Law Flashcards
Natural Law
- Supporters assume that it is human nature to be good, that all people strive to be good and that goodness is essential to our well-being
- Assumed to be universal, in that it apples to all of humankind
- Imposes moral responsibility on a society to give each person his or her due, regardless of the laws in place
- Natural moral laws regulate the way human beings are expected to act.
- Many people believe that natural law is supreme.
- Modern adaptation of natural law theory claims that judges should decide what law is by determining what most people in the community consider just.
- Natural law is a higher law that God made by human institutions and is applicable to anything that is unspeakably wrong.
Positive Law
- Positive law refers to laws that have been passed by a legislator (criminal code).
- This contrasts with natural law because natural law is not expressed by human authority.
- Some theorists include John Austin, Thomas Hobbes, Jeremy Bentham.
- Denial of the necessary connection between law and morality.
- Law may be morally unjust or have undesirable social effects, you still must adhere to them.
- When judges apply the law, they do not consider the justice what is written down and applying it correctly.
- Two versions of positive include:
- Letter of the law approach; applying the law literally.
- Spirit of the law; use discretion.
Reasonable Limits (applied to our fundamental freedoms)
- S.1
- Charter rights and freedoms may be subject to “reasonable limits prescribed by law as an be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”
- Hate crimes
Notwithstanding Clause
- S. 33
- Immunizes a piece of legislation from being challenges before courts (Quebec language laws)
- Only used by the provincial or federal governments
- Expires after 5 years
Function/definition of international law
- Laws that govern the interactions and relations between nations, resulting from official rules, treaties, agreements and customs.
- The body of laws governing relations between nations.
- Attempts to address and resolve legal issues and questions arising between nations.
- Function of international law in international relations is to facilitate interstate cooperation.
United Nations (ESSAY)
Members
- General assembly - 193 member states
- Security council - 5 permanent members, 10 non-permanent members
- ECOSOC - 54 members
- ICJ - 15 judges
General Assembly
- Consider and make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for maintaining international peace and security, including disarmament.
- Initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international political cooperation, the development and codification of international law, the realization of human rights & fundamental freedoms and international collaboration in the economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, educational and health fields;
- Make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation that might impaired friendly relations among nations.
Security Council
-To investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international conflict;
- To recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
- To determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken;
Secretariat
- Preparation of report and other documents containing information, analysis, historical background research finding, policy suggestions and so forth, to facilitate deliberations and decision making by other organs.
- Conduct of studies and provision of information to various member states in meeting challenge in various fields.
Economic and Social Council
- Coordinates the economic and social work of the UN and the UN system
- Important body as the centre of attention of the organization shifts to international economic, human rights, and social issues
- Consults with non-governmental organizations on issues such as reg immunization of babies in Sudan against polio and the financing of refugee camps in Pakistan
Trustee Council
- Administer colonial trust territories that had been under the mandate of the League of Nations.
The United Nations has played a crucial role in the international system since its beginning in 1945. It has been the main place where leaders from around the globe can communicate and work out issues. Its charter is admirable and includes goals, such as “saving future generations from the scourge of war has brought untold sorrow to mankind.” The United Nations creates norms against violence, issues sanctions, provides a clearinghouse for foreign policy discussions, and plays a peacekeeping/diplomatic role by creating ‘space’ between conflicted countries. It also helps countries raise their standard of living, creates jobs, and delivers aid to victims of natural disasters or war. The human rights and relief programs that the UN has initiated or supported are impressive indeed.
The failure of peacekeeping operations in Rwanda, Somalia, Bosnia & Dafur show how difficult it is to stop ethnic violence and to mediate in a very difficult and hopeless situation. Specifically, the genocide in Rwanda will define for our generation the failure to intervene in the face of mass human rights abuses. The UN Council was intimately involved in this event, when a peace keeping mission was created for Rwanda. However, it is clear that a serious assessment of the situation in Rwanda was missing. It shows how the peacekeepers of the Council’s mission to Rwanda were abandoned during the genocide. Many opportunities that could have affected the course of events in the genocide remained untapped by policy makers.
In 2003, the unstable nation of Sudan erupted in conflict, as various militia groups criticized and attacked the government for oppressing non-Arabs. Early in the war, rebel forces defeated the Sudanese military in more than thirty battles. Seeing that defeat was imminent, the government funded the Janjaweed, a group of Arab militants. By 2005, the Janjaweed were carrying out attacks on populated villages using artillery and helicopters, prompting condemnation by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Despite this condemnation, the UN did not enter Sudan, instead urging members of the African Union to intervene. As the African Union attempted an intervention, it became apparent that the Sudanese military was destroying civilian populations. Reports emerged revealing that Sudanese military planes were painted white, to resemble UN humanitarian aircraft, only to drop bombs on villages. It was not until 2006 that 200 UN soldiers were dispatched to the area. Despite their limited presence, fighting continued until 2010. In seven years, an estimated 300,000 Sudanese civilians were killed.
On the other hand, the organization is over 60 years old and no longer works as effectively as it once did. Some countries have become more significant in world affairs (such as India). Some have become less significant (such as France). The organization, in short, does not reflect the needs of today’s world. There are too many organizations within the UN, each with different budgets, different status, governance, and overlapping mandates. There is competition among agencies, outdated business practices, and unclear missions. The UN cannot successfully deliver results with these handicaps.
League of Nations
- League of Nations was founded in 1919, right after the end of WWI.
- It was founded to prevent any more wars from occurring (failed in doing so as WWII occurred)
- Limited to peace-keeping tasks
- Did not achieve universal membership as it did not include: U.S.S.R, U.S.A and Germany
- The world-wide Depression made countries try to get more land and power. They were worried about themselves, not about world peace.
Formation of unions
- Before Trade Unions Act, was the Master & Servant Act that stated servants were legally obliged to stay with their masters, no matter how poorly they were treated.
- Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, thousands gathered by walking off the job over their right to bargain collectively for fair wages
- 1927 Old Age Pensions, allowed workers to retire with small measure of financial security.
- 1941, the Unemployment Insurance Act offered financial support to laid-off workers
R v. Parks
- Decision on the criminal automatism defence.
- Parks was charged with the murder of his inlaws, claimed to have been sleepwalking throughout the incident.
- Used defence of automatism
- Acted involuntary and therefore, could not form mens rea.
Collective Bargaining
- The formal process of negotiating conditions of employment between organized employees and their employer the contract produced through this process is a collective agreement
Vienna Conventions
- Codified the practice of diplomatic immunity
- Laid out laws and means by which people would be protected under the shield of diplomatic immunity
Trades Union Act
- 1872
- Legalized labour unions
- Could not be persecuted or fired simply because they associated with a union
Kyoto Protocol
- An agreement that commits many industrialized nations to reducing their green house gas emissions between 2008 and 2012 to a level 5.2 percent bellow 1990 levels.
Due Diligence
- If a defendant can show he or she took all reasonable are to comply with regulations under the act or law, the defendant may be absolved from liability
Rome Statute of the International Court
- 1998
- Treaty that established the International Criminal Court
- 120 UN member states signed onto this
- Places individuals, rather than states, on trial to prosecute such crimes as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
- Situated in the Hague
