...1.a) With reference to the source, describe three sources of the Uk constitution (5 marks) The constitution of the United Kingdom is the set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom is governed. In the source it states a few examples that the constitution has built on, but here is three: The constitution has built on Common Law, historical documents and European legislation. b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain the arguments in favour of a codified constitution for the UK. (10 marks) One argument that is brought up in favour of a codified constitution for the UK is that the constitution is not set out clearly in any document, there is not the same system as in the USA that has a document that clearly sets out what the constitution contains or states what citizens’ rights and freedoms are. As the source says, the Justice Secretary Jack straw said “Most people might struggle to put their finger on where their rights are.” Jack Straw also argued that having a codified constitution would ‘bring us in line with the most progressive democracies around the world.” It would also correct the imbalances in the current political system, for example, the second chamber and considering what the constitutional status the House of Lords holds. Limits executive dominance, It would take some of the Governments power away and would decrease the chance of government dictatorship as the public would see what in fact there allowed to do and...
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...Specification a) Describe three functions of Parliament b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain why government needs an effective Parliament c) Analyse the main factors that limit the effectiveness of Parliament Jan 2010 a) With reference to source, what changes to the second chamber are proposed? b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain the arguments for a fully or partly elected chamber c) Make out a case against an elected second chamber Jan 2011 a) With reference to the source, describe two functions of the House of Commons b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain how the House of Commons can control the power of government c) To what extent is the House of Commons effective in carrying out its various functions? May 2011 a) With reference to the source, describe three proposals that seek to strengthen parliamentary representation by increasing popular participation b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain how three of these proposals seek to make government more accountable to Parliament c) To what extent will the coalition government’s proposals bring about an effective reform of Parliament? Jan 2012 a) With reference to the source, why are legislative committees needed? b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain the ways in which backbench MPs can call government to account c) To what extent has the formation of a coalition altered the relationship...
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...GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS AS LEVEL UNIT TWO GOVERNING THE UK “Never, never, never give up” Winston S Churchill 1874-1965 1 GOVERNING THE UK 50% of AS [25% of A2] UNIT TWO SAMPLE QUESTION Answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B in 80 minutes. Spend 40 minutes on Section A and 40 minutes on Section B SECTION A QUESTION ONE PRIME MINISTERIAL POWER “For too long the big political decisions in this country have been made in the wrong place. They are not made around the Cabinet table where they should be, but they are taken on the sofa in Tony Blair’s office. No notes are kept and no one takes the blame when things go wrong. That arrogant style of government must come to an end. I will restore the proper process of government. I want to be Prime Minister of this country not a President (Source: David Cameron, The Times, 5th October 2006) “The Cabinet is the committee at the centre of the British political system. Every Thursday during Parliament, Secretaries of State from all departments as well as other ministers meet in the Cabinet Room in Downing Street to discuss the big issues of the day. The Prime Minister chairs the meeting, selects its members and also recommends their appointment as ministers to the monarch. The present Cabinet has 23 members (21 MPs and two peers). The secretary of the Cabinet is responsible for preparing records of its discussions and decisions”. (Source: From a modern textbook) (a) What...
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...For other uses, see Constitution (disambiguation). A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed.[1] These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is. When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a written constitution; if they are written down in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a codified constitution. Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from sovereign states to companies and unincorporated associations. A treaty which establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states, a constitution defines the principles upon which the state is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially codified constitutions, also act as limiters of state power, by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross, such as fundamental rights. An example is the constitution of the United States of America. George Washington at Constitutional Convention of 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world,[2] containing 444 articles in 22 parts,[3][4] 12 schedules and 118 amendments, with 117,369 words in its English-language translation,[5]...
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...Jump to navigation Search Cornell Search About LII / Get the law / Lawyer Directory / Get Legal Forms / Legal Encyclopedia / Help Out • • Wex • all pages • articles • español • Inbox Project • search • FAQ Legal systems Introduction: profusion and variety There are hundreds of legal systems in the world. At the global level, international law is of great importance, whether created by the practice of sovereign states or by agreement among them in the form of treaties and other accords. Some transnational entities such as the European Union have created their own legal structures. At the national level there are over 180 sovereign states in the United Nations Organization. Many of these are federal or confederal, and their constituent parts may well have their own law. But, despite this great variety, it is important to begin by emphasizing one great division: that into religious and secular legal systems. Each side of this split holds quite different views as to law, in its source, scope, sanctions, and function. The source of religious law is the deity, legislating through the prophets. Secular law is made by human beings, and one of its most famous examples begins with the words 'We, the people'. It follows from this difference in their source that religious laws are perceived to be eternal and immutable, while secular rules can be changed by their makers. Religious law tells people what to believe as well as how to behave, whereas secular law deals...
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...significance to the order in which questions appear. Each question is divided into three sections (a), (b) and (c). When choosing which questions to do, the following principles are recommended: It is almost certain that you will be better off choosing your strongest question to do first. You should choose questions on the basis of how well you can answer the section (c) part. The (c) part carries 25 of the 40 marks available for the whole answer. Do not choose a question simply because you can do part (a) especially well. The (a) question is only worth 5 marks. It would be illogical to choose your strongest (a) part if you cannot do well on section (c). If you cannot decide between several (c) parts, i.e. you can do more than one equally well, make your choice on the basis of part (b) which carries 10 marks. But remember, it is the (c) parts that will determine most what your overall mark will be. So, when you first look at the exam paper, look at the (c) sections first. Assessment Objectives Each question is divided into three sections, as follows: carries 5 marks carries 10 marks carries 25 marks The way you answer questions should be determined by the way assessment objectives are distributed. Assessment objectives provide the basis upon which examiners award marks. You need to be familiar with them to maximise your marks. They will help direct your revision and with the answers to the questions. A full explanation of...
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...the court named the "Supreme Court" is not in fact the highest court; examples include the New York Supreme Court, which is superseded by the New York Court of Appeals, and the former Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales. Some countries have multiple "supreme courts" whose respective jurisdictions have different geographical extents, or which are restricted to particular areas of law. In particular, countries with a federal system of government typically have both a federal supreme court, and supreme courts for each member state, with the former having jurisdiction over the latter only to the extent that the federal constitution extends federal law over state law. Jurisdictions with a civil law system often have a hierarchy of administrative courts separate from the ordinary courts, headed by a supreme administrative court as it the case in the Netherlands. A number of jurisdictions also follow the "Austrian" model of a separate constitutional court . Within the British Empire, the highest court within a colony was often...
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...Northern Consortium United Kingdom – Politics Past paper questions for June exam < Module 1 > Section A 1a What are the differences between Public Bills Committees and Select Committees? [5] Public Bills Committee is part of legislative process, whereas Select Committee is part of scrutiny process. In the former committee, the bill is examined by line by line to ensure that its wording and language is clear to allow any amendments on the bill. In the latter committee, there are two departments – governmental and non-governmental. They examine government departments’ expeditures , policies and policies. There are between 16 to 50 members in the PBC who are selected by Committee of Selection whose 7 out 9 members are ships. On the other hand, there are 11 members in the SCs and to eliminate “the conflict of interest, all the members are backbench members who are elected using the Alternative vote system. 2a What are the main functions of Parliament and how well does it perform them? [5] < This question is a 20-mark question > 3a What are the differences between direct and representative democracy? [5] In direct democracy, people are directly involved in decision-making processes, whereas in representative democracy, people elect MPs who will represent and form a government in Parliament. For instance, some qualified members of Athenian society were involved in decision-making and a referendum is a limited form of direct democracy. Also general elections...
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...NONE, ONE OR SEVERAL? PERSPECTIVES ON THE UK’S CONSTITUTION(S) DAVID FELDMAN* An inaugural lecture is the occasion when the University of Cambridge can look its gift horse in the mouth, weighing the new professor in the balance against his or her distinguished predecessors. The Rouse Ball Professorship of English Law has been held in the past by a long series of distinguished scholars, from Sir Percy Winfield to my immediate predecessor, Sir Jack Beatson whom we are delighted to welcome back today. Their work has influenced generations of lawyers. They certainly influenced me. Before I encountered Criminal Law: The General Part,1 a great little volume by Professor Glanville Williams, Learning the Law, was my ‘Guide, Philosopher and Friend’ (as it still says on the cover of the latest edition, now edited by my colleague Professor Tony Smith)2 as I approached the study of law. Another Rouse Ball Professor, the late Sir William Wade, had a formative effect on my understanding of land law and administrative law both through his famous books, Megarry and Wade on the Law of Real Property (now edited by a former Fellow of Downing College, Dr. Charles Harpum)3 and Administrative Law (now in the hands of my colleague Dr. Christopher Forsyth),4 not to mention the lectures that I attended as an undergraduate in (softly be it said) the University of Oxford. Two wonderfully stimulating and enjoyable books by the Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor and * Rouse Ball Professor of English Law in...
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...4 References/Further Reading ……………………………………………...……. 4 3 LAW 443 ADMINISTRATIVE LAW I Introduction Consider a situation where your residential property in which you have lived for decades has been demolished by the authorities of the FCT, or the Lagos State Ministry of Environment for allegedly being located in an industrial area. Suppose some customs officers at a checkpoint found you in possession of items which they claim to be contraband and, therefore, seized pursuant to the new Customs policy of zero-tolerance of goods likely to endanger the economic growth or contribute to the economic adversity of the country? But it turns out that you can, in law and in fact, possess or own those items. Imagine yourself as a principal of Secondary School in Lagos State. The host community of your School wrote a petition against you to the Ministry of Education. Acting on the petition, the Ministry indefinitely suspended you and later retired you compulsorily. How about a...
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...Singapore – Country Analysis Vineet Khattar; Group Work 9/29/2012 Contents Country Background: .......................................................................................................................... 3 Cultural Aspects of Singapore: ............................................................................................................ 3 Political context................................................................................................................................... 3 Economic policies of Singapore .......................................................................................................... 4 Institutional Framework ..................................................................................................................... 5 Labor Policies of Singapore ................................................................................................................. 7 Objectives of the country: .................................................................................................................. 8 Corresponding Policies Implemented by the Government ................................................................ 8 Performance ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Opportunities, Challenges and Risks......................................................................................................
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...Information Access Centre (LIAC). Hot Topics aims to give an accessible introduction to an area of law that is the subject of change or public debate. International law 1 overview What is international law? – difference between international law and domestic law – Why do States obey international law? – subjects of international law – How do international law and domestic law interact? 4 sources of international law Jus cogens – international conventions and treaties – Australian treaty practice – custom – general principles of law – judicial decisions and writings of publicists – ‘hard law’ and ‘soft law’. 8 states What is a State? – rights of States – self-determination – creation and recognition of new States – case studies. AUTHOR NOTE: Jane Stratton currently leads corporate social responsibility programs in a leading Sydney law firm, teaches law students at a Sydney university and independently, undertakes community development projects in Western Sydney. Her work has included legal and policy roles in the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, the Australian Human Rights Commission, UN High Commission for Refugees and the ICTY. She has experience in litigious and political advocacy. Jane holds qualifications in law (Honours) and in Arts (Honours) from ANU and a Masters of Law from New York University. ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The publisher would like to thank Dr Ben Saul, Director, Sydney Centre for International and Global Law, for reading and ...
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...IFRS in the United States: If, When and How Donna L. Street s described by Erchinger (2012), for decades various United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairs and Chief Accountants have expressed support for the development of one set of globally accepted accounting standards. Since the formation of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in 2001, SEC leaders have repeatedly indicated that the logical choice for globally accepted standards is the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the IASB. However, in line with other large economies, such as Japan, India and China, as of June 2012 the US had not adopted IFRS.1 This paper explores when and how, and indeed if, IFRS will become the basis for the financial reporting of domestic SEC registrants in the US. Readers are encouraged to first review Erchinger’s (2012) history of the SEC’s consideration of IFRS in the US included in this forum and especially Table 1 of this article, which provides a chronology of SEC releases regarding incorporation of IFRS into the US financial reporting model. This paper complements Erchinger’s by assessing approaches recently explored by the SEC for incorporating IFRS into the US financial reporting model. A decision can lead to correct or incorrect action. However, as articulated by many SEC constituents, uncertainty associated with repeated delays and hence ‘no decision’ by the SEC is clearly not in the best interest of investors and other financial...
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...elaboratedGuiding Principlesin 2006. Contrary to thisopinion, other international lawyers would maintain that these unilateral actsconstitute specific expressions of the will of States leading eventually to agree- 6 ments which are then governed by the rules applicable to international conven-tions.Finally, the idea of justice and equity originating in the philosophy of natural lawis not to be discarded as a source of international law, since it is the opinion oftheInternational Court of Justiceitself that whatever the legal argumentation ofthe judge, his or her decisions have to be just and in that sense must correspondto justice and equity. Moreover, the judges of theInternational Court of Justice are expressly authorized to decide a case ex aequo et bono, if the parties agreethereto, i.e. to found their judgements on arguments of equity (Article 38 (2) oftheStatute of the International Court of Justice).International treaty law as...
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...Case Study Country Case Study 8 February 2008 Systems for Verification of Legality in the Forest Sector, Malaysia: Domestic Timber Production and Timber Imports Adrian Wells (a.wells@odi.org.uk), Thang Hooi Chiew and Chen Hin Keong Contents 1. 2. Executive summary . . . . . . . pg. 3 . . . . . . . pg. 6 3. Law and policy governing forest management . . . . 3.1 Forests under the Federal Constitution . . . . 3.2 Forest management by the States . . . . . 3.3 Key jurisdictional differences between the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak . . . . pg. 7 pg. 7 pg. 8 pg. 9 4. Law and policy on wood-based industries and the timber trade . . . pg. 19 5. Responses to illegality in the forest sector . 5.1 Control of domestic timber production . 5.2 Control of timber imports . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 21 pg. 21 pg. 27 6. 7. Institutional structures for legal verification of domestic timber production and imports 6.1 Overview . . . . . . . 6.2 Peninsular Malaysia . . . . . . 6.3 Sabah . . . . . . . . 6.4 Sarawak . . . . . . . . 6.5 Timber imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 30 pg. 30 pg. 30 pg. 42 pg. 55 pg. 67 The...
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