Human rights and law
Human rights now seem to take precedent over many areas of our lives, but where do these rights come from and how did they develop? This unit looks at the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights and its influence on law in the UK and examines the Human Rights Act 1998. First published on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 as Author(s):
Starting with law: An overview of the law
The law is an interesting and lively subject that touches upon all aspects of everyday life. But how are laws in the UK made and who makes them? This unit will introduce you to the key players in law making in the UK and provide some helpful tips on study techniques. First published on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 as Author(s):
Acknowledgements Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence
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9.3 Linear notes This is the most common form of note-taking. It involves writing in sequence the points you want to note. As with all note-taking, the aim is to pick out and record the most important points. Avoid simply writing out most or all of the text again. Try to write your notes in your own words as this will help you understand what you have been reading about. Also add a reference to which page(s) of the text your notes refer so you can easily find your way back to the relevant part of the te
6.2 Summary of Part E In Part E you have studied: the nature of pressure groups; their composition; how they operate; examples of successful pressure groups; the strengths and weaknesses of pressure groups.
4.15 Summary of Part C In Part C you have learnt that: delegated legislation is law made by bodies other than Parliament, but with the authority of Parliament delegated in an enabling or parent Act the types of delegated legislation are: Â Statutory Instruments byelaws Orders in Council Court Rule committees professional regulations
4.3 Types of delegated legislation There are different types of delegated legislation: Statutory Instruments byelaws Orders in Council Court Rule committees professional regulations.
2.8 (iv) The Law Commission Another source of legislation is the recommendations of the Law Commission. The Law Commission was created in 1965 in order to review and make recommendations about any areas of the law which the Commission felt to be in need of reform. The Law Commission is responsible for keeping all the law under review with a view to its development and reform. This is not the only body charged with proposing changes to the law, there is also the Law Reform Committee and the Criminal Law Revision Committe
Law making in the House of Commons and House of Lords One of the main functions of both Houses of Parliament is to discuss, debate and pass new laws. Laws made by Parliament are called Acts of Parliament. Acts of Parliament are also known as statutes or legislation. These terms all mean the same thing and will be used interchangeably throughout this unit. Acts of Parliament may originate in various ways: party manifestos national emergency, crisis or new development
3.2.1 What is a sole trader? If you were to set up a newsagency business on your own as described in Activity 2, you would be a sole trader. Often this is described as being ‘self-employed’. You would be the ‘owner’ of the business. Whilst other people might be involved in your business (for example, as employees or suppliers), it would nevertheless be your business. But
2.4What is ‘capital’? Before we move on to look at the different types of business organisation, we will introduce one more concept. It is the concept of capital. It has, historically, been a very important concept in company law. But it is a concept not limited to company law. The next activity will allow you to reflect on your own ideas of what ‘capital’ means, without you needing to have any prior legal knowledge, or, for that matter, knowledge of any other discipline. 7.3 Procedure by which Bills become law In order to become an Act of Parliament, a Bill will have to be passed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. A Bill may start in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, with the exception of Finance Bills, which always start in the House of Commons. A Finance Bill is introduced by the Government shortly after the Budget to bring the Government's tax proposals into law. Before the Bill can become an Act of Parliament it must undergo a number of stages. 6.6 Stages of an Executive Bill To provide a flavour of the consideration of Bills, we will now look at the stages of an Executive Bill. One of the unique features of the Scottish Parliament is its openness. There are processes for wide consultation, an open evidence process at committees, the ability of the public and interested parties to liaise directly with MSPs, and the ability to lobby for amendments to a Bill. For all these things the Scottish Parliament has received international recognition. An Executiv Learning outcomes After studying this unit you should be able to: identify and describe what is meant by a formal rule and understand the problems associated with rule making; explain what is meant by policy and why it is important; understand how formal rules are constructed; explain the difference between specific and general rules, and why the difference matters; explain why the language of formal rules is important; ex 5 Conclusion Social work and law are both contested concepts, open to a range of possible meanings, depending on their context and the source of their definition. An understanding of these competing meanings is essential to good professional practice and provides a foundation for examining the relationship between social work and the law which is central to this unit. The relationship between social work and the law is subject to change, as the organisation and delivery of social care services attempts to Learning outcomes After studying this unit you should: understand the historical growth of the idea of human rights; be aware of the international context of human rights; be aware of the position of human rights in the UK prior to 1998; understand the importance of the Human Rights Act 1998; have practised analysing and evaluating concepts and ideas; have started to see links between the core concepts of rules, rights and 3.6 Summary of Part B In Part B you have learned that the EU arose from the need for post-war regeneration in the economic and social spheres. The EU is a comparatively recent political and legal institution. It has developed and grown over the past six decades. This development and growth is marked by a series of intergovernmental treaties which bind the member states together in a close political and legal entity. 6.5 The purposive approach This approach has emerged in more recent times. Here the court is not just looking to see what the gap was in the old law, it is making a decision as to what they felt Parliament meant to achieve. Lord Denning in the Court of Appeal stated in Magor and St. Mellons Rural District Council v Newport Corporation (1950), ‘we sit here to find out the intention of Parliament and of ministers and carry it out, and we do this better by filling in the gaps and making sense of the enactment by 3.5 Does the answer make sense in the real world? 2.1.1 Try some yourself 1 Measurement of a ceiling gives a length of 6.28 m and a width of 3.91 m. (a) Make a rough estimate of the area of the ceiling (the length times the width). (b) If one lit
