June 1st, 2010 by admin
The reform of UK law is generally handled by the Law Commission which is an independent body created by the Law Commission Act 1965. The main aim of the Commission is to keep the law under constant review and recommend where changes to the law should be made in the public interest. The Act requires the Commission to submit “programmes for the examination of different branches of the law” to the Lord Chancellor. Read the rest of this entry »
June 1st, 2010 by admin
The general role of a judge in a criminal case is to ensure that the case they are hearing is fair and complies with all current laws. It is the job of a judge to apply the statute laws that impact on the case they are hearing, and also consider any common laws that may also be relevant. As judges are independent of the state and the police, their decisions cannot usually be challenged. However, you can make an appeal against the decision of a judge if you think there were irregularities in the case or that the judge did not take into account all the evidence.
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June 1st, 2010 by admin
The age of criminal responsibility is currently ten years old. Any offender under the age of 17 is classified as a young offender. Because of their age they receive special treatment by the courts.
The police and the courts will always attempt in the first instance of an offence to deal with the offender without the courts. Youth offenders can be dealt with using Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) or child safety orders that punish the offender without involving the courts. The police also have the power to issue reprimands and warnings to young offenders. Read the rest of this entry »
June 1st, 2010 by admin
Freedom of assembly is often used interchangeably with freedom of association and refers to the right of citizens to collectively express (often via public demonstration) their collective view on a particular issue. The term freedom of association is also used in the context of employee activism in that the term describes a person’s right to join a trade union. However, the right to join a trade union does not apply to everyone. Police officers, soldier and some groups working for the Government cannot join a trade union. Also, the right to freedom of association extends much further than membership of trade unions and includes membership of other political, religious and social groups. Read the rest of this entry »
June 1st, 2010 by admin
The UK courts and law enforcement agencies have often looked to make polygraph (more commonly known as lie detector) evidence admissible in court, but current legislation prevents this. The Chairman of the British Polygraphic Association Bruce Burgess said: “The problem being that if you get a judge or jury accepting the evidence of the polygraph, it could be used as a guilty or innocent tool…and we could do away with the court. And we can’t do that; it wouldn’t be a justice system.”
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