new car fixed to conform to basic warranties from the vehicle manufacturer. There is a limit of a year and a half or 18,000 miles on the car’s odometer, whichever happens first, for the problem to be rectified, before being considered a car lemon.

Of course, as with anything else, there are other provisions to that rule. First, the malfunction must have been repaired two or more times without success, with the result being that the car is dangerous or unsafe to drive in a way that might cause severe injury or casualties. Or, secondly, your car is still not fixed satisfactorily after four repeated attempts by the manufacturer. Finally, another reason that your vehicle could be facing a car lemon law is if your vehicle has been out for repairs for more than a month or thirty straight days.

The above information is just a sampling of the lemon law California has on the books. There is more to it than that, but is should give you a good start in understanding where you stand with your dud of a car. To be sure that you are in compliance with any CA lemon law, make sure to get some legal counsel.

You will discover that you can request a refund of the purchase of the car from the manufacturer. The car manufacturer can also substitute your dud of a vehicle with a new equally comparable vehicle. They would be responsible for all the taxes and fees that go with the purchase of a new car including the costs you incurred in rental and repair fees.

One thing lemon law lawyers might tell you is that if you request the manufacturer to make restitution through a new vehicle or a refund before you file any civil suit and they refuse, you may be entitled to twice the compensation from the manufacturer should a civil trial find in your favor. However, before you go through legal counsel, just save a little money and do your research on your lemon laws. It’s a tough job wading through all that car lemon law stuff, so pucker up and get busy making your own lemonade from that car lemon.

Law Act Of 1976

2008-09-04T09:44:00.001-07:00

The Copyright Law Act Of 1976 Is Still Relevant In Today's Digital Age

The Copyright Law Act of 1976 is the basis of United States copyright laws. The Copyright Law Act states the rights of copyright owners, the doctrine of the Fair Use copyright laws, and it changed the term life of copyrights. Before the Copyright Law Act, the law had not been revised since 1909. It was necessary that copyright laws be revised to take into account technological strides that were being made in radio, sound recordings, motions pictures and more. The Copyright Law Act of 1976 preempted all previous laws that were on the books in the United States, including the Copyright Act of 1909.

The Copyright Law Act of 1976 defines “works of authorship” to include all of the following:

* Musical works
* Literary works
* Dramatic works
* Pictorial, sculptural and graphics
* Motion Pictures and Audiovisuals
* Sound Recordings
* Choreographic Works and Pantomimes
* An eighth work which falls under “architectural works” was later added in 1990.

What is unique about the United States copyright law is that it is automatic. Once someone has an idea and produces it in tangible form, the creator is the copyright holder and has the authority to enforce his exclusivity to it. In other words, the person is the owner of the creation. It is not necessary that a person register their work. However, it is recommended and it can serve as evidence if someone ever violates a copyright.

Violations of US Copyright Laws are generally enforced in a civil court setting. However, there could also be criminal sanctions brought against someone who violates US copyright laws. Someone who is in serious violation of US Copyright Laws, such as counterfeiting, can find themselves on the inside of prison. People need to understand that the copyright symbol is not a requirement. Someone may have a copyright, yet their work may not have a copyright notice or symbol.

US Copyright Law covers a wide range of things that are derived from artistic expression, intellectual or creative work. This includes things such as literary works, music, drawings, photographs, software, movies, choreographic works such as ballets and plays, poems, paintings and more. The law covers the form of expression, not the concept, facts or the actual idea of the work. This means that someone can use another person's idea or concept and produce their own take on it. However, copying another person's work is a violation. Some things may not be copyrighted but they may be protected by a patent or trademark.

Individuals who have a copyright on a particular piece of work can do what they want with it. They may choose to copy it and sell it. They may display their work or perform it in public and charge admission, or they can assign or sell the work to someone else. Individuals who have a copyright can also choose to do nothing with their work, if that is their desire. However, if someone comes along and takes the work and tries to use it in some way, that person is still in violation of the owner's copyright. The Copyright Law Act covers published and unpublished works.

The Law of Attraction, Television & You

2008-09-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

The law of attraction tells us that you bring into your life that which you put your attention on. The secret to life is to put your attention on what serves you and take your attention away from what does not serve you.

Does your spiritual growth come from the television? Does television spew forth spirituality information? We know it uses religion a lot to send its messages but is that the same as spiritual enlightenment? We often create a habit of watching television no matter what it is that we are watching.

We get into a habit of talking bad about others and ourselves and it just seems normal to us. Our environment seems to encourage us to play a role in life that has nothing to do with who we really are. We get feedback daily from the television that encourages us to make decisions that stifle our thinking and therefore our creativity. Our non-conformity conforms to the marketing plans that bombard us daily.

Hey, here's a novel idea. Don't turn on the television. It's just an idea but think about it. The immutable universal law of attraction tells us that we attract into our life that which we put our attention on.

If you watch three to four or more hours of television a day you are putting a lot of attention on whatever it is that you are watching. If you just did this for one day it wouldn't affect you much, but if you do this every day and maybe a little more on the weekends, then you can begin to see the cumulative effect that this has on the overall input into what you think.

Let's just take one aspect of television and examine how it influences our lives. Remember these are just words. These are words that we are receiving through our physical sense of hearing with the addition of a visual context that adds emphasis to the overall message.

We are going to look at the national evening news. It doesn't matter which network you are tuned to because they all say the same things. Every night we are subjected to the lead story, which is the most sensational story of the day. My dictionary defines sensational as: 1. Arousing intense interests 2. Intended to shock, thrill, etc. (Kind of sounds like a carnival show)

Let's examine this daily input into our thoughts. The commentator has been carefully selected and programmed to create an image of fairness and trust. We are supposed to trust this fair-minded person who is relaying the news of the world to us in an unbiased way. That is the image that they all project to us.

We are lead to believe that they are doing us a great service by reporting to us the information, that puts into summary form, what has happened that particular day that they feel is important to you. Have they ever asked you what is important to you? Or are they trying to tell you what is important to you?

This is how subtle it is and how easy it is to influence collective thinking. Just the mere fact that you are listening to the news means that you are going to be influenced by the news. You may not have had a thought about being sick but the nightly news report tells you there is a national epidemic of the flu going around and, all of a sudden, you begin to wonder if you are going to get the flu. You feel fine but you now have a thought in your head that you might get the flu.

They take a commercial break and the first advertisement is for flu medicine. You didn't have a thought in your head about being sick just five minutes ago but now you are thinking to yourself that you should probably get some flu medicine tomorrow. You are susceptible to the flu, the nightly news just told you the flu bug is going around and you were fortunate enough to see an advertisement for flu medicine.

The next morning you wake up with a sniffle. You tell yourself, via your thoughts, that you are getting the flu. You go to work and tell a co-worker that you have the flu and will probably miss work in a few days because that is how the flu works on you. Lo and behold, you develop more flu-like symptoms and you become so sick that you can't go to work for a couple of days.

That's how subtle it is and that's how powerful our thoughts and words are. The flu example is bad enough but we are being fed much more sensational news than the flu bug. We are being fed huge doses of fear daily. Morning, noon, and night we are being told, via words on the news that we must live in fear of just about everything that is happening in the world.

We are told to fear the weather, fear earthquakes, fear the flu, fear the poor, fear our enemies, fear our school systems, fear foreigners, fear our food, fear children who commit crimes, fear the environmentalists, fear just about everything. This is the “news” that we subject ourselves to daily.

Now, I am not saying if this is right or wrong. I am only saying that in my observation this is what is so.

One final observation. I will let you answer this yourself since you are the only one who really matters here. Do you believe that the television news is based mostly in fear or in love? What is your answer?

Here's the kicker question. “Does that serve you?”

Religious law

2008-09-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

Religious law refers to the notion that the word of God is law. Examples include the Jewish Halakha and Islamic Sharia, both of which mean the "path to follow". Christian canon law also survives in some church communities. The implication of religion for law is unalterability, because the word of God cannot be amended or legislated against by judges or governments. However religion never provides a thorough and detailed legal system. For instance, the Quran has some law, and it acts merely as a source of further law through interpretation,[67] Qiyas (reasoning by analogy), Ijma (consensus) and precedent. This is mainly contained in a body of law and jurisprudence known as Sharia and Fiqh respectively, which had a fairly significant influence on the development of common law,[60] as well as some influence on civil law.[68] Another example is the Torah or Old Testament, in the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses. This contains the basic code of Jewish law, which some Israeli communities choose to use. The Halakha is a code of Jewish law which summarises some of the Talmud's interpretations. Nevertheless, Israeli law allows litigants to use religious laws only if they choose. Canon law is only in use by members of the clergy in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion.

Until the 18th century, Sharia law was practiced throughout the Muslim world in a non-codified form, with the Ottoman Empire's Mecelle code in the 19th century being first attempt at codifying elements of Sharia law. Since the mid-1940s, efforts have been made, in country after country, to bring Sharia law more into line with modern conditions and conceptions.[69] In modern times, the legal systems of many muslim countries draw upon both civil and common law traditions as well as Islamic law and custom. The constitutions of certain muslim states, such as Egypt and Afghanistan, recognise Islam as the religion of the state, obliging legislature to adhere to Sharia.[70] Saudi Arabia recognises Quran as its constitution, and is governed on the basis of Islamic law.[71] Iran has also witnessed a reiteration of Islamic law into its legal system after 1979.[72] During the last few decades, one of the fundamental features of the movement of Islamic resurgence has been the call to restore the Sharia, which has generated a vast amount of literature and affected world politics.[73]

Legal systems

2008-09-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

In general, legal systems around the world can be split between civil law jurisdictions, on the one hand, and systems using common law and equity, on the other. The term civil law, referring to a legal system, should not be confused with civil law as a group of legal subjects, as distinguished from criminal law or public law. A third type of legal system — still accepted by some countries in part, or even in whole — is religious law, based on scriptures and interpretations thereof. The specific system that a country follows is often determined by its history, its connection with countries abroad, and its adherence to international standards. The sources that jurisdictions recognise as authoritatively binding are the defining features of legal systems. Yet classification of different systems is a matter of form rather than substance, since similar rules often prevail.

Civil law

Civil law is the legal system used in most countries around the world today. In civil law the sources recognised as authoritative are, primarily, legislation – especially codifications in constitutions or statutes passed by government – and, secondarily, custom.[51] Codifications date back millennia, with one early example being the ancient Babylonian Codex Hammurabi, but modern civil law systems essentially derive from the legal practice of the Roman Empire, whose texts were rediscovered in medieval Europe. Roman law in the days of the Roman Republic and Empire was heavily procedural, and there was no professional legal class.[52] Instead a lay person, iudex, was chosen to adjudicate. Precedents were not reported, so any case law that developed was disguised and almost unrecognised.[53] Each case was to be decided afresh from the laws of the state, which mirrors the (theoretical) unimportance of judges' decisions for future cases in civil law systems today. During the 6th century AD in the Eastern Roman Empire, the Emperor Justinian I codified and consolidated the laws that had existed in Rome, so that what remained was one-twentieth of the mass of legal texts from before.[54] This became known as the Corpus Juris Civilis. As one legal historian wrote, "Justinian consciously looked back to the golden age of Roman law and aimed to restore it to the peak it had reached three centuries before."[55] Western Europe, meanwhile, slowly slipped into the Dark Ages, and it was not until the 11th century that scholars in the University of Bologna rediscovered the texts and used them to interpret their own laws.[56] Civil law codifications based closely on Roman law, alongside some influences from religious laws such as Canon law and Islamic law,[57] continued to spread throughout Europe until the Enlightenment; then, in the 19th century, both France, with the Code Civil, and Germany, with the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, modernised their legal codes. Both these codes influenced heavily not only the law systems of the countries in continental Europe (e.g. Greece), but also the Japanese and Korean legal traditions.[58] Today countries that have civil law systems range from Russia and China to most of Central and Latin America.[59]

Common law and equity

Common law and equity are systems of law whose special distinction is the doctrine of precedent, or stare decisis (Latin for "to stand by decisions"). Alongside this "judge-made law", common law systems always have governments who pass new laws and statutes. But these are not put into a codified form. Common law comes from England and was inherited by almost every country that once belonged to the British Empire, with the exceptions of Malta, Scotland, the U.S. state of Louisiana and the Canadian province of Quebec. Common law had its beginnings in medieval England, influenced by the Norman conquest of England which introduced legal concepts and institutions from the Norman and Islamic laws.[60] Common law further developed when the English monarchy had been weakened by the enormous cost of fighting for control over large parts of France. King John had been forced by his barons to sign a document limiting his authority to pass laws. This "great charter" or Magna Carta of 1215 also required that the King's entourage of judges hold their courts and judgments at "a certain place" rather than dispensing autocratic justice in unpredictable places about the country.[61] A concentrated and elite group of judges acquired a dominant role in law-making under this system, and compared to its European counterparts the English judiciary became highly centralised. In 1297, for instance, while the highest court in France had fifty-one judges, the English Court of Common Pleas had five.[62] This powerful and tight-knit judiciary gave rise to a rigid and inflexible system of common law.[63] As a result, as time went on, increasing numbers of citizens petitioned the King to override the common law, and on the King's behalf the Lord Chancellor gave judgment to do what was equitable in a case. From the time of Sir Thomas More, the first lawyer to be appointed as Lord Chancellor, a systematic body of equity grew up alongside the rigid common law, and developed its own Court of Chancery. At first, equity was often criticised as erratic, that it "varies like the Chancellor's foot". But over time it developed solid principles, especially under Lord Eldon.[64] In the 19th century the two systems were fused into one another. In developing the common law and equity, academic authors have always played an important part. William Blackstone, from around 1760, was the first scholar to describe and teach it.[65] But merely in describing, scholars who sought explanations and underlying structures slowly changed the way the law actually worked.[66]

2008-09-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

Further disciplines

Law spreads far beyond the core subjects into virtually every area of life. Three categories are presented for convenience, though the subjects intertwine and overlap.

Law and society

* Labour law is the study of a tripartite industrial relationship between worker, employer and trade union. This involves collective bargaining regulation, and the right to strike. Individual employment law refers to workplace rights, such as health and safety or a minimum wage.
* Human rights, civil rights and human rights law are important fields to guarantee everyone basic freedoms and entitlements. These are laid down in codes such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights (which founded the European Court of Human Rights) and the U.S. Bill of Rights. The Treaty of Lisbon makes the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union legally binding in all member states except Poland and the United Kingdom.[48]
* Civil procedure and criminal procedure concern the rules that courts must follow as a trial and appeals proceed. Both concern a citizen's right to a fair trial or hearing.
* Evidence law involves which materials are admissible in courts for a case to be built.
* Immigration law and nationality law concern the rights of foreigners to live and work in a nation-state that is not their own and to acquire or lose citizenship. Both also involve the right of asylum and the problem of stateless individuals.
* Social security law refers to the rights people have to social insurance, such as jobseekers' allowances or housing benefits.
* Family law covers marriage and divorce proceedings, the rights of children and rights to property and money in the event of separation.

Law and commerce

* Commercial law covers complex contract and property law. The law of agency, insurance law, bills of exchange, insolvency and bankruptcy law and sales law are all important, and trace back to the mediæval Lex Mercatoria. The UK Sale of Goods Acts and the US Uniform Commercial Code are examples of codified common law commercial principles.
* Admiralty law and the Law of the Sea lay a basic framework for free trade and commerce across the world's oceans and seas, where outside of a country's zone of control. Shipping companies operate through ordinary principles of commercial law, generalised for a global market.
* Company law sprang from the law of trusts, on the principle of separating ownership of property and control.[49] The law of the modern company began with the Joint Stock Companies Act, passed in the United Kingdom in 1865, which protected investors with limited liability and conferred separate legal personality.
* Intellectual property law aims at safeguarding creators and other producers of intellectual goods and services. These are legal rights (copyrights, trademarks, patents, and related rights) which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, literaly and artistic fields.[50]
* Restitution deals with the recovery of someone else's gain, rather than compensation for one's own loss.
* Unjust enrichment is law covering a right to retrieve property from someone that has profited unjustly at another's expense.

Law and regulation

* Tax law involves regulations that concern value added tax, corporate tax, income tax.
* Banking law and financial regulation set minimum standards on the amounts of capital banks must hold, and rules about best practice for investment. This is to insure against the risk of economic crises, such as the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
* Regulation deals with the provision of public services and utilities. Water law is one example. Especially since privatisation became popular, private companies doing the jobs previously controlled by government have been bound by social responsibilities. Energy, gas telecomms and water are regulated industries in most OECD countries.
* Competition law, known in the U.S. as antitrust law, is an evolving field that traces as far back as Roman decrees against price fixing and the English restraint of trade doctrine. Modern competition law derives from the U.S. anti-cartel and anti-monopoly statutes (the Sherman Act and Clayton Act) of the turn of the 20th century. It is used to control businesses who attempt to use their economic influence to distort market prices at the expense of consumer welfare.
* Consumer law could include anything from regulations on unfair contractual terms and clauses to directives on airline baggage insurance.
* Environmental law is increasingly important, especially in light of the Kyoto Protocol and the potential danger of climate change. Environmental protection also serves to penalise polluters within domestic legal systems.

Equity and Trusts

2008-09-02T07:09:00.001-07:00

Equity is a body of rules that developed in England separately from the "common law". The common law was administered by judges. The Lord Chancellor on the other hand, as the King's keeper of conscience, could overrule the judge made law if he thought it equitable to do so.[43] This meant equity came to operate more through principles than rigid rules. For instance, whereas neither the common law nor civil law systems allow people to split the ownership from the control of one piece of property, equity allows this through an arrangement known as a 'trust'. 'Trustees' control property, whereas the 'beneficial' (or 'equitable') ownership of trust property is held by people known as 'beneficiaries'. Trustees owe duties to their beneficiaries to take good care of the entrusted property.[44] In the early case of Keech v. Sandford[45] a child had inherited the lease on a market in Romford, London. Mr Sandford was entrusted to look after this property until the child matured. But before then, the lease expired. The landlord had (apparently) told Mr Sandford that he did not want the child to have the renewed lease. Yet the landlord was happy (apparently) to give Mr Sandford the opportunity of the lease instead. Mr Sandford took it. When the child (now Mr Keech) grew up, he sued Mr Sandford for the profit that he had been making by getting the market's lease. Mr Sandford was meant to be trusted, but he put himself in a position of conflict of interest. The Lord Chancellor, Lord King, agreed and ordered Mr Sandford should disgorge his profits. He wrote,

"I very well see, if a trustee, on the refusal to renew, might have a lease to himself few trust-estates would be renewed… This may seem very hard, that the trustee is the only person of all mankind who might not have the lease; but it is very proper that the rule should be strictly pursued and not at all relaxed."[46]

Of course, Lord King LC was worried that trustees might exploit opportunities to use trust property for themselves instead of looking after it. Business speculators using trusts had just recently caused a stock market crash. Strict duties for trustees made their way into company law and were applied to directors and chief executive officers. Another example of a trustee's duty might be to invest property wisely or sell it.[47] This is especially the case for pension funds, the most important form of trust, where investors are trustees for people's savings until retirement. But trusts can also be set up for charitable purposes, famous examples being the British Museum or the Rockefeller Foundation.

Property law

2008-09-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Property law governs valuable things that people call 'theirs'. Real property, sometimes called 'real estate' refers to ownership of land and things attached to it.[38] Personal property, refers to everything else; movable objects, such as computers, cars, jewelry, and sandwiches, or intangible rights, such as stocks and shares. A right in rem is a right to a specific piece of property, contrasting to a right in personam which allows compensation for a loss, but not a particular thing back. Land law forms the basis for most kinds of property law, and is the most complex. It concerns mortgages, rental agreements, licences, covenants, easements and the statutory systems for land registration. Regulations on the use of personal property fall under intellectual property, company law, trusts and commercial law. An example of a basic case of most property law is Armory v. Delamirie.[39] A chimney sweep's boy found a jewel encrusted with precious stones. He took it to a goldsmith to have it valued. The goldsmith's apprentice looked at it, sneakily removed the stones, told the boy it was worth three halfpence and that he would buy it. The boy said he would prefer the jewel back, so the apprentice gave it to him, but without the stones. The boy sued the goldsmith for his apprentice's attempt to cheat him. Lord Chief Justice Pratt ruled that even though the boy could not be said to own the jewel, he should be considered the rightful keeper until the original owner is found. In fact the apprentice and the boy both had a right of possession in the jewel (a technical concept, meaning evidence that something could belong to someone), but the boy's possessory interest was considered better, because it could be shown to be first in time. Physical possession is nine tenths of the law, but not all.

This case is used to support the view of property in common law jurisdictions, that the person who can show the best claim to a piece of property, against any contesting party, is the owner.[40] By contrast, the classic civil law approach to property, propounded by Friedrich Carl von Savigny, is that it is a right good against the world. Obligations, like contracts and torts are conceptualised as rights good between individuals.[41] The idea of property raises many further philosophical and political issues. Locke argued that our "lives, liberties and estates" are our property because we own our bodies and mix our labour with our surroundings.

Tort law

2008-09-01T13:57:00.001-07:00

The "McLibel" two were involved in the longest running case in UK history for publishing a pamphlet criticising McDonald's restaurants.

Torts, sometimes called delicts, are civil wrongs. To have acted tortiously, one must have breached a duty to another person, or infringed some pre-existing legal right. A simple example might be accidentally hitting someone with a cricket ball.[30] Under negligence law, the most common form of tort, the injured party could potentially claim compensation for his injuries from the party responsible. The principles of negligence are illustrated by Donoghue v. Stevenson.[31] A friend of Mrs Donoghue ordered an opaque bottle of ginger beer (intended for the consumption of Mrs Donoghue) in a café in Paisley. Having consumed half of it, Mrs Donoghue poured the remainder into a tumbler. The decomposing remains of a snail floated out. She claimed to have suffered from shock, fell ill with gastroenteritis and sued the manufacturer for carelessly allowing the drink to be contaminated. The House of Lords decided that the manufacturer was liable for Mrs Donoghue's illness. Lord Atkin took a distinctly moral approach, and said,

"The liability for negligence… is no doubt based upon a general public sentiment of moral wrongdoing for which the offender must pay… The rule that you are to love your neighbour becomes in law, you must not injure your neighbour; and the lawyer's question, Who is my neighbour? receives a restricted reply. You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour."[32]

This became the basis for the four principles of negligence; (1) Mr Stevenson owed Mrs Donoghue a duty of care to provide safe drinks (2) he breached his duty of care (3) the harm would not have occurred but for his breach and (4) his act was the proximate cause, or not too remote a consequence, of her harm.[31] Another example of tort might be a neighbour making excessively loud noises with machinery on his property.[33] Under a nuisance claim the noise could be stopped. Torts can also involve intentional acts, such as assault, battery or trespass. A better known tort is defamation, which occurs, for example, when a newspaper makes unsupportable allegations that damage a politician's reputation.[34] More infamous are economic torts, which form the basis of labour law in some countries by making trade unions liable for strikes,[35] when statute does not provide immunity.

Contract law

2008-09-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

The concept of a "contract" is based on the Latin phrase pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be kept).[23] Contracts can be simple everyday buying and selling or complex multi-party agreements. They can be made orally (e.g. buying a newspaper) or in writing (e.g. signing a contract of employment). Sometimes formalities, such as writing the contract down or having it witnessed, are required for the contract to take effect (e.g. when buying a house).

In common law jurisdictions, there are three key elements to the creation of a contract. These are offer and acceptance, consideration and an intention to create legal relations. For example, in Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company[25] a medical firm advertised that its new wonder drug, the smokeball, would cure people's flu, and if it did not, the buyers would get £100. Many people sued for their £100 when the drug did not work. Fearing bankruptcy, Carbolic argued the advert was not to be taken as a serious, legally binding offer. It was an invitation to treat, mere puff, a gimmick. But the court of appeal held that to a reasonable man Carbolic had made a serious offer. People had given good consideration for it by going to the "distinct inconvenience" of using a faulty product. "Read the advertisement how you will, and twist it about as you will", said Lord Justice Lindley, "here is a distinct promise expressed in language which is perfectly unmistakable".[25]

"Consideration" means all parties to a contract must exchange something of value to be able to enforce it. Some common law systems, like Australia, are moving away from consideration as a requirement for a contract. The concept of estoppel or culpa in contrahendo can be used to create obligations during pre-contractual negotiations.[26] In civil law jurisdictions, consideration is not a requirement for a contract at all.[27] In France, an ordinary contract is said to form simply on the basis of a "meeting of the minds" or a "concurrence of wills". Germany has a special approach to contracts, which ties into property law. Their 'abstraction principle' (Abstraktionsprinzip) means that the personal obligation of contract forms separately from the title of property being conferred. When contracts are invalidated for some reason (e.g. a car buyer is so drunk that he lacks legal capacity to contract)[28] the contractual obligation to pay can be invalidated separately from the proprietary title of the car. Unjust enrichment law, rather than contract law, is then used to restore title to the rightful owner.

Constitutional and administrative law

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Constitutional and administrative law govern the affairs of the state. Constitutional law concerns both the relationships between the executive, legislature and judiciary and the human rights or civil liberties of individuals against the state. Most jurisdictions, like the United States and France, have a single codified constitution, with a Bill of Rights. A few, like the United Kingdom, have no such document. A "constitution" is simply those laws which constitute the body politic, from statute, case law and convention. A case named Entick v. Carrington[14] illustrates a constitutional principle deriving from the common law. Mr Entick's house was searched and ransacked by Sheriff Carrington. When Mr Entick complained in court, Sheriff Carrington argued that a warrant from a Government minister, the Earl of Halifax, was valid authority. However, there was no written statutory provision or court authority. The leading judge, Lord Camden, stated that,

"The great end, for which men entered into society, was to secure their property. That right is preserved sacred and incommunicable in all instances, where it has not been taken away or abridged by some public law for the good of the whole… If no excuse can be found or produced, the silence of the books is an authority against the defendant, and the plaintiff must have judgment."

The fundamental constitutional principle, inspired by John Locke,[15] is that the individual can do anything but that which is forbidden by law, and the state may do nothing but that which is authorised by law. Administrative law is the chief method for people to hold state bodies to account. People can apply for judicial review of actions or decisions by local councils, public services or government ministries, to ensure that they comply with the law. The first specialist administrative court was the Conseil d'État set up in 1799, as Napoleon assumed power in France.

Criminal law

Criminal law is the body of law that defines criminal offences and the penalties for convicted offenders.[17] Apprehending, charging, and trying suspected offenders is regulated by the law of criminal procedure.[18] The paradigm case of a crime lies in the proof, beyond reasonable doubt, that a person is guilty of two things. First, the accused must commit an act which is deemed by society to be criminal, or actus reus (guilty act).[19] Second, the accused must have the requisite malicious intent to do a criminal act, or mens rea (guilty mind). However for so called "strict liability" crimes, which include cases like dangerous driving, proof of mens rea is not necessary. An actus reus is enough.[20]

Examples of different kinds of crime include murder, assault, fraud or theft. In exceptional circumstances, defences can exist to some crimes, such as killing in self defence, or pleading insanity. Another example is in the 19th century English case of R v. Dudley and Stephens,[21] which tested a defence of "necessity". The Mignotte, sailing from Southampton to Sydney, sank. Three crew members and a cabin boy were stranded on a raft. They were starving and the cabin boy was close to death. Driven to extreme hunger, the crew killed and ate the cabin boy. The crew survived and were rescued, but put on trial for murder. They argued it was necessary to kill the cabin boy to preserve their own lives. Lord Coleridge, expressing immense disapproval, ruled, "to preserve one's life is generally speaking a duty, but it may be the plainest and the highest duty to sacrifice it." The men were sentenced to hang, but public opinion, especially among seafarers, was outraged and overwhelmingly supportive of the crew's right to preserve their own lives. In the end, the Crown commuted their sentences to six months in jail.

Criminal law offences are viewed as offences against not just individual victims, but the community as well.[17] The state, usually with the help of police, takes the lead in prosecution, which is why in common law countries cases are cited as "The People v. …" or "R. (for Rex or Regina) v. …" Also, lay juries are often used to determine the guilt of defendants on points of fact: juries cannot change legal rules. Some developed countries still condone capital punishment for criminal activity, but the normal punishment for a crime will be imprisonment, fines, state supervision (such as probation), or community service. Modern criminal law has been affected considerably by the social sciences, especially with respect to sentencing, legal research, legislation, and rehabilitation.[17] On the international field, 105 countries have signed the enabling treaty for the International Criminal Court, which was established to try people for crimes against humanity.

Legal subjects

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Though all legal systems must deal with similar issues, different countries often categorise and name legal subjects in different ways. Quite common is the distinction between "public law" subjects, which relate closely to the state (including constitutional, administrative and criminal law), and "private law" subjects (including contract, tort and property).[6] In civil law systems, contract and tort fall under a general law of obligations and trusts law is dealt with under statutory regimes or international conventions. International, constitutional and administrative law, criminal law, contract, tort, property law and trusts are regarded as the "traditional core subjects",[7] although there are many further disciplines which might be of greater practical importance.

International law

Providing a constitution for public international law, the United Nations was conceived during World War II.

In a global economy, law is globalising too. International law can refer to three things: public international law, private international law or conflict of laws and the law of supranational organisations.

* Public international law concerns relationships among sovereign nations. The sources for public international law to develop are custom, practice and treaties between sovereign nations like the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war. Public international law is also formed by international organisations, such as the United Nations (founded under the UN Charter, and established after the League of Nations failed to prevent the Second World War[8]), the International Labour Organisation, the World Trade Organisation, or the International Monetary Fund. Public international law has a special status as law because there is no international police force, and courts (International Court of Justice is the primary UN judicial organ) lack the capacity to penalise disobedience.[9] Nevertheless, inernational bodies such as the World Trade Organisation or the International Labour Organisation set up institutionalized supervisory mechanisms for the monitoring of the implementation of their international agreements in the domestic law of member countries.[10]

* Conflict of laws (or "private international law" in civil law countries) concerns which jurisdiction a legal dispute between private parties should be heard in and which jurisdiction's law should be applied. Today, businesses are increasingly capable of shifting capital and labour supply chains across borders, as well as trading with overseas businesses. This increases the number of disputes outside a unified legal framework. Increasing numbers of businesses opt for commercial arbitration under the New York Convention 1958.[11]

* European Union law is the first and thus far only example of a supranational legal framework. However, given increasing global economic integration, many regional agreements—especially the Union of South American Nations—are on track to follow the same model. In the EU, sovereign nations have pooled their authority through a system of courts and political institutions. They have the ability to enforce legal norms against and for member states and citizens, in a way that public international law does not.[12] As the European Court of Justice said in the 1960s, European Union law constitutes "a new legal order of international law" for the mutual social and economic benefit of the member states.[13]

Law

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Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions.[3] It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading swaptions on a derivatives market. Property law defines rights and obligations related to transfer and title of personal and real property, for instance, in mortgaging or renting a home. Trust law applies to assets held for investment and financial security, such as pension funds. Tort law allows claims for compensation when someone or their property is injured or harmed. If the harm is criminalised in a penal code, criminal law offers means by which the state prosecutes and punishes the perpetrator. Constitutional law provides a framework for creating laws, protecting people's human rights, and electing political representatives. Administrative law relates to the activities of administrative agencies of government. International law regulates affairs between sovereign nation-states in everything from trade to the environment to military action. Law manifests itself throughout the community in many more ways, and serves as the foremost social mediator of relations between people. "The rule of law", wrote the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in 350 BC, "is better than the rule of any individual."[4]

Legal systems around the world elaborate legal rights and responsibilities in different ways. A basic distinction is made between civil law jurisdictions and systems using common law. Some countries persist in basing their law on religious texts. Scholars investigate the nature of law through many perspectives, including legal history and philosophy, or social sciences such as economics and sociology. The study of law raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness, liberty and justice. "In its majestic equality", said the author Anatole France in 1894, "the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread."[5] The central institutions for interpreting and creating law are the three main branches of government, namely an impartial judiciary, a democratic legislature and an accountable executive. To implement and enforce the law and provide services to the public, a government's bureaucracy, the military and police are vital. While all these organs of the state are creatures created and bound by law, an independent legal profession and a vibrant civil society inform and support their progress.