Common law justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Common law justice - Essay Example It should be clear that if a ruler violates justice by enacting a legal edict or document, that edict cannot be properly called a law and this is because law aims for the common good" (Likhovski, 1991). This is often complicated however because what is good for some is bad for others. Because of its mutable nature and its ability to be questioned, the English system of law is sometimes, as in the case of England, challenged quite often, resulting in a highly litigious society, but also a progressive one. The Welsh, for example, are no longer sold openly at slave markets, because law has evolved to forbid this. When this perspective is taken externally and applied to international law and antiquity examples, it becomes measured more in terms of cost and risk, as international law differs from region to region and can become very time-consuming and expensive to those involved. In this environment, arbitration is considered to be better than litigation in almost all cases. Applied to common sense are also the principles of knowing about the law, and the history of the law, through representative cases which have established precedent, based on the concept of stare decisis. These cases are then applied to the facts of the current case in England and Wales, where English law is practiced in majority. In England and Wales, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest court, but there are a lot of other courts as well in a hierarchical relationship, from local to national levels. The highest court in the hierarchy "is binding on every other court in the hierarchy, and they will follow its directions. For example, there is no statute making murder illegal. It is a common law crime" (English, 2000). Parliament is in charge of common law, and can adjust the laws to suit the times. For example, there is no more death penalty. #2 It is important to think about, using relevant case law, how the European Court of Justice has maintained a uniform interpretation of community law across European States. A lot of this has to do with the interstices between the relatively recent formation of the EU and the valuation of law in society. Randomness and chaos rule both systems. "The rotation of the presidency entails a lack of continuity in the agenda-setting procedure; the Summit agendas are overloaded with gritty details and each presidency pursues more or less specific topics ('shopping lists'). This is why the Council currently fails to fulfill its original strategic purpose. Thus, the EU definitely needs a reform of its institutions" (Bilefsky, 2005). Other issues are also dividing European law in the present can be seen in the case example of subsidies, or government help, offered to agricultural interests. Recently, before the government of Brown, "The issue of farm subsidies has also divided the European Union i nto nations favoring more open markets and those who want to maintain protection for their domestic industries. Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain called the summit meeting Thursday in the hope of