4.2 Formulating rules Activity 4 should have shown you that the language used for making rules can sometimes make them difficult to understand. Given that we can only comply with a rule if we know what it means, this is a big problem! In this part of the unit we are going to look at the process of making rules in more detail – and you are going to have the opportunity to make a rule that can be understood and which is effective in achieving what it sets out to do. It is worth restating that rules are made
4.1 Introduction We have looked at the way in which policy informs the development of rules, and you have had an opportunity to develop your reasoning skills by applying your understanding of a set of rules to some factual situations. One of the issues which came out of Part B was that sometimes in applying rules the language in which the rules are written makes it difficult to know exactly what is meant. In Part C we will be looking at this problem in a little more detail. In particular, we will be looking a
3.4 Summary of Part B After studying Part B you should be able to: describe the relevance of policy for rule making; recognise differing reactions to Ireland's ban on smoking in the workplace; demonstrate/explain the implications of the rules governing Ireland's ban on smoking in the workplace.
3.3 The Irish anti-smoking law You now know what the Irish Government's arguments for introducing the smoking ban were, and have read some of the reactions to it. We are now going to turn to the law itself. The passage I want you to read is from the Irish Government Public Services website and explains the new law in simple language. Read the passage in Box 4 carefully and answer the questions in the activity which follows. The questions ask you to interpret the rules, something we will be looking at in more detail later i
3.2 The policy behind Ireland's ban on smoking in the workplace In order to explore these issues, we are going to look at the introduction of a rule in the Republic of Ireland – the ban on smoking in places where people work which was introduced in 2004. What I would like you to do first is to think about your own position on this subject. The purpose of the next activity is to provide you with an opportunity to think about your own attitudes to a particular kind of behaviour which many people feel should be subject to legal control. It is useful to wor
3.1 Introduction Formal rules do not just appear from nowhere! In this part we will be exploring how such rules are the product of a process of policy making. As an example, we will be using the Irish Government's policy on banning smoking in the workplace, and the law which arose out of this policy. Part B will also provide you with an opportunity to apply some of the reasoning skills you have been developing by applying your understanding of the Irish law to some factual situations. One of the most ob
2.2 The problems of rule making It goes without saying that making rules is a complicated process. Just how complicated is illustrated by the American legal theorist Professor Lon Fuller. In his book The Morality of Law, which was first published in 1964, he explored the relationship between law and morality, and the criteria by which we should evaluate a legal system (one form of a system of rules). In the passage you are going to read in Activity 2, Fuller tells the story of a fictional law-maker, Rex, who comes to
2.1 The meaning of formal rules In this part, we will develop our understanding of rules further. So far we have concentrated on social rules. We looked at what is meant by this, at the way such rules develop, at the conflicts which may arise between groups operating under different social rule systems, and at what happens when such rules are broken. Here, we are going to explore rules which are more formal in nature. By this I mean rules which – instead of being the product of shared understanding and practice – are se
1 Making, interpreting and applying rules The aim of this unit is to introduce you to the processes of making, interpreting and applying rules. We often think about social rules, most of which are unwritten and which we observe because we have a shared social understanding of what they are. We are now going to think about a different kind of rule. A definition of a rule (as opposed to a habit, custom or role) is shown in Author(s):
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
Introduction This unit is designed as an introduction to the academic study of the concept of rules, but will also serve as an introduction to a variety of different writing styles that are used in the academic world. It will challenge you to think about why some statements are rules and some are not, and what it is that distinguishes rules from habits and customs. It also looks at more formal rules and how such rules are applied and enforced. Rules shape our lives because they set out what we may and may
3.5 The language of law A potential barrier to understanding, which those new to law can find off-putting, is the use of specialist terminology. This contributes to the perception of law as an elitist and difficult area of study and is something that requires further explanation. Many professions (and social groups) develop their own forms of language to communicate effectively and, in some cases, to signify group membership. In this sense legal language is not unique, but is does have a formal character which can s
2.3 Social work and social change The social work profession in Scotland is undergoing a period of significant change at the beginning of the twenty-first century. In a process which largely mirrors developments across the UK, new systems for the education and regulation of social workers have been introduced to improve standards in the provision of social services, to raise public confidence and protect service users. For the first time entrants to the profession are required to obtain an undergraduate degree in social work,
Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should: be able to describe the relationship between social work practice and the law; understand the legal framework that regulates social work in Scotland; have an awareness of the role of law in countering discrimination.
4.2 The protection of private interests in public places Thus far we have seen how the European Court of Human Rights has used the right to a private life to protect individuals from excessive police surveillance, interception of their private correspondence and interference with their private sexual practices. Almost everyone must live partly in public, and private interests need protection in public places as well as on private property. In the Naomi Campbell case, the House of Lords acknowledged that in certain circumstances there may be a reaso
4.1 The right to privacy and the state The European Convention on Human Rights impacts upon legal rules in the UK. The European Convention protects a series of fundamental human rights. All final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights are binding on the state involved. In other words, the UK is expected to change the law to accommodate the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. In Part D we will examine the right to privacy as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and consider how the European Court
3.1 The expansion of the right to confidence While there is no common law right to privacy, the law relating to breach of confidence has been expanded to a degree which suggests that privacy claims are now being given greater protection. The right to confidence has been expanded in recent cases such as Douglas and Others v Hello! Ltd (2001). In this case the Court of Appeal ruled that individuals have a right to personal privacy which was grounded in the doctrine of confidence. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones had granted
3.8 Summary of Part B In Part B you learned more about the ECHR and the procedures of the ECtHR and how protocols have been used to ensure that the ECHR remains a living instrument. Part B also explored the new challenges created by the rapid expansion of HCPs at the end of the last century and the proposals for reform of the ECtHR.
Introduction This unit considers the growth of human rights and humanitarian law before looking at the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in detail. It will also look at the position of human rights in the UK and the effect of the Human Rights Act 1998. This unit is an adapted extract from the course Rules, rights and justice: an introduction to law
(W100)
1.3.1: The mean and the median This subsection looks at two ways of finding an ‘average’. The first produces the mean, which is what was originally meant by ‘average’, and what most people think of when they talk about an average. The second gives the median, which might more accurately be described as a ‘typical’ or middle value. They will be illustrated using the following batch of heights. The heights in metres (measured to the nearest centimetre) of a group of seven people are as follows
