Category Archives: Government

Federalism is a legal and political concept suggesting that law is best made in a twofold relationship: centrally and locally.  Operative in many nations around the world under many different guises, federalism is centered on the principle that locality is key to effective governance.  It holds that by making laws at a local level, the … Continue reading

In commercial terms, the world revolves around insolvency. Insolvency is the process whereby one’s entire patrimony (i.e. the totality of one’s assets) is liquidated in order to satisfy his total debts that have grown beyond his means. Insolvency procedures are problematic in that they mean liquidation of personal assets such as one’s home and one’s … Continue reading

In America today, there are states that are actively pushing pet owners to be controlled by law. States such as California are enacting laws in which pet owners are forced to spay or neuter their pets. This is something that many are talking about as the answer to the pet over population problems. Is this … Continue reading

How far does violence extend, how do we determine exactly who is responsible for the violence that children are seeing on television and in music. What about video games, who is taking the responsibility for the violence and awful things that, are occurring right before the eyes of the youth today. Many politicians are looking … Continue reading

Many people do not really understand the difference between a conservative and a liberal. How do you really know which side of the spectrum you fall on? In this article, we are going to explain some of the differences, so that as political figures are discussing conservative and liberal ideals you know exactly what is … Continue reading

Contract law is one of the most important area of the law that affects us all in our daily lives. Although we seldom sign a written document, we go into shops daily, we travel on public transport, we park in parking lots – these are largely all contracts into which we bind ourselves to terms … Continue reading

The criminal law is designed with a view to protecting the individual rights of the citizen and the health and well being of society as a cohesive unit. In this regard, it is responsible for setting the parameters of social conduct, and for ensuring consistent application of principle and doctrine across the board. One of … Continue reading

Who knew that the 2008 election would have the Democrats swinging two mighty powerful punches in such a short time frame? As a woman poised to run for the ascending Democrats, Hillary stands a chance of actually winning. Is that the scary part, or is the scary part that she is running against the first … Continue reading

One of the most defining legal motions of the last hundred years on a worldwide scale is the European Convention on Human Rights, which imposed for the first time a codified standard of behaviour that all signatories must meet. Although the document is referred to in a specifically European context, it is truly important throughout … Continue reading

Earth Day occurs each year, and is the one day that everyone across the country tries his or her best to help save the planet. Although it’s only one day in the year, that one day can and does go some way towards changing attitudes and opinions to the environment and to the way in … Continue reading

In the past, political figures relied upon the news in the form of television stations and even newspapers to release information to the public, i.e. direct to the electorate. Now with the invention of the internet, more political figures are releasing their own information. How does this affect the release of information? Does this add … Continue reading

When the Senators, Congress people, and President all gather around to start discussing issues of the budget, many people get worried. One of the biggest worries is that taxes will rise, and there will still be a deficit. This worry is fueled each year, because as the inflation rate rises, the money must come from … Continue reading

The Internet is the most important social and economic change since the development of currency and the organisation of civilisation as we know it, and it has certainly has a profound effect on our everyday lives. The Internet is the home of many of our businesses, a vital channel for communication with loved ones, and … Continue reading

For those who do not know, parole is a program that is used to allow criminal offenders early release from the prison system. It is designed to reflect prolonged periods of ‘good behavior’ and reform and rehabilitation, although it has come under a great deal of criticism at many different levels for allowing criminals to … Continue reading

Many states are faced with a daunting number of inmates who are incarcerated currently for a variety of crimes. Each state is given the responsibility for ensuring the prisons meet federal guidelines in accordance to housing requirements. There are prisons around the country that are housing more inmates than they have the capacity to handle. … Continue reading

It was not so many years ago that there was a deeply seated notion that black people were incapable of the thoughts needed to handle a political office. Not so many years ago, black people were still considered slaves. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or KKK were all the rage in the south, … Continue reading

As we move towards the future, technology is developing rapidly to assist in solving our problems. These problems range from simple issues, such as improving the quality of paper products to the advanced such as improving the quality of life and condition of our planet. Global warming is one of the topics that many of … Continue reading

One of the main problems with doing business across international frontiers, particularly online business, is that of international litigation, given that it can be hard to exercise rights in a foreign jurisdiction. It is perhaps one of the biggest dangers with contracting internationally that in the event of dispute, both parties claim their law is … Continue reading

One of the most important relationships in commercial reality is that of the agent. Often employed in purchasing internationally, or indeed in negotiating the conclusion of a contract, the agent is seen in law as an extension of the principal for whom he acts, with the uncharacteristic authority to make decisions and enter contracts on … Continue reading

One of the most fundamental concepts in private law, regardless of the jurisdiction, is the concept of ownership. What belongs to who is fundamental in many aspects of the law, ranging from who bears the risk during the process of sale through to whether or not a theft has been committed. Furthermore, ownership can be … Continue reading

The law of tort governs the behaviour of the citizen towards his fellow citizen, or indeed the actions of a company to a citizen or fellow company, in the absence of criminal conduct or contractual remedies. Present in most legal systems in some form, the law of tort (or delict) covers civil ‘wrongs’, where one … Continue reading

When we think of law, and what law means to us as a society, we all have a good idea, or rather an innate sense, of what law is and the kind of things to expect. But trying to put an accurate definition on what law is is somewhat more of a difficult task. This … Continue reading

In legal terms, there is no mechanism quite as flexible and valuable as the trust. Usually an imperative asset in the tax-planner’s tool box, the trust mechanism is a legal fiction that is present in the majority of jurisdictions across the world. It is in effective a tripartite relationship between a truster, a trustee and … Continue reading

As several states are experiencing a fall in unemployment rates, the overall national average paints a bleaker picture, as it is starting to slowly rise, causing an array of social and economic problems for the ordinary citizen. There are more than 1.69 million Americans unemployed currently. This number is awful and means that more Americans … Continue reading

Who exactly is Barack Obama, and why does he deserve to be President? Obama is a Democratic senator from Illinois, who is sitting as only the fifth African American Senator in United States history. Couple that with the fact that he is currently the only African American serving in the Senate and you must concede … Continue reading