English Law Research Articles

Jeremy Bentham on adult-child sex and infanticide

ABSTRACT Jeremy Bentham is becoming increasingly well-known for his defence of consensual male same-sex relationships on the grounds of an ‘all-comprehensive' sexual liberty. The question arises whether his defence of pæderasty, or ‘the love of boys', and hence of adult-child sexual relationships, on the same principle makes his defence of male same-sex relationships problematic. This paper investigates the extent to which, under Bentham's principle, adults would not be legally punished for having consensual sexual relationships with children, or rather with adolescents. It concludes that Bentham’s position in relation to sexual relationships between adult males and under-age females followed the provisions of the English law of his time, while his position in relation to sexual relationships between adult males and under-age males is little different from the provisions of the law of our own time. Bentham was, moreover, concerned about the reputational damage suffered by unmarried mothers, and hence recommended the decriminalizing of infanticide. In the post-Malthusian age, Bentham, like many of his contemporaries, had become concerned about the potential suffering caused by over-population. His aims in this respect would be met by the forms of contraception and abortion available today.

Gateway to Dignity: Legal Name Changes for Transgender People in the United States

ABSTRACT Since the 1960s, trans people in the United States have been petitioning courts for name changes and sex marker corrections. If, under English common law everyone has the right to change their name at will without legal procedure by simply adopting a new name, why do trans people bother to change their names through formal legal procedures? This article investigates that question through interviews with trans people around the United States who had legally changed their name as well as lawyers and advocates who assisted trans people in this process, many of whom were trans-identified. Participants reported that without a legal name change, trans people face regular challenges to their dignity. Therefore, I argue that legal name changes are a gateway to dignity by assisting trans people with establishing self-worth and facilitating respectful interactions. While participants stressed that everyone should be entitled to have their chosen name respected, when that dignity is not extended, law can be a powerful tool. Court orders reflecting a name change communicate with the force of law what is the correct name for a person.

Liberty, the Maria Luz Incident and the Liminal Legal Status of Chinese Indentured Labourers and Japanese Licensed Prostitutes

Abstract While covering the same ground as recent scholarship on the emancipatory potential of the Maria Luz incident, this article takes a radical departure, arguing that the background to the incident was British desire to disrupt the Macao trade in Chinese labour to Peru; that the legal focus of the ad hoc tribunals was not on any nascent human right to free the Chinese men and minors from being trafficked to Peru but on who owned and controlled their labour; and that the release of Japanese licensed prostitutes from their contracts was an unintended consequence of the legal fiction that the Japanese legal system was comparable with the principles of British common law.

The Law, Dementia, and Sexuality-Is the Law Striking the Right Balance?

English and Welsh laws require "contemporaneous" consent to sexual relations, often precluding "non-capacituos" people living with advanced dementia from these human interactions. The views of people living with dementia, carers, professionals, and over-55s were explored on implications of current laws on sexuality in dementia. Thirty-five participants from England were recruited through purposive selective sampling. Audio-taped semistructured interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed with each stakeholder group coded separately. Common themes across stakeholders were (i) law reform needed due to their hammer-like effect ignoring the individual; (ii) dissonant theme of needing the law for protection; (iii) negative impact of denied intimacy on individuals and partners; (iv) support for Advance Decisions on Intimacy with caveats; (v) less support for involvement of Court of Protection and Powers of Attorney; (vi) call for review of capacity concept with support for an assent model. People living with dementia described shame and stigma associated with policing of their sexuality and perception of being singled out for protection and intrusion into their lives. For informal carers (mostly wives), the theme of "what about me" emerged, demonstrating that for the long-term partnered, this is a couple's issue. Practical implications of this study include need to address ageism and ableism; human rights education for society and professionals; starting point of presumed capacity for sexual relations with consensus on how and when this should be rebutted; and care homes' certification requirements should incorporate assessment of the relationship health of their residents.

General characteristics of investment law in India

The aim of the work is a comprehensive analysis of investment law in India. The methodological basis of the study are official websites of specialized institutions, laws, analytical reports, articles by other scientists, etc. According to the results of the conducted research, it was found that two main legislative acts regulate investment activities in India. The first piece of legislation is the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, the main objective of which is to promote foreign trade and foreign exchange and to develop and maintain the foreign exchange market in India. According to Section 5 and 6 of the Law, operations with a current currency account are allowed only on the condition that they do not have any restrictions (criminal, state, etc.). Capital account transactions mean transactions during which changes in assets or liabilities occur (referring to liabilities of resident and non-resident persons in relation to assets). The second act – Consolidated Policy on Attracting FDI in India by the Department of Trade and Industry Promotion 2020 – includes clarification of all investment norms. The policy update is in line with the policy of need to attract FDI to India, as per the plans of the Department. In conclusion, it was found that the legal system of India is based on common law, which is based on English law. According to the Constitution of India, a quasi-federal structure has been approved, which provides for the division of legislative power between the central government and the individual states. Foreign direct investment in India is governed by two main pieces of legislation. The first is the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999, its main objective is to facilitate foreign trade and foreign exchange and to develop and maintain the Indian foreign exchange market. The second – Consolidated policy on attracting FDI to India. Attracting foreign direct investment in India is possible in two ways: automatic investment of FDI and obtaining permission for FDI.

Beyond Exclusion in Medieval Ireland: Intersections of Ethnicity, Sex and Society under English Law, by Stephen Hewer

<i>Beyond Exclusion in Medieval Ireland: Intersections of Ethnicity, Sex and Society under English Law</i>, by Stephen Hewer

A Comparative Analysis of Arbitrability in French and English Law: Implications and Implementation Strategies for the Legal System of Rwanda

Arbitrability is a cornerstone concept in the field of arbitration. Yet, its nuanced characteristics introduce a plethora of complexities and challenges. The concept has been subject to a series of scholarly debates leading to the emergence of six distinct definitions. Each of these interpretations underscores a specific facet of arbitrability, illustrating its intricate and multifaceted essence. The diversity in perspectives accentuates the need for a comprehensive and detailed exploration. To uphold the rigour, flexibility and standards of international arbitration, it is crucial to ensure that the interpretation and application of arbitrability remain robust and adaptable.The enactment of Rwanda’s Arbitration Act in 2008 represented a notable advance in the establishment of a comprehensive and resilient arbitration structure inside the nation. Nevertheless, the evident absence of clarity about the notion of arbitrability presents significant difficulties, particularly when contemplating the aspirations of the Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC) to establish Rwanda as a prominent international centre for commercial arbitration on a worldwide scale. The presence of ambiguity in the interpretation and application of arbitration agreements is likely to to result in diverse interpretations and discrepancies in Rwanda. The potential for unforeseen legal complications arising from this unpredictability may deviate from the fundamental objective of arbitration, which is to provide parties with a prompt, effective, and mutually satisfactory method for resolving disputes.There may be salvation, however, to be found in the rich legal fabrics of both the English and French legal systems. The English system, renowned for its rigorous legal principles and vast jurisprudential precedent, offers an abundance of clarity on arbitrable matters. It is important to show that these well-established guidelines could serve as key examples for Rwanda to build upon. In contrast, the French system, characterized by its broad, pro-arbitration approach, provides insights into marrying flexibility with legal clarity. The amalgamation of the strengths of both legal systems could offer Rwanda a roadmap to refine its own arbitration framework. Exploring and embracing elements from these advanced legal frameworks offers Rwanda a pathway to refine and clarify the vague areas within its 2008 Arbitration Act. Such steps promise to bolster the effectiveness and foreseeability of KIAC’s activities. Crucially, by actively seeking to align its arbitration mechanisms with globally accepted standards, Rwanda will be poised to elevate international confidence in its arbitration landscape, marking its commitment to arbitration excellence on a global stage.

Реформирование гражданского процесса в Израиле: между общим правом и собственными подходами

The article examines the reasons why Anglo-American law has had an impact on Israeli legislation. Although Israel’s legislature abandoned English law as a source of law in 1980, the influence of Anglo-American procedural law continues to be noticeable, particularly in the new Rules of Civil Procedure of 2018. Additionally, there are certain changes that are unique to the Israeli legal system, such as legal pluralism that is evident in the operation of parallel jurisdictions. The article also discusses the abandonment of certain procedures in Israel’s legal system.

TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH INDIAN ISLAMIC MARRIAGE CONTRACTS INTO ARABIC

The translation of Islamic marriage contracts from English into Arabic is an actual issue for an ordinary translator and even for a legal translator. Almost all translators in such a field of translation face the difficulty of grasping the straight and accurate equivalence in Arabic for specific linguistic terms. This problematic issue lies in the differences between the English legal system and the Arabic legal system. Another essential problem that legal translators usually face is the translating of items that are related directly to Islamic shariah and Islamic culture. The present research evaluates and inquiries about three translations for a sample of an English International Islamic marriage contract that is officially utilized by Muslims of India and translated by three MA Students who have master's degrees in translation. It is noteworthy to note that the assessment of these sample translations is defended on Peter Newmark's (1981) approach of Semantic and Communicative translation which is widely used in translating texts of languages from two different families such as English and Arabic. In closing, following the communicative procedure is the most equivalent option according to the context on one hand. On the other hand, the Semantic procedure is only acceptable when there is already a direct rendition for the items of ST into TT, So, Communicative is usually used in case of absence of equivalence. Or semantic procedure leads to translation non-identical from that of the source languages

Critical Decades: Textiles and Material Culture in Jane Eyre and Three Recent Adaptations

This paper discusses the social commentary of textile production as revealed in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847) and three recent adaptations. First, I focus on Rosamond Oliver’s deceptively offhand allusion to the Luddite riots of 1812 to argue that Brontë sets her novel in the 1810s during the upheavals impacting the textile industries of the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the North West regions. This setting coupled with textual allusions to early nineteenth-century fashions are used to connect the female characters’ dress in Jane Eyre to local and global labour issues, colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. I then turn to the visual representation of textiles in the intermedial adaptations of Jane Eyre by Robert Young (1997), Susanna White (2006) and Cary Fukunaga (2011), which by visually highlighting the material culture of the 1830s and 1840s, move Brontë’s narrative from the late Georgian to the early Victorian era. These adaptations overwrite the novel’s allusions to early nineteenth-century debates on industrialisation, colonialism and human enslavement in order to privilege its mid-nineteenth-century feminist critique of British marriage laws.

Exploring the interface between corpus and statistical modelling: a multi-methodological analysis of lexical variation in Islamic legal discourse

This research sets out to investigate how ‘culture-specific’ or ‘signature’ concepts are rendered in English-language discourse on Islamic, or ‘shariʿa law. Islamic jurisprudence is born from the fusion of Islamic scriptures and Arabic culture; therefore, it provides ample room for accommodating a distinctive legal diction that is both culture-bound and system-bound. Accordingly, the expression of shariʿa law in English would fall under the paradigm of intersystemic translation, which occurs upon the mediation between two legal systems and poses the challenge of incongruity of legal terminology. This study is based on the self-built Islamic Law Corpus (ILC), a 9-million-word monolingual English corpus, covering diverse genres on Islamic finance and family law. Using the power of corpus-processing and statistical regression software (Sketch Engine &amp; MATLAB), this research presents a multi-methodological, multifactorial, and interdisciplinary approach to investigate lexical variation in expressing cultural phenomena within Islamic legal discourse. The analysis confirms that the contextual factors (‘genre’, ‘function’, and ‘subject field’) do influence the choice of an Arabic loanword versus English alternatives.

Guy's and St Thomas'-v-Knight [2021] EWHC 25: Dignity in English law.

Guy's and St Thomas'-v-Knight [2021] EWHC 25: Dignity in English law.

Some Problems of Imposition of Punishment on Minors: A Comparative Analysis of Laws of Russia and England

Some Problems of Imposition of Punishment on Minors: A Comparative Analysis of Laws of Russia and England

Features of the part-speech composition of terms of international air law in English and Russian languages

The work reveals a problem of the part-of-speech composition in terms of the English and Russian languages in international air law. The study presents an analysis of the parts of speech included in the term structure in international air law according to the criterion of certain terminological field. The purpose of the study is to determine the most characteristic part-of-speech composition for the terms of several groups, identified on the basis of a common field in terminological systems Russian and English. This principle of analysis helps to compare terminological groups in different language systems. The objectives of the study were to identify the frequency of a certain part-ofspeech structure for the terms of the Russian and English languages. The work presents an empirical study, which prove that the proposed version of the analysis makes it possible to compare each lexical and semantic group in the English language with the Russian language in terms of the frequency of a certain part-of-speech structure; to identify the main dynamics in certain part-ofspeech structures in the English and Russian terminological systems of international air law. Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were made: comparative analysis of the partof-speech structure based on the criterion of a single semantic core within the branch of international air law is the most objective criterion that allows the comparison of terms from two different language systems within the framework of cross-linguistic research; part-of-speech structures of terms are directly related to the structural features of the Russian and English languages.

Damages Caused by the Non-Entitlement of the Seller's Income in the Laws of Iran and England

This research examines the concept of seller's warranty in transferring ownership of goods during a sale contract. In Iranian law (Article 362 of the Civil Code), a seller guarantees ownership of the sold item and the right price. However, ambiguity exists regarding compensation for the buyer if the seller lacks ownership. A landmark court decision (consensus decision of 811) allowed the buyer to claim the difference in price due to inflation (in cases of seller ignorance) based on similar goods. This decision considered principles outside the Civil Code and the 2000 General and Revolutionary Law of Civil Affairs. In English law (Sale of Goods Act 1979, Section 12(1)), the seller has a primary obligation to transfer ownership to the buyer. The aim of this research (descriptive-analytical method) is to compare remedies for a seller's wrongful transfer under Iranian law, particularly considering decision 811.The research seeks to establish a clear basis for seller liability in compensating the buyer. This would create a unified and consistent legal system for compensating damages suffered by wronged parties. Ultimately, the research aims to identify the most effective method of compensation that restores the buyer's position to pre-damage conditions. Based on the research findings, determining damages based on the price at the time of sale is found to be a suitable solution for compensating the buyer.

Shakespeare and the theatre of early modern law

ABSTRACT Taking as my cue the Introduction to the First Folio edition of his plays, I examine Shakespeare's particular interest in English law and juridical procedure. It is likely that his considerable, detailed knowledge of law derived at least in part from his association with the Middle Temple, whose members included neighbours and friends from Stratford-upon-Avon. I proceed to consider the profound influence of The Commentaries or Reports of Edmund Plowden (Plowden himself was a member of the Middle Temple) over the content of his plays, notably Plowden’s report of Hales v Petit to Shakespeare’s depiction of the death by suicide of Ophelia in Hamlet. I develop the thematic link with the Middle Temple by interrogating the thesis, proposed by various scholars, that an early version of Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida was given a performance there during the revels of 1597–98. The theatrical transplantation of the city of Troy to London, described by writers and lawyers alike as Troynovant, the utopian city of commerce and the mythical birthplace of English law, leads me to analyze the predominant tropes of the marketplace which populate Troilus and Cressida. I conclude with the observation that in his epilogue to the play, Pandarus addresses in appropriately base terms the very people (lawyers) whose skills were supposed to redress the injustices engendered by commerce and the marketplace, but who failed to acknowledge the relevance of ethics and community to the attainment of societal cohesion.

Nine years on from the Serious Crime Act 2015: Reflections on hopes, fears, progress and challenges around coercive control within a legislative framework, and on the importance of a feminist analysis of domestic abuse… in conversation with Polly Neate

Polly Neate is the CEO of Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, and was previously the CEO of Women’s Aid from 2013 to 2017. Under her leadership Women’s Aid campaigned for, and helped bring legislation criminalising coercive and controlling behaviours in intimate and family relationships into law in England and Wales with The Serious Crime Act 2015. She has sat on several panels advising on domestic abuse in the UK, and is a regular commentator on women’s rights and social justice issues.

Inequality in Africa: Does injustice matter?

AbstractThe following study aims to investigate the impact of injustice on income inequality in Africa between 2000 and 2020. Both male and female injustice levels are evaluated using gender‐specific scores to indicate the injustice suffered by both genders. The study utilized the Gini and Palma ratios as proxies for income distribution inequality. After addressing error term‐related problems with the Newey‐West Standard Corrected Error approach, the findings indicate that injustice is a significant contributor to inequality in Africa, especially for females, with little evidence of male injustice. The results are consistent for both middle and low‐income countries that adopted the French civil law and English common law systems to govern their institutions. Additionally, the study found that educational development and basic welfare maintenance contribute to reducing inequality in Africa, which is exacerbated by many barriers to political inclusion. To address the gender bias in income distribution, policymakers in Africa should design policies that provide equal access to justice for both male and female populations. The study also suggests adopting policies that enhance human capital accumulation and political inclusion in‐state activities to create a safe, just, and equal environment.

Drinker driver flyer diver.

Blood alcohol concentrations above defined levels are detrimental to cognitive performance. Empirical and published evidence suggest that nitrogen narcosis is analogous to alcohol intoxication with both impairing prefrontal cortex function. Nitrogen narcosis is also known to have been a factor in fatal accidents. To examine the effects of nitrogen narcosis, a recent publication used the Iowa Gambling Task tool, to simulate dynamic real-life risky decision-making behaviour. If the reported outcomes are corroborated in larger rigorously designed studies it is likely to provide further evidence that divers may well experience the negative effects of a 'narcotic agent', even at relatively shallow depths. These deleterious effects may occur regardless of diving experience, aptitude or professional status. In 1872, English law made it an offence to be 'drunk' whilst in charge of horses, carriages, cattle and steam engines. Understanding the danger was easy, establishing who is 'drunk' in the eyes of the court required a legal definition. Driving above a 'legal limit' for alcohol was made illegal in the United Kingdom in 1967. The limit was set at 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. It took just short of one hundred years to get from first introducing a restriction to specific activities, whilst under the influence of alcohol, to having a clear and well-defined enforceable law. The question surely is whether our modern society will tolerate another century before legally defining safe parameters for nitrogen narcosis?

LEGAL NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL JURISDICTION AGREEMENTS

The problem of the legal nature of international jurisdiction agreements is directly related to the issue of their regulation in the national legislation, since, depending on the material or procedural quali cations of this institution, particular regulatory requirements for such agreements are to be established. This article analyzes various approaches to the de nition of the legal nature and, consequently, the regulation of international jurisdiction agreements on the example of English, German and Russian legislation. The material quali cation chosen in English law means a more exible regulation of the agreements: the possibility to conclude an oral jurisdiction agreement as well as the possibility for one party to use remedies (antisuit injunctions, damages) in case of violation of the jurisdiction agreement by the other party. The procedural quali cation of jurisdiction agreements in German law presupposes the establishment of stricter formal requirements (requirements for the subjects of agreements, form (written or oral with written con rmation), time of the conclusion of the jurisdiction agreement). In Russian law, this issue has not been nally resolved and is debatable, so that the legislative 181regulation of agreements on jurisdiction is generally fragmentary and is replaced by the construction and interpretation of norms in judicial practice.