...Introduction History of Unwritten Law Objective of Unwriten Law General Principle of Unwritten Law Element of Unwritten Law The Different between a Unwritten Law and Written Law Example of Unwritten Case UNWRITTEN LAW It is simply that portion of Malaysian law which is not written, i.e., law which is not being enacted by Parliament or State Assemblies and which is not found in the written Federal and State Constitutions. Unwritten law is found in cases decided by the courts, local customs, etc. Unwritten law comprises of the following. * English law The common law of England does apply in Malaysia. However, not all of England’s common law forms part of Malaysian Law. Section 3 (1) of the Civil Law Act 1956 ( Revised 1972) provides that, in Peninsular Malaysia, the courts shall apply the common law of England as well as equity as administered in England on April 1956. In the states of Sabah and Sarawak, the common law of England and the rules of equity together with the statutes of general application shall be applied However, the application of the English law throughout Malaysia is subject to two limitations: a) It is applied only in the absence of local statutes on the particular subjects. Local law takes precedence over English law as the latter is meant to fill the gaps (lacuna) in the local system. b) Only that part of the English law is suited to local circumstances will be applied. The provision to Section 3(1) of the Civil Law Act, 1956 is authority...
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...you do not know and who you do not manage to get to know. That is exactly the theme the American writer Siri Hustvedt takes up in her essay Living With Strangers published in The New York Times in 2002. The text is built up in three main sections. In the first part Hustvedt tells her personal story about her moving from the country where everyone knows each other and everyone always greets everyone, and to the big city New York where nobody greets each other and millions of people live side by side. She quickly learns the unwritten rule which says something like, pretend like nothing is happening, “It didn’t take long for me to absorb the unwritten code of survival in this town (…): PRETEND IT ISN’T HAPPENING” (line 17-20). Hustvedt quickly captures the reader’s interest by telling this personal story in the beginning because the reader can identify herself with her and she seems reliable. In part 2 Hustvedt gives a few examples of the big city’s unwritten law, “Last October, I was on the F Train when I noticed a wild-eyed man entering the car. He boomed out a few verses from Revelation and then, in an equally loud voice, began his sermon, informing us that September 11 had been God’s just punishment for our sins. I could feel the cold, stiff resistance to his...
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...that in Minnesota everybody used to say “hi” to everybody, even people you didn’t know. Not even was it seen as being rude, but you could actually be looked at as a snob, which was the worst thing you could be looked at, but in New York it’s an entirely different story. Here it’s totally impossible to say hi to everybody, and nobody cares if you say hi to them because people don’t even acknowledge that you are there, they bump into you and elbow you as you walk through the streets. She also thinks that the urban life is lonely and hostile “Most of the time, we insulate ourselves out of necessity…” (line 107-108 page 8) this might be why the essay is called “Living With Strangers”. This might be caused by the unwritten law of New York the “Pretend it isn’t happening law”...
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...constitutional law is often described as the fundamental law of the land, its main objective is to determine and allocate functions and powers among various organs of the government. The constitution also defines the relation between governing authorities and the common man. The UK has always run on the basis of an unwritten constitution, which basically means that all the rules and regulations governing the fundamental state as well as the basic rights of the people are not codified in one single document known as the ‘constitution’. Unlike many other super powers around the world, Britain has never had the need to consolidate the building blocks of its land due to its relatively stable political development over time. Apart from the documentation of parliamentary laws and to a certain extent, judicial decisions, the unwritten constitution is mainly derived from traditions, precedents, and customs. Moreover, the conventions responsible for these laws are governed by obligations and obedience. These traits only emerge over time and consequently exert great significance to common law, allowing judges to make constitutional judgments without the overshadowing of a written text on what is right or wrong. Instead, they are able to draw on general rules emerging from traditional practices and precedents. As an unwritten constitution, the UK constitution is highly flexible and can easily evolve and adapt to changing times. Modern times necessitate the changing of laws in order to...
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...CONSTITUTION The Laws in the land is governed by a constitution - it is a written instrument in which the fundamental powers of the government to govern are established, defined, as well as limited. It is also written in the constitution how the powers are being distributed among the several departments of the government. The constitution is a written charter that are enacted as well as adopted by the people in a particular state. The Laws on the land should be guided on what was being written in the constitution. The policies of the government should also be in accordance with the constitution so that any action will not be lead unto constitutional crisis - a constitutional crisis is an event where in a particular part of a constitution is or are not being followed in accordance with the policies or actions taken by the authorities. THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONSTITUTION * As to form: * Written Constitution * Unwritten Constitution * As to origin or history * Conventional or Enacted Constitution * Cumulative or Evolve Constitution * As to manner of amending the constitution * the Rigid or Inelastic Constitution * Flexible or Elastic Constitution All of the above mentioned constitutions have their different features and characteristics. The Written Constitution * is the constitution where the provisions are all contained in a single document. The Unwritten Constitution * is the constitution where the provisions...
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...defines the manner a country is run. The British constitution is said to be an unwritten constitution, more accurately it is uncodified as much more of the British constitution is written down, however, they are not all written down in a single document like a codified constitution would require as how the US is, however draws from several different sources such as; statutes laws, common law, conventions, EU laws, authoritative documents etc. Statute law, is a written law passed down by parliament for example the human rights act of 1998 which brought the European convention on human rights into British law, conventions is another source of the British constitution, they are unwritten laws considered binding on members of the political community for example the Salisbury convention which made sure that the house of lords does not obstruct proposals contained in the governments most recent manifesto. Has the British constitution become increasingly codified? Its not the case that the British constitution is being written in a single document but in fact that more of the constitution is being written down as there is increasingly more written statutes that have great constitutional impacts as they are passed by parliament making them more rigid therefore harder to change as parliament has ultimate sovereignty, however you could say the EU laws are exempt from this, the significant examples of statute law with great constitutional impacts are such as the The Human Rights Act [1998]which...
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...abide by the rules set forth by the Law and Ethics board. After studying these procedures I would say I have to agree with the way the Human Services Agency does things. The adherence to rules set forth by a higher body is very important. It ensures that the Agency acts appropriately when dealing with the problems of individuals. The laws that the Agency’s procedures are based on are very explicit. Furthermore it is clear that the laws should not be changed at all. The laws explain in great detail how to deal with conflicts that can occur between worker and coworker or between the Agency and a client. The laws also state that employees of the Agency must all work together in order to help clients as much as possible. Part of working together is making sure that all employees are kept abreast of previous and current Agency issues. Confidentiality agreements between the Agency and clients are strictly upheld. This privacy is upheld as long as the life of the client or any other external individual or group is not in danger. The standard operating procedures of the Agency fit perfectly with our current law system. However as always there are ways to improve. In order for the Human Services Agency to uphold its reliability all employees should follow to the letter standard operating procedures which are set by the Law and Ethics Board. The SOP is based on written laws that must be followed and ethics which can be viewed as a set of unwritten rules that all must follow. With these...
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...several departments or branches for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the people. Nature and purpose or function of constitution the charter creating the government. It has the status of a supreme or fundamental law as it speaks for the entire people from whom it derives its claim to obedience. It is binding on all individual citizens and all organs of the government. It is the law to which other laws must conform and in accordance with which all private rights must be determined and all public authority administered. It is a test of the legality of all government action, whether proceeding from the highest official or lowest functionary. The purpose is to prescribe the permanent framework of the system of government and to assign to the different departments or branches, their respective powers and duties and to establish certain basic principles on which the government is founded Designed to preserve and protect the rights of individuals against the arbitrary actions of those in authority. Meaning of constitutional law Branch of jurisprudence which treats of constitutions, their nature, formation and amendment, operation and interpretation. It refers to the law embodied in the constitution as well as the principles growing of the interpretation and application made by the courts. Kinds of Constitution As to the origin and history: – Conventional-enacted by constituent...
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...Politics Essay The UK needs a codified constitution: A constitution is a set of laws, rules and practices that authorize the state to govern, also specifying the powers of the governing institution and the formal relationships between them, civilian and the state. There are numerous types of constitution. Constitutions could be codified and uncodified, unitary (Centralized government makes legislation, and passes it down through local authorities) or federal (Power travels up through regional bodies to the centralized state.) The United Kingdom is unique in other words there are just 4 nations around the globe that have a written constitution and the UK is one of them. The others being Israel, Canada and New Zealand. On the other hand the USA is an example of a codified constitution. A codified constitution is a constitution in which key written documents are gathered inside a single document, it is generally known as a written constitution. Additionally they are entrenched, enjoying the protection of higher court. Moreover in a codified constitution laws can only be amended by special provisions. Therefore making it rigid, in other words it is extremely difficult to pass laws in a codified constitution. Alongside this, an uncodifed constitution relies on various sources meaning it is not written down in a single document, this is in contrast to a codified constitution where all the laws are to be found in one single document. In addition an uncodified constitution is not...
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...all political decisions; if a proposed law is found to go against the constitution, it is rejected. Supporters of a codified constitution for the UK say that this will give citizens inalienable rights which cannot easily be manipulated or even overturned by the government. A constitution is based around a general consensus of what people should be able to do or not do. Constitutional agreement forms the foundations of the concept of a rule of law. In the USA, their written constitution means that the relationship between citizens and the law is clearly defined. If a constitutional law is violated, there can be no debate over it. This means that the law has more authority in the land. However, in the UK, there is not one legal standard of our constitution and thus whether or not it was violated can be questioned. This can potentially lead to a moving of the goalposts – if the constitution is not entrenched, it is easy to change. Therefore it is impossible to hold everyone to the same standard even though the rule of law states that everyone is bound by it, because the government can essentially do what it likes in terms of manipulating or changing the constitution to fit its views. Some may argue that this makes a mockery of legal authority. Because the terms of the UK constitution are not defined, it means that unlike the USA, we have no official separation of powers. In America both the government and those who enforce their laws are of equal standing, as outlined in...
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...A constitution is a set of rules which may be written or unwritten, establishes the distribution of power in a political system, the limits of government jurisdiction, the rights of citizens and the method of amending the constitution itself. An uncodified constitution is unwritten, or at least not written all in one document. The constitution in the UK is found in a variety of sources, which are mainly statute and common law, conventions and traditions, European law etc. The British constitution itself is flexible as it allows the constitutions to evolve and generally adapt to the changing society. Compared to the US whose constitution is described as ‘rigid’; through the struggle of being able to amend constitutions; for example, the ‘right to bear arms’ amendment, which basically gives registered citizens the right to keep and bear arms. The topic of amending this constitution is very controversial, however due to the constitution being codified the process is very difficult, as is it entrenched and has been a part of the US culture for centuries. In this essay, I will be analysing the strengths of the British constitution and comparing it to a codified constitution, Some of the arguments for retaining the uncodified system are that; codification produces ‘judicial tyranny’, uncodified constitutions are more flexible and lastly that an uncodified system has worked well in the UK for many years and broadly speaking not many people have protested against an uncodified system...
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...of development originating in customs, traditions, judicial decisions, etc., rather than from a deliberate or formal enactment. As to their form: 1. Written One which has been given definite written form at a particular time, usually by a specially constituted authority called a "constitutional convention. 2. Unwritten One which is entirely the product of a constitutional evolution, consisting largely of a mass of customs, usages, and judicial decisions together with a smaller body of statutory enactments of a constitutional character, usually bearing different dates. The English Constitution is unwritten only in the sense that it is not codified in a single document. Part of it is written - The Acts of Parliament and judicial decisions. Indeed, there is no Constitution that is entirely written or unwritten. As to manner of amending them: 1. Rigid or inelastic One regarded as a document of special which cannot be amended or altered except by some special machinery more cumbrous than the ordinary legislative process. 2. Flexible or elastic One which possesses no higher legal authority than ordinary laws and which may be altered in the same way as other laws. The Philippine Constitution may be classified as conventional or enacted, written, rigid or inelastic. It was drafted by an appointive body called "Constitutional Commission." Uganda is currently engaged in the process of making a new National Constitution. It is the declared policy of the NRM Government that a...
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...With reference to the source, outline two features of the UK constitution (5 marks) One feature would be that the UK constitution is uncodified which is a unwritten document where as in the majority of countries there is a codified constitution which is a single document an example of this would be the American constitution, drafted around 200 years ago, which is written down on a piece of paper and lays down the rights of American citizens and also the powers of her government. Another feature would be that the UK constitution derives from a number of sources one of them being statute law, law passed by government. The fact that our constitution is unwritten means that there is no system of formal checks and balances on the government but in reality there a number of powerful forces which means that a government is restricted in what they wish to do Assess the strengths of the UK constitution (25 marks) The UK constitution has many advantages too it but can also weigh our government down and doesn’t always benefit our society. One strength would be that the balance of power lies mostly in the executive branch. The Prime Minister can be very decisive and is able to make essential decisions this moves power to centralization, which is the movement of power to Westminster. An example of this would be when Thatcher refused to engage with growing cause for the devolution of powers to Scotland and Northern Ireland. This benefits...
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...institutions • Define the relationship between the state and the individual, define extent of civil liberty Types of Constitution • Codified and uncodified o Codified – enshrined in law and based on 1 single authoritative document outlining powers of institutions + government, as well as a statement of the rights of citizen’s ▪ Document is authoritative, highest law of the land. Binds all political institutions – leads to 2 tier legal system ▪ Provisions of it are entrenched, difficult to amend or abolish ▪ It is judiciable, all political bodies are subject to authority of the courts, in particular a supreme court. o Uncodified – increasingly rare, UK one of few ▪ Not authoritative, constitutional laws treated same as ordinary laws ▪ Not entrenched, constitution can be changed through the normal process for enacting statute law. ▪ Not judiciable, judges do not have legal standard to declare that actions of other bodies are constitutional/not constitutional. o However: ▪ No constitution is entirely written, written documents do not encompass all aspects of constitutional practice ▪ No constitution is entirely unwritten, no constitution consisting only of rules of conduct or behaviour. • Unitary and federal o Unitary – establish constitutional supremacy of central government over provincial and local bodies...
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...Law in Antigone: Religion over State In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon and Antigone’s understanding of law and justice stand in opposition of each other. Antigone prioritizes religious law over the state laws which Creon represents, thereby demonstrating the limitations of man’s power in comparison to the absolute power of the gods. Creon defines law and justice as the power of the state, and argues that the state, and his decisions as its ruler, must be put above all else in order to prevent chaos. He says, “We must obey whatever man the city puts in charge, no matter the issue…For there is no greater evil than a lack of leadership,” (Sophocles, 674-676) which shows that he follows a tyrannical system in which his word is law. His decision not...
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