The law as it stands today states that it is illegal to either ride a motorbike or drive a car whilst using a hand held communication device. Such a device includes any communication devices, such as PDAs (personal digital assistants). Although hands free devices may be used, motorists can still be charged if the police feel the use of a hands free device has an adverse affect on the driving quality of the individual. Also, individuals are not allowed to hold any communication device, so as well as a hands free device a cradle is necessary.

The only exemptions to this are if the individual is in a genuine emergency situation and is required to contact the emergency services without being able to safely stop the vehicle. For further legal advice on the law on driving whilst using a mobile phone, a person can contact a solicitor who specialises in criminal law. A solicitor specialising in criminal law can answer general queries and provide specific legal advice to a person facing charges for a breach of the law in this area.

Legal costs are one of the most important considerations for anybody who has suffered a grievance and wishes to seek legal redress. Understanding what help is available, and when you can claim that support is one important matter. Discussing your options with a solicitor is always a good first step. As well as explaining their fees, they may also be able to point you in the right direction for legal advice that you can afford.

When a case goes to court, there is also the issue of risk, as the outcome of the case will often have an impact on you financially. How this will affect you depends on the relationship you enter into with your solicitor.

A traditional private client arrangement sees you pay your solicitor for their time at an hourly rate. At the end of the case, if you were to lose you would also owe them for disbursements incurred on your behalf. You might also be held liable by the judge to pay for some or even all of your opponent’s legal fees. If you were to win, however, the opposite would be true; with your disbursements and some or all of your costs paid by your opponent.

In many civil cases a no-win, no-fee agreement, or conditional fee arrangement is common. Here you are able to take out a low cost insurance policy to cover your opponent’s fees if you lose, and can rely on paying nothing at all if you were to win. This type of policy is now very common, particularly in personal injury cases.

The exact appeals process will vary in each situation depending on the type of decision you are wishing to appeal. There are so many examples of situations where government authority decisions are challenged. These include:

• Denial of a school place
• Criminal injuries compensation
• Social security and benefit decisions
• Tax issues
• Land Registry decisions

All these bodies will have appeals processes, often run by independent bodies such as appeals tribunals. Nevertheless, you should only approach such an appeal with legal advice and help from a solicitor with experience in the field in question.

If you decide to appeal a decision because the process that was followed was wrong, then you will be asking for a judicial review. This is where a judge will review the decision taken in light of the law governing the actions of the particular government authority. This is more concerned with the process that was followed than the specific outcome, so a victory will not necessarily mean that the decision is reversed, it might just mean that the decision needs to be taken again. It is entirely possible that the same decision might be reached a second time around, but the judicial review is a good way to challenge the process of decision making rather than the outcome itself.

The climate of justice has definitely changed over the last 300 years. However, the notion that a judge who decides cases on matters of public importance should be independently minded and free from outside persuasion remains a critical one. It performs a vital role in establishing trust in the judiciary, and allows the public to have confidence that decisions that are made by judges are fair and free from improper influences.

Such notions are regularly of great public importance, and are demonstrated in situations such as those which followed the London riots in 2011. Here judges were roundly criticised for handing down tough sentences following alleged external pressure from the government to make an example of those offenders who participated in public disorder.

Judicial independence is assured in a number of ways. Judges are immune from prosecution for defamation for comments made in court and are also free from prosecution for any actions they carry out in the process of dispensing justice. They must declare any conflicts of interest, and if they do not, any decision that they reach can be reviewed. In more important matters decisions are removed from judges entirely to protect their independence. In a Crown Court criminal trial for example, the decision of guilt or innocence is left to a jury made up from members of the public.

Solicitors and barristers are important elements of the mechanisms of justice, especially for anybody seeking a decision from a court. Getting the right legal advice early on from a qualified solicitor is very important. If a decision does not go your way, your solicitor can then advise on the best way to proceed either with an appeal or a judicial review.

UK law needs regular review, because UK laws are not written down all in one place for ease of access. Furthermore, statutory provisions relating to any particular area of society can be located in several different Acts, but these would be more manageable and understandable if they were streamlined and placed under one Act.

There is no unified code because UK law has been developed through the years by means of precedent (principles of law decided by appeal courts on a case-to-case basis) and by the diverse statues passed by Parliament throughout 750 years. Relatedly, there are many laws on the statue books that are outdated, but which have never been repealed by Parliament.

The Chair of The Commission is a high court judge and there are four other Commissioners from the legal professions. The Lord Chancellor, who is also Minister for Justice, must approve new projects for The Law Commission and before submitting these projects for approval the Commission will consult widely with the legal professions, government departments and the public.

Once a project has been agreed:

• A study of the area of law is undertaken, to identify defects
• A consultation paper sets out the issues and examines various solutions. The paper is then circulated to all interested parties
• A report is submitted to the relevant Government department, with final recommendations and a draft Bill is sometimes included
• The Government then acts on the recommendations, if it chooses

In addition to the Law Commission, pressure from various groups within society, including campaigns by the media, can contribute to law reform. For example, special-interest groups, trade unions and business interests. Moreover, The Criminal Law Revision Committee can recommend changes to criminal law and The Law Reform Committee can consider minor civil laws that are referred by the government.

Furthermore, Royal Commissions are made up of independent experts and can consider specific areas of concern. They are set up as needed and work part-time investigating the issue and putting together reform proposals. These Commissions are disbanded after they have produced their report. For example, the Philips Commission which led to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE).

Medical records are made by healthcare professionals whenever you receive any care and consist of the NHS records held by your GP, records of any hospital visits or treatments and records by your dentist and optician. For example, medical records can contain information regarding:

• Allergies
• Medications
• Chronic health conditions
• The results of medical tests
• Psychiatric assessments
• Incidence of drinking and smoking

Moreover, medical records are used to supply anonymous clinical information to improve public health and the services provided by the NHS; for example, statistics on the effectiveness of certain drugs.

If you simply want to see your medical records you could make a request to do so informally at your doctor’s surgery or hospital. Healthcare professionals are permitted to let you see them, although you may have to make an appointment. However, if you want copies of your records you should make a formal request, in writing or by email, to the agency that holds the records you want to see, such as the health records manager at your hospital. This request is known as a Subject Access Request and you will have to pay a fee. It may help if you state any time period that is particularly relevant for you.

Occasionally, a request might be refused. This will only occur if the healthcare professionals involved judge that the content of the records could cause you, or another person, acute distress amounting to psychiatric injury if you were to see them. Alternatively, if your medical records contain documents prepared by a third party, such as the Social Services, you may need to make a further request to that third party to access those documents, and this could necessitate a further fee.

Your request should receive a response within 40 days. There are regulations in place, under the Data Protection Act and The Human Rights Act, which mean your medical records are strictly confidential and should be accessed only by the health professionals that care for you. If this is not observed, the agency concerned may face prosecution.

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The Law Commission itself does not have any judicial or legislative power. It can only make recommendations for changes to legislation that must be enacted by Parliament before they become law and appear on the statute book. The Lord Chancellor reports annually on the Commission’s recommendations and how these could be implemented by new acts of Parliament.

Choosing which laws should be reviewed is done through consultations and research carried out continuously by the Commission. One of the Commission’s main aims is to ensure consistency of the law and improve its simplicity. It also seeks to remove gaps or anomalies that may have been highlighted in court cases, such as when common law and statute law conflict with each other or leave certain questions unanswered. The Commission cannot and does not give personal advice about any point of law.

If you think that an area of law needs to be reviewed you can get in contact with the Law Commission and submit your suggestions in response to their current consultations and reports. Alternatively, you may consider getting in contact with your local MP or raising public awareness on the issue, such as through the media. If the law affects you personally you may be able to take legal action through the courts. If the courts believe that the question of law is important to the public interest they may escalate it through the court hierarchy and appeal system. Cases that reach the Supreme Court – the highest court of appeal in the UK – may result in judicial criticism of the law to which Parliament will respond with changes to the law. Similarly, cases concerning European law which are taken through the domestic court system or to the ECJ can highlight areas in which the UK government is not complying with its requirements under European law, resulting in changes to the law.

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The penalty that a judge imposes on a convicted criminal will be based on guidelines they must follow. Sentences will consider how the offender should be punished, how the sentence could reduce overall crime, how the penalty would protect the public, how the penalty would impact on the rehabilitation of the offender and how the penalty will offer a level of restitution to the community.

The guidelines that judges use are issued by the Court of Appeal and by the Sentencing Guidelines Council, but judges do not have to follow them as a matter of law. All criminal offences do, however, have a maximum penalty that a judge can hand down. And some crimes also have a minimum penalty that a judge must impose. Some serious crimes have a mandatory sentence, for example murder which is always punishable by life imprisonment. Judges will use all the available information, statute and common law, plus available guidelines, when imposing a penalty on someone found guilty of a criminal offence.

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Article 11 also allows you to associate with other people of a similar view which can include the right to form a political party. The Article also conversely does not force anyone to join a union or political party at the will of the state. You should be aware that the rights afforded to citizens by Article 11 are what are known as qualified rights. This means in practice that the state can interfere with your rights of freedom of assembly if the interference is in accordance with the law. The limited situations in which the state can interfere are detailed in the provisions. Interference by the state would only be lawful if it is in the pursuit of a legitimate aim. There are six legitimate aims that include: ‘the prevention of disorder or crime’ and ‘the protection of the rights and freedoms of others’. In addition, the interference must be shown to be ‘necessary in a democratic society.’ The state must show good reason to interfere with a person’s rights of freedom of assembly, and if there is an alternative course of action that could be followed, this should be actively pursued.
If you think that your rights to freedom of assembly and association have been breached you should speak to a European law solicitor or a human rights solicitor. Alternatively, if it is in relation to your employment you should seek advice from an employment solicitor.