Free Essays on Egg Donars

â€Å"Eggs for Sale† is an engrossing look into an area of our current society in which we must carefully tread. The ethical waters of egg donation and the various ways of profiting from it are muddy indeed, and so we should take care not to create any positions that we think are necessary to â€Å"force† onto anyone. When that happens, the entire question and point are lost and we are left needlessly bickering over matters of trivial concern without any purpose. Probably the trickiest area of this whole concept is the ethical aspects of it. Is it all right for egg donation centers to be so brazen as to advertise in movie theaters, asking the audience to call 1-877-Babymakers as if they were calling a car rental agency? Doesn’t it make the people at the ad agency slightly queasy to be sending out chocolate eggs to potential clients? At least one center does not attempt to be cute or pandering with any â€Å"Give the gift of life slogans,† as they advertise the pure profit to be had in harvesting a woman’s ovaries: â€Å"Pay your tuition with eggs.† (Mead #) This is why an increasing number of college students do just that, including the story at the beginning of â€Å"Eggs for Sale,† about a girl named â€Å"Cindy Schiller.† Cindy is a left-wing student at Columbia University Law School in New York City. She is passionate about a number of causes, but it seems the thing she is most interested in doing is selling her eggs. She does have a number of political objections to the idea of egg donation, namely that she thinks she is assisting a â€Å"white supremacist system.† (Mead #) However, all of these high-minded oppositions to the side effects of what she happens to do cease to matter when she gets paid. In fact, at the end of the first section of â€Å"Eggs for Sale,† she is pretty excited to find out some desperate couples are willing to pay five thousand dollars for her services. Strangely enough, she also gives the impre... Free Essays on Egg Donars Free Essays on Egg Donars â€Å"Eggs for Sale† is an engrossing look into an area of our current society in which we must carefully tread. The ethical waters of egg donation and the various ways of profiting from it are muddy indeed, and so we should take care not to create any positions that we think are necessary to â€Å"force† onto anyone. When that happens, the entire question and point are lost and we are left needlessly bickering over matters of trivial concern without any purpose. Probably the trickiest area of this whole concept is the ethical aspects of it. Is it all right for egg donation centers to be so brazen as to advertise in movie theaters, asking the audience to call 1-877-Babymakers as if they were calling a car rental agency? Doesn’t it make the people at the ad agency slightly queasy to be sending out chocolate eggs to potential clients? At least one center does not attempt to be cute or pandering with any â€Å"Give the gift of life slogans,† as they advertise the pure profit to be had in harvesting a woman’s ovaries: â€Å"Pay your tuition with eggs.† (Mead #) This is why an increasing number of college students do just that, including the story at the beginning of â€Å"Eggs for Sale,† about a girl named â€Å"Cindy Schiller.† Cindy is a left-wing student at Columbia University Law School in New York City. She is passionate about a number of causes, but it seems the thing she is most interested in doing is selling her eggs. She does have a number of political objections to the idea of egg donation, namely that she thinks she is assisting a â€Å"white supremacist system.† (Mead #) However, all of these high-minded oppositions to the side effects of what she happens to do cease to matter when she gets paid. In fact, at the end of the first section of â€Å"Eggs for Sale,† she is pretty excited to find out some desperate couples are willing to pay five thousand dollars for her services. Strangely enough, she also gives the impre...

Ancient Syrian Facts and History

Ancient Syrian Facts and History In antiquity, the Levant or Greater Syria, which includes modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian territories, part of Jordan, and Kurdistan, was named Syria by the Greeks. At the time, it was a landbridge connecting three continents. It was bounded by the Mediterranean on the west, the Arabian Desert on the south, and the Taurus mountain range to the north. The Syrian Ministry of Tourism adds that it was also at the crossroads of the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Nile. In this vital position, it was the hub of a trade network involving the ancient areas of Syria, Anatolia (Turkey), Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Aegean. Ancient Divisions Ancient Syria was divided into an upper and lower section. Lower Syria was known as Coele-Syria (Hollow Syria) and was located between the Libanus and Antilibanus mountain ranges. Damascus was the ancient capital city. The Roman emperor was known for dividing the emperor into four parts (the Tetrarchy) Diocletian (c. 245-c. 312) established an arms manufacturing center there. When the Romans took over, they subdivided Upper Syria into multiple provinces. Syria came under Roman control in 64 B.C. Romans emperors replaced the Greeks and Seleucid rulers. Rome divided Syria into two provinces:Â  Syria Prima and Syria Secunda. Antioch was the capital and Aleppo the major city of Syria Prima. Syria Secunda was divided into two sections, Phoenicia Prima (mostly modern Lebanon), with its capital at Tyre, and Phoenicia Secunda, with its capital at Damascus. Important Ancient Syrian Cities Doura EuroposThe first ruler of the Seleucid dynasty founded this city along the Euphrates. It came under the Roman and Parthian rule, and fell under the Sassanids, possibly through an early use of chemical warfare. Archaeologists have uncovered religious venues in the city for practitioners of Christianity, Judaism, and Mithraism. Emesa (Homs)Along the Silk Route after Doura Europos and Palmyra. It was the home of the Roman emperor Elagabalus. HamahLocated along the Orontes between Emesa and Palmyra. A Hittite center and capital of the Aramaean kingdom. Named Epiphania, after the Seleucid monarch Antiochus IV. AntiochNow a part of Turkey, Antioch lies along the Orontes River. It was founded by Alexanders general Seleucus I Nicator. PalmyraThe city of palm trees was located in the desert along the Silk Route. Became part of the Roman Empire under Tiberius. Palmyra was the home of the third century A.D Roman-defying queen Zenobia. DamascusCalled the oldest continually occupied city in the word and is the capital of Syria. Pharaoh Thutmosis III and later the Assyrian Tiglath Pileser II conquered Damascus. Rome under Pompey acquired Syria, including Damascus.Decapolis AleppoA major caravan stopping point in Syria on the road to Baghdad is in competition with Damascus as the oldest continually occupied city in the world. It was a major center of Christianity, with a large cathedral, in the Byzantine Empire. Major ethnic groups The major ethnic groups that migrated to ancient Syria were Akkadians, Amorites, Canaanites, Phoenicians, and Arameans. Syrian Natural Resources To the fourth millennium Egyptians and third millennium Sumerians, the Syrian coastland was the source of the softwoods, cedar, pine, and cypress. The Sumerians also went to Cilicia, in the northwest area of Greater Syria, in pursuit of gold and silver, and probably traded with the port city of Byblos, which was supplying Egypt with resin for mummification. Ebla The trade network may have been under the control of the ancient city Ebla, an independent Syrian kingdom that exerted power from the northern mountains to Sinai. Located 64 km (42 mi) south of Aleppo, about halfway between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. Tell Mardikh is an archaeological site in Ebla that was discovered in 1975. There, archaeologists found a royal palace and 17,000 clay tablets. Epigrapher Giovanni Pettinato found a Paleo-Canaanite language on the tablets that was older than Amorite, which had previously been considered the oldest Semitic language. Ebla conquered Mari, the capital of Amurru, which spoke Amorite. Ebla was destroyed by a great king of the southern Mesopotamian kingdom of Akkad, Naram Sim, in 2300 or 2250. The same great king destroyed Arram, which may have been an ancient name for Aleppo. Accomplishments of the Syrians The Phoenicians or Canaanites produced the purple dye for which they are named. It comes from mollusks that lived along the Syrian coast. The Phoenicians created a consonantal alphabet in the second millennium in the kingdom of Ugarit (Ras Shamra). They brought their 30-letter abecedary to the Aramaeans, who settled Greater Syria at the end of the 13th century B.C. This is the Syria of the Bible. They also founded colonies, including Carthage on the north coast of Africa where modern Tunis is located. The Phoenicians are credited with discovering the Atlantic Ocean. The Aramaeans opened trade to southwest Asia and set up a capital in Damascus. They also built a fortress at Aleppo. They simplified the Phoenician alphabet and made Aramaic the vernacular, replacing Hebrew. Aramaic was the language of Jesus and the Persian Empire. Conquests of Syria Syria was not only valuable but vulnerable since it was surrounded by many other powerful groups. In about 1600, Egypt attacked Greater Syria. At the same time, Assyrian power was growing to the east and Hittites were invading from the north. Canaanites in coastal Syria who intermarried with the indigenous people producing the Phoenicians probably fell under the Egyptians, and the Amorites, under the Mesopotamians. In the 8th century B.C., the Assyrians under Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Syrians. In the 7th century, the Babylonians conquered the Assyrians. The next century, it was the Persians. At the death of Alexander, Greater Syria came under the control of Alexanders general Seleucus Nicator, who first established his capital on the Tigris River at Seleucia, but then following the Battle of Ipsus, moved it into Syria, at Antioch. Seleucid rule lasted for 3 centuries with its capital at Damascus. The area was now referred to as the kingdom of Syria. Greeks colonizing in Syria created new cities and expanded trade into India. Sources: The Library of Congress - SYRIA - A Country Study, Data as of April 1987Supplemental: [www.syriatourism.org/] Syria - Ministry of TourismSyrian CitiesA Manual of Geographical Science: Ancient Geography, by W. L. Bevan (1859).

Capstone Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Capstone - Research Paper Example Other than this, by presenting the products at a competitive price, the reliability and loyalty of the customers enhanced over the organization of Wal-Mart that amplified its profitability and market share among other contenders (Wal-Mart, 2014). Apart from mission, the vision statement of Wal-Mart is to work in a coordinated way so as to lower the total cost of living of that target customers. Then, the customers might live a better life by spending lower amount on purchasing varied products. Such a vision proved extremely effective for Wal-Mart thereby expanding itself in more than 27 countries with over 11,000 stores. As a result of which, its total assets increased by US$ 204.751 billion in the year 2014. In addition, the objectives and views of both the internal and external stakeholders such as employees, board of directors, customers, suppliers and lenders are entirely similar to that of the mission statement of the organization of Wal-Mart. This means, the stakeholder’s desire to live a better life by paying less matches with organizational mission and so it acted as a boon for the organization by amplifying its opportunities and dominance. In addition, high respect and fair wage rate of the employees, also ac ted as another key factor that lead to the success of the organization in this age of competitiveness among others (Wal-Mart, 2014). Hence, it might be revealed from the above information that the vision and mission statement of the organization of Wal-Mart helped it to increase its strengths and opportunities that reduced its threats of substitute products, change of preferences of the customers etc. Bargaining power of the customers: the bargaining power of the customers is extremely high. This is mainly due to the presence of numerous rival players such as K-Mart, Dollar General, Lowe’s Food, CVS, Wal-greens and Sears etc. Therefore, in order to

The Fraud Act 2006 in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Fraud Act 2006 in the UK - Essay Example In the UK, the Fraud Act 2006 came into force during January 2007, and it substituted the deception crimes included in the Theft Acts 1968-1996 with a more general offence of fraud, which can be done in the following ways namely fraud by failing to divulge information, fraud by dishonesty or deceitful representation and fraud by misuse of position and authority. The offence under the Frauds Act 2006 is punishable if charges are proved with a fine or with an imprisonment of ten years or with both. It is punishable by a fine not in excess of the statutory maximum or sentence for a period of not exceeding six months or with both. Under tort of deceit, a person may claim damages if the fraud committed is resulted in injury to the affected party. On the ground of fraudulent misrepresentation, a contract may be voidable if it has been obtained by fraud. (Law & Martin 2009:240). Courts in England have not yet prepared to prescribe exactly what can be regarded as fraud. It is to be noted tha t the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) which was formed on the recommendation of the Roskill Report in 1984 had not taken into account the offence of fraud but recognised on an evocative manner, many fraud crimes which UK’s Home Office employs even today. (Ramage 2005:4). As on date, in UK, there exists no statutory offence of fraud and the Home Office of UK has set out some kind’s criminal activities that can be regarded as offences of fraud in â€Å"Counting Rules for Recording Crime.† According to a publication made by the Home Office in April 2003, describing the following as offences of â€Å"forgery and fraud.† Frauds by an individual include common law offence of conspiracy to defraud, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, fraudulent misappropriation of funds, obtaining a money transfer through credit card or cheque fraud under section 12 of the Theft Act 1987. (Ramage 2005:104).In Cronos Containers NV v Palatin, the defendants were Klamath Enterprises S A and Mr. and Mrs. Palatin. The shares of Klamath were owned by Mr. Palatin. In 1994, Mr.Palatin deceived the plaintiff by making five different payments from one of the Plaintiff’s clients, and the same was credited into Barclays bank account owned by Paladins. Then, such defrauded sums were employed by the defendants to renovate a property held by Klamath. (Ramage 2005:4). Conspiracy to Defraud Under Common Law It falls under consent to divest deceitfully somebody’s right or to abuse somebody’s property privilege. In Scott v Metropolitan Police Commissioner2, S agreed with workers of a cinema theatre to take copies of cinema screened in that theatre without the approval of the owner with an objective of commercial distribution held to be a conspiracy to defraud under common law. In Wai Yu-Tsang v R3, A acted in concert with bank employees to camouflage in the bank accounts the fact about dishonoring of cheques which the bank had already purchased so as to prev ent a bankruptcy by the bank, and A was held for the guilty of conspiracy to fraud. According to Lord Goff, conspiracy to fraud does not restrict to the notion of divesting somebody with something of value, but it also falls under deceit and fraud and if somebody may be discriminated in any way by the deceit or fraud. (Fionda & Bryant2000:154).  

Canadas Institutional Landscape And The Governments Ignorance Of Far :: essays research papers fc

Canada's Institutional Landscape and The Government's Ignorance of Farmer's Needs Saskatchewan farmers have been continually ignored in Canada's institutional landscape. Never has the situation been more evident as it is with the possibility of Quebec separation. The Canadian governments ignorance of farmers' needs has caused a cynical view of the political process in the eyes of farmers. One of the major sources of the cynicism is that Canadian federal institutions are developed so that most political of the clout is developed from the east. The eastern domination of the House of Commons, and indirectly the Senate, means that Saskatchewan wheat farmers do not have a strong voice in Canadian political decisions. But what does the Saskatchewan lack of representation in Canada's political institutions in Ottawa mean? What can Saskatchewan wheat farmers do to rectify the situation? And, following a Quebec separation what can wheat farmers do to uphold their livelihood? The intent of this report is to focus on the actions Saskatchewan wheat farmers can take to ensure their success in the future. A focus on the recent political policy decisions by the federal government, the need for intrastate institutional reform, and effects of a possible Quebec separation will all be analyzed. The current institutional landscape of Canada has not acted favorably for Saskatchewan wheat farmers. The development of the institutions, ie. the House of Commons and the Senate, and the policies that have developed from these institutions have continually ignored the needs of prairie farmers, emphasizing the cynicism Saskatchewan wheat farmers have towards the political process. The antipathy towards the political institutions has developed because of recent cost-cutting initiatives and deregulatory procedures by the government and by mis-representation of farmers' needs in government today. The failure of Saskatchewan wheat farmers to express their needs in the Canadian political arena successfully, when compared to other constituencies, is based on the fact that Saskatchewan's representation in Canada's political institutions is weak. The result is the development of policies contrary to what would be accepted by farmers. Saskatchewan wheat farmers, in accordance with most constituencies in the west, have desired a institutional change to the Upper House in Canada. In 1867, when the institutions were developed, the goal was to develop two different political "bodies". One, the House of Commons, would represent the Canadian people by means of elected representatives in a representation by population scenario. The second, the Senate, would be a source of "sober second thought." In its creation the senate was intended to protect the ideals of individual regions. However, to the chagrin of Saskatchewan wheat farmers, the intended regional focus of the senate never developed and, hence, the senate has

Judicial Precedent in the English Legal System

The doctrine of judicial precedent is based on the principle of stare decisis which means ‘to stand by what has been decided’. It is a common law principle whereby judges are bound to follow previous decisions in cases where the material facts are sufficiently similar and the earlier decision was made in a court above the current one in the court hierarchy. This doctrine of precedent is extremely strong in English law as it ensures fairness and consistency and it highlights the importance of case law in our legal system. Black's Law Dictionary defines â€Å"precedent† as a â€Å"rule of law established for the first time by a court for a particular type of case and thereafter referred to in deciding similar cases. † For this system to operate successfully, in both criminal and civil courts, three things are required – a settled court structure, a ratio decidendi and accurate records of the decisions made by superior courts. A settled court structure is required as judges need to know which decisions they are bound to follow. The English Court hierarchy was largely established by the Judicature Acts 1873-75. The House of Lords was made the final appeal court in 1876 under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, in 2009 the Supreme Court became the final appeal court. There are two court systems, criminal and civil, and they both contain various appeal routes in a vertical court structure. As the UK is a member of the EU, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights bind all English Courts in respect to matters within their jurisdiction. For criminal cases the Supreme Court, formally the House of Lords, is the most superior court in the hierarchy. It binds all courts lower than itself and generally follows its own past decisions. The next court below in the hierarchy is the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), they are bound by the past decisions of the Supreme Court/House of Lords and its own past decisions. Both Supreme Court and Court of Appeal have a way of avoiding following their own binding precedent which I will discuss later. Below the Court of Appeal is the Queen’s Bench Divisional Court, they are bound by both Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. They are bound by their own past decisions however they can take a flexible approach in order to protect the liberty of the individual in question. The last two courts in the hierarchy are the Crown Court and Magistrates Court. These courts are bound by the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Queen’s Bench Divisional Court however they are not bound by their own decisions and they do not bind any other court. The civil court hierarchy is different; the Supreme Court is still the superior court, followed by the Court of Appeal (Civil Division). The next court down the hierarchy is the Divisional Courts of The High Court, which are bound by the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, also bound by their own decisions. The next court is the High Court, they are bound by the decisions of all three superior courts and the decisions of the High Court bind the two inferior courts which are the County Court and Magistrates Court. The inferior courts are bound by all superior courts but they are not bound by their own past decisions. The ratio decidendi, ‘the reason for deciding’ is the legal principle which the decision of the court is based upon. It is the ratio decidendi which forms the binding precedent which must be followed in future cases of similar fact, the same court and all courts below it. An example of a ratio decidendi is in the case of R v Howe (1987) where the House of Lords held that the plea of duress was no defence against the charge of murder; this judgement became binding precedent which must be followed by the Supreme Court and all courts below it. It is also important to mention the obiter dictum which forms the remainder of the judgement. An obiter dictum means ‘other things said’ and these statements do not bind however they can form highly persuasive precedent. An example of an obiter dicta statement is also found in the case of R v Howe (1987) where the judge stated that if the charge had been attempted murder rather than murder, then duress would still not have been available as a defence. This statement was obiter dicta because it did not directly relate to the facts of this particular case. This persuasive precedent was followed in the case of R v Gotts (1992) where a defendant charged with attempted murder tried to use the defence of duress in the Court of Appeal. The ratio decidendi of R v Gotts (1992) then formed its own binding precedent. Other persuasive precedents include decisions of the Scottish courts and those made in the courts of other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada. This may be because a case with these particular facts has not been heard in the English Courts before but may have been heard in another country. This was the case in R v R (1991) where the Court of Appeal and House of Lords followed previous decisions made by the Scottish courts that a man could be found guilty of raping his wife. Another persuasive precedent are dissenting judgements which come from the appeal courts. In the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal the cases are heard by more than one judge and sometimes a decision is reached by only a majority of these judges. The judges in the minority will also give a judgement for why they came to their decisions and this is called a dissenting judgement. A dissenting judgement was followed by Lord Denning in the case of Candler v Crane Christmas (1951). The final requirement to ensure effective operation of judicial precedent is that there needs to be accurate records of the decisions of the superior courts. These can be found in Law Reports. It is crucial that accurate records are available so that it is possible for the binding and persuasive precedents to be found. One example of a law report is the All England Law Report, law reports are also found in the media, The Times publishes law reports weekly. The reports contain all relevant information relating to the case – names of litigants, cases used, solicitors, barristers, a summary of the facts and the judgement itself. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to judicial precedent and how it operates in the courts in England and Wales, most advantages have corresponding disadvantages. One advantage is the certainty it provides, as the courts follow past decisions. Due to this certainty people are more aware of what the law is and have a better idea of how it may be applied in their case. In the House of Lords Practice Statement 1966 it points out how important certainty within the law is. Another advantage is consistency and fairness in the law so it can be seen that similar cases are decided in a similar way. In order for law to be credible it must be consistent. For example, the ratio of R v Howe that duress is no defence to the charge of murder must be followed in cases of similar material fact. There is a wealth of detail contained in the reported cases. The principles set out in the cases are a response to real life situations and things that may have occurred and this can guide future litigants. Over time the law will become more precise as it will gradually be built up by all the variations of facts that come before the courts. Judicial precedent is also flexible and there is room for the law to change as the Supreme Court can use the Practice Statement to overrule cases. An example of flexibility is in R v R, after the judgement was made, Parliament amended the Sexual Offences Act 1956, stating that marital rape is a crime. The doctrine of precedent also allows for new or ‘original’ precedents to be created. This will occur when there are no previous decisions on the case before the court or there is no legislative provision. Therefore an original precedent makes legal provisions for a matter for which there was previously no law. An example of this, where the matter had no come before the court before and Parliament had no guidance to offer, is found in Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority (1985). In this case the House of Lords had to decide whether girls under the age of 16 could be prescribed contraceptives without parental consent. The Lords decided that girls could be prescribed contraceptives in this circumstance, provided they could understand the issues involved. Judicial precedent can also been seen as a useful timesaver. Where a principle has already been established, cases with similar material facts are unlikely to have to go through a lengthy litigation process. A major disadvantage of judicial precedent is how rigid it is. An unjust precedent can lead to further injustices, as once the Supreme Court sets an unjust precedent it won’t be overruled until a case with similar facts goes on to the Supreme Court on appeal. The chances are that this may not happen for many years. Also, the law may become outdated and require modernisation. An example of this is where judges since the 1960's had felt that the law stating a builder did not owe a duty of care to persons they had sold a house to was unfair. Lord Denning made obiter comments regarding this to the effect that a duty should be owed. However the law was not changed until 1978 in Batty v Metropolitan Property Realisations Ltd where it was held that a duty of care was owed. Sometimes the law will only be changed if an individual had the courage, the persistence and the money to appeal their case. It can be very difficult for anyone to conduct thorough research into the law; hundreds of judgements are made every year so it can be hard to discover the precise law on a matter. In order to find this out a person may have to search through many volumes of law reports, the complete official law reports are estimated to run to almost half a million pages. The judgements are often complex and therefore it can be difficult to determine what the ratio decidendi of a case actually is. In the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court there is more than one judgement to consider and a common ratio must be decided by the judges in future cases. A judge may also give more than one ratio, for example in Rickards v Lothian (1913) where Lord Moulton gave two ratios for not holding the defendant liable. Judgements themselves are often long with no clear distinction between comments made and the reasons for the decision. In Dodd's Case (1973) the judges in the Court of Appeal were unable to find the ratio in a decision of the House of Lords. Also, the use of distinguishing to avoid past decisions have lead to some areas of law becoming very complex. It can also be argued that judges are overstepping their constitutional role by actually making the law rather than just applying it. Judicial precedent maybe seen as undemocratic as it is the role of Parliament to create law, the judiciary are there to enforce it. In the same way it can also be seen as undemocratic as judges are not elected and therefore should not be making law. Another disadvantage is that there is no opportunity for the judge to research or consult experts on the likely outcomes or effects of their decisions. Therefore judges are confined to making their decisions based on the arguments presented in the course of the case. Despite the doctrine of judicial precedent being a major factor in the English legal system, there are a number of ways by which a judge may avoid following a precedent. Distinguishing is a method which can be used by a judge to avoid following a precedent. If a judge finds that the material facts of a current case are sufficiently different from those of a previous precedent and can draw a distinction between them, then he is not bound by the previous decision. Two cases that demonstrate this process are Balfour v Balfour 1919) and Merritt v Merritt (1971). In both cases a wife was making a claim against her husband for breach of contract. The judgement in Balfour was that the claim could not succeed as it had been a domestic arrangement rather than a legal one and therefore was not legally binding. In Merritt the court held that there was a legal contract between husband and wife and the agreement had been made in writing and took place after they had separated. This distinguished the case from Balfour, the agreement in Merritt was not just a domestic arrangement, and it was a legally enforceable contract. This provided sufficient differences between the cases that the judge in Merritt did not have to follow the judgement made in Balfour. Another mechanism which can be used by judges to avoid following precedent is overruling where a court in a later case states that the legal ruling decided in an earlier case is wrong. Overruling is where a higher court does not follow a precedent set in a previous case, either by a lower court or by itself. This may occur when a higher court overrules a decisions made in an earlier case by a lower court. An example of a superior court overruling a previous precedent set by a lower court is Hedley Byrnes v Heller and Partners (1964) which was a claim for damages arising from negligent and misleading advice. The House of Lords overruled the decisions of the majority in the Court of Appeal in Candler v Crane Christmas (1951) and held that there can be liability for making a negligent mis-statement. However, too frequently overruling casts doubts on the certainty of the law and leads to inconsistencies. For lawyers to be able to give good advice the law must remain relatively â€Å"safe to predict† and this not the case if senior judges use every available opportunity to reverse the decisions of their predecessors. Some alarm was caused in the 1986 case of R v Shivpuri (1986) which was the first use of the Practice Statement in a criminal case. The House of Lords overruled their own previous decision made in Anderton v Ryan which had only been made twelve months earlier as they believed that the law (Criminal Attempts Act 1981) has be incorrectly applied. On the other hand, the House of Lords have often been reluctant to overrule even bad previous decisions. This was illustrated in Jones v Secretary of State, where the decision in R v Dowling was allowed to stand even though four of the seven Law Lords thought it was wrong. The need for certainty is still highlighted in the decision of the House of Lords since 1966. Both of these practises can be useful in allowing flexibility within the law but can also lead to uncertainties and inconsistencies which undermine the reliability of the system. However, where these two parallel ideas of certainty and flexibility is concerned, there will never be one definite solution to satisfy all. Disapproving can also be used by judges to avoid following precedent; this is where a judge states in his judgement that he believes the decision in an earlier case is wrong. This may occur where the present case is on a related point of law but the point of law is not sufficiently similar for the earlier decision to be overruled. It can also occur where the judge in a lower court in the hierarchy than the court which made the original decision. In this situation the lower court cannot overrule the superior court however they can disapprove of the decision by expressing their view that it was wrong. An example of this is found in the case of R v Hasan (2005), this case was about the availability of the defence of duress by threats, to a criminal offence. The main point of the case was whether a defendant could use the defence of duress if he should have realised that he was putting himself in a position where he might be pressurised into committing an offence. Reversing is similar to overruling however it occurs where a higher court does not follow precedent set by a lower court in the same case. Reversing is where the same case has gone to appeal and the appeal court reaches the opposite decisions to that of the lower court. An example of reversing is found in Fitzpatrick v Sterling House Association Ltd (2000). In this case the Court of Appeal refused to allow the homosexual partner of a deceased tenant to take over the tenancy due to regulations laid out in the Rent Act 1977. On appeal the House of Lords reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal. The Practice Statement 1966 was issued by the House of Lords, declaring their intention not to be bound by their own previous decisions. The Practice Statement allowed the House of Lords to change the law if they believe that the decision made in an earlier case is wrong. It gave them to the flexibility to refuse to follow an earlier judgement when ‘it appears right to do so’. This was shown in the case Herrington v British Railways Board (1972) which involved the law on duty of care owed to a child trespasser. In the case of Addie v Dumbreck (1929), the judgement was that an occupier of land would only hold a duty of care for injuries to child trespassers if they were caused deliberately. In Herrington the Lords held that social and physical conditions had changes since 1929 and therefore the law should also change. The judgement in Herrington was that land owners did owe a duty to prevent injury or death to child trespassers. The Court of Appeal can also refuse to follow its own previous decisions under three exceptions that were bought up in the case of Young v Bristol Aeroplane (1944) These exceptions are as follows; If a previous decision conflicts with a later House of Lords (Supreme Court) decision, it must follow the decision of the House of Lords; if there are two conflicting previous decisions then the Court of Appeal must choose between them. †¢If its previous decision was made per incuriam e. g. mistakenly or without care †¢If the House of Lords (Supreme Court) has ove rruled a previous decision of the Court of Appeal There is an additional reason for the Court of Appeal to depart from following its own past decisions and that is where it has been disapproved by the Privy Council. Privy Council opinion has only persuasive value, it is not binding. An example of this is where Morgan Smith killed a former flatmate during a fight. His defences were that he did not intend to kill or cause grievous bodily harm; that he was suffering from diminished responsibility; and that he was provoked. The focus of the appeal was on the objective part of the test for provocation and whether the reasonable person could be given certain characteristics of the accused, in this case the characteristic of having a severe depressive illness. The Court declined to follow the opinion in Luc Thiet Thuan v R (1996). It is also important to mention in the effect of the Human Rights Act 1998 on judicial precedent. If the precedent was set before the Human Rights Act came into force, the precedent may be contrary to it. As with judicial precedent itself, there are also a number of advantages and disadvantages to the avoidance of precedent by the courts. One advantage is that it allows potential for growth and means that case law is not completely rigid. The different mechanisms for avoiding precedent allow judges to develop and modernise the law when it is necessary. An example of this is the case of Hall v Simons (2000) where the House of Lords modernised the law and held that barristers could be held accountable for negligently presenting a case in court. In this case the court refused to follow the decision made in the case of Rondel v Worsley (1967) as it was deemed that the commercial world had changed significantly since 1967. Sometimes precedents can be developed to a point in which they are seen to be unfair, avoiding precedent allow these unfair laws to be replaced with more appropriate ones. In the case of R v R and G (2003) which involved two very young defendants convicted of arson, the House of Lords used the Practice Statement to avoid following the precedent set in the case of Caldwell (1981). The question facing the House of Lords was whether the defendants had foreseen the risk; they held it was unfair to judge the actions of an 11 and 12 year old by the standard of a reasonable person. The House of Lords brought about a change in the law meaning that if the question of recklessness should come up, a subjective test is used which requires the defendant to have foreseen the risk. A disadvantage of avoiding precedent is that the law changes as a result, creating laws retrospectively. This can be seen as being unjust, as the precedent that is set applies to events that have already happened. It may be that the defendant in a case committed an act that at the time of commission was actually within the law. This was the case in R v R (1991), at the time of the attack, the law stated that a man could not be found guilty of raping his wife. Due to the retrospectively law making, the defendant was found guilty and imprisoned. When there is a chance that a judge may avoid precedent it can remove the certainty within the law and make the outcome of some cases uncertain. This is unwelcome as justice requires that cases and defendants are treated in the same way. It also causes problems for legal professionals, who will not be able to advise with certainty on the likely outcome of a case. In criminal law certainty is particularly needed because the liberty of the defendant is at stake. In the case of Howe (1987), the House of Lords held that duress was no defence for murder, whether the defendant is the principle or an accessory. This case overruled the earlier House of Lords decisions in DPP v Lynch (1975), where it was held that duress was available as defence when charged with being an accessory to murder. Also, avoiding judicial precedent does not conform with the idea of separation of power. Only Parliament should create new law and it is the role of the judiciary to apply it. However when judges avoid following precedent they inevitably create new law. 1. Black's Law Dictionary, p. 1059 (5th ed. 1979).

Descriptive Essay Slang And Sociolinguistics - 2357 Words

Slang and Sociolinguistics All languages grow in the direction of change. All languages exist to meet the needs of their speakers. These two Linguistic Rules demonstrate the flexibility of language to be impacted by sociocultural changes. Throughout the developmental history of the English Language, word borrowing has been an integral system of language growth and change. This long-standing tradition of adopting new words into the language has not been slowed in Modern English, but has rather become more expansive and multi-faceted: technological advances in the last two centuries have added a great number of words to the Modern English lexicon, as well as the World Wars, and immigration. Growth and adaptations of language occur over time to meet the needs of the speakers through expanded vocabulary, new connotations and meanings, and through the adoption of words into mainstream culture that were previously used only by subcultures. This paper will seek to explore the development of slang in Modern English an d its cultural implications. As culture adapts and grows with the influx of new technology, new peoples, and new ideas, the language must also adapt and grow. According to Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable, authors of A History of the English Language: Sixth Edition, â€Å"words obviously designate the things a culture knows, just as obviously the vocabulary of a language must keep pace with the advance of a culture’s knowledge† (294). Words that are adopted into the cultureShow MoreRelatedLanguage of Advertising20371 Words   |  82 Pagesdevices in advertising texts with functional expressive features, stylistic devices, syntactic and stylistic features. The eighth chapter introduces the role of parentheses insertion as additional information. Very important advertising text in sociolinguistic coverage and phonetic expressive means and stylistic devices in the ninth chapter (Galperin`s stylistic devices, the definitions of stylistic devices with examples). In the chapter of tenth we consider clas sification of language styles (Belles-Letters