Legal Issues

Owning a dangerous dog is seen as a status symbol by some, and in spite of the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991, recent years have seen a rise in the number of dog attacks across the UK. Children are most often the victims of aggressive and violent dogs. Many feel that even though the Dangerous Dogs Act was amended in 1997, it still lacks the teeth to make any real difference. Will the recent plan for making it mandatory to micro-chip all newborn puppies be enough to curb the rising trend of violent dog attacks?

The subject of House of Lords reforms has been continually discussed for more than 100 years. Many of us have come to believe that the possibility of any real reform is a myth. For some, the House of Lords itself is like an archaic myth – do they really refer to one another as ‘noble lord’ and ‘noble baroness’? And what work do they really do? Now the current coalition Government has decided that it wants to have another crack at reform.

The Law Commission¹ recommended at the beginning of this month that more than 800 old laws be removed from the statute books. The recommendations cover laws on poor relief, lotteries, turnpikes and Indian railways. The oldest legislation dates back to 1322 (Statutes of the Exchequer), and the most recent is part of a Taxation Act from 2010. This is the largest of the Law Commission’s reports (there have been 18 others to date) on removing outdated laws. It is likely that their recommended Statutory Law (Repeal) Bill will be accepted by Parliament this summer as (another!) law on the statute books. 

One of our Associate Members, Clint Diesto from the Philippines, has written an article on the importance of Paralegals in small claims cases. The fundamental question is, when should Paralegals appear in order to assist a litigant?

Imagine yourself at a collection suit hearing in a tribunal or court where you have to appear before a Judge. Although you have been informed that this is an informal hearing and you have to raise a point of inquiry before the Judge, you cannot express it confidently because you are afraid you will be misquoted by the court.

We live in the age of images and illusions, where two-dimensional airbrushed images of perfect men and women flash before our eyes constantly, whether it is on TV screens, on billboards or in magazines. As image and external appearance are perceived to be more and more important in our society, it is not surprising that cosmetic surgery is more popular today than ever before.

There are a plethora of surgical operations that qualify as cosmetic surgery; some popular procedures include breast enhancements, bottom implants, chin correction surgery, and rhinoplasty or a nose job.

The imposition of the minimum 40p charge on a unit of alcohol in England has garnered mixed reactions. Some say this along with the rest of the proposed ‘Responsibility Deal’ is a sham and will do nothing to actually curb the so-called drinking epidemic or to improve public health. The more optimistic ones feel that it is a start and it is regulations like these that can help sort out the problem. But what exactly is the problem?

When it comes to the subject of illegal drugs in this country, it would appear that we all have a strong opinion to air on the matter. We are all filled with fear over the prospect of a child or other family member becoming embroiled in a drug-dependent lifestyle and therefore fully recognise why there are criminal sanctions in place to control things. However, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) fervently believe that prosecuting people who are found in possession of drugs is not the right way forward in this country, and they even recently furnished the Government with such a recommendation for decriminalisation.

If you ask any politician for their opinion on the effectiveness of the European Court of Human Rights, you are likely to see eyebrows rise and hear air being sucked over the teeth – the fact is that this international court is definitely not popular in the UK at the moment! Most main political parties are agreed that the European Court of Human Rights is actually proving to be detrimental to the security of the British public, and it seems apparent that our commitment to such international law needs to be considered very seriously in the future.