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The age at which a young person can be held responsible for their actions is a hotly debated topic. At present, any person under 10 years of age is deemed not responsible for their actions. This means that they cannot be charged with any crime. Crimes committed by under-10s are still recorded by police however, and there are other measures involving social services who would be brought in to monitor the child in such a case. Read the rest of this entry →

Magistrates, also known as Justices of the Peace, are volunteers who deal with the majority of criminal cases in this country. They do not necessarily have any legal or academic qualifications, although training is provided. Read the rest of this entry →

A well-known legal phrase states that ignorance of the law is no excuse. In other words, if you have broken the law and are facing the consequences, it is no excuse to claim that you were unaware of the law that you were breaking. This may sound like common sense, but when you consider the enormous number of laws in the UK, as well as those passed in Europe which directly affect UK citizens, it becomes apparent that knowing all the law that might affect us at any one time would just about be impossible. Read the rest of this entry →

Who can become a Coroner?

Coroners are independent judicial officers appointed by local authorities, their main profession being that of a barrister, solicitor or doctor. Coroners are only appointed if they have practised their profession for at least five years, and they can continue in that profession simultaneously unless they are one of a small number of full-time coroners. All coroners and their deputies are members of The Coroner’s Society, which aims to protect their rights and interests. Read the rest of this entry →

Parliamentary privilege is a right applying to members of both houses of Parliament in the UK and dates back to the struggle parliament underwent to obtain independence from the monarchy. Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689 states that “freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament”. Read the rest of this entry →

Human rights in the UK were enshrined in the 1953 European Convention on Human Rights. Winston Churchill had previously lobbied for a European body to take control of justice and legal rights for European citizens after World War two. The result was the Council of Europe, and the Convention which today provides human rights to some 800 million people across 47 signatory countries. Read the rest of this entry →

When you make a planning application you make the application to the local planning authority, and if your application is refused then you are entitled to appeal against the decision. The planning authority should make the decision with regards to your application in line with development plans for the area; if you don’t think this has occurred then you may be entitled to appeal. When the council refuses your planning application, they must do so in writing with reasons. Read the rest of this entry →

Personal data held by any organisation is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 and public bodies are also subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Government should adhere to the Acts and ensure that data is not kept without reason. It is often Government organisations, perhaps because of the sheer volume of data they hold, that are the subject of legal cases and media reports because of lost data or failure to adhere to the principles of the Acts. Read the rest of this entry →

It is the Human Rights Act 1998 which protects people’s rights to thought, belief and religion in the UK. The Human Rights Act enacted the European Commission on Human Rights(ECHR) which lays out the basic human rights to which everyone is entitled. Some of the rights to which everyone is entitled are absolute, which means that there can be no excuse for derogating from them. These include the right to life (Art 2) and the right to freedom from torture (Art 3). Other rights can be derogated from in particular circumstances; for example Art 8, the right to family and private life, can be derogated from when it is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well being of the country. This could be for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Read the rest of this entry →

Judicial appointments have been the subject of much change in recent years. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 provided for the setting up of the Judicial Appointments Commission and completely changed the way that judicial appointments were made. Prior to the Constitutional Reform Act, the Lord Chancellor was in charge of appointing judges to office and the process was done very much behind closed doors. Read the rest of this entry →