bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
2. How the UK constitution has developed
Authors: Dennett Anne
Published: August 2024

This chapter discusses the historical development of the UK constitution. The key to understanding the evolution of the British constitution is to imagine it being shaped by a dynamic ebb and flow of power between the key players—the monarch, Parliament, the Church, governments, judges—to determine the issue of where supreme power and authority would ultimately settle and reside. In the case of the UK, supreme authority settled in the monarch in Parliament, while political power resided with the executive. The chapter then argues that the constitution is fluid and changing, despite the received view that it has evolved slowly and peacefully without invasion or violent revolution. Despite fluctuations in power, and changes in Britain’s territorial composition and external alliances, there has always been a sense that the constitution is based on the collective memory of ancient laws and principles that fundamentally protect the people and cannot be changed.
6. Parliamentary sovereignty
Authors: Dennett Anne
Published: August 2024

This chapter focuses on parliamentary sovereignty. The term ‘parliamentary sovereignty’ is normally defined as the ‘legislative supremacy of Parliament’. Since the constitutional settlement brought about by the Bill of Rights 1689, the UK Parliament has had unchallenged authority to create primary law. Parliament’s legislative supremacy means, therefore, that there is no competing body with equal or greater law-making power and there are no legal limits on Parliament’s legislative competence. Parliament has broad legislative power but cannot make unchangeable statutes, and a current parliament can reverse laws made by a previous parliament. Nobody but Parliament can override Acts of Parliament. The Enrolled Bill rule requires that, if a Bill has passed through the House of Commons and House of Lords and received royal assent, the courts will not enquire into what happened before or during the legislative process.
7. Separation of powers
Authors: Dennett Anne
Published: August 2024

This chapter looks at the separation of powers. The separation of powers is a doctrine requiring that executive, legislative, and judicial powers within a state should be clearly divided and allocated to separate institutions; the aim is to prevent the concentration of power in any one branch and reduce the potential for arbitrary or oppressive exercise of power. Although the degree of separation between the three branches varies between states, codified constitutions will regulate those spheres of power by allocating specific roles and functions to each branch and will allow checks or controls to operate between them to ensure accountability. The separation of powers in the UK is weakest between the legislative and executive, and strongest and most distinct between the judiciary and the other two branches. Indeed, the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 has brought stronger separation between the judiciary and the executive, making the judiciary more autonomous.
10. The Legislature: membership, privileges, and standards
Authors: Dennett Anne
Published: August 2024

This chapter explores the role and membership of Parliament’s two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the operation of parliamentary privilege; and accountability of members. The key functions of Parliament include controlling national expenditure and taxation; sustaining the government; legislating and scrutinising government actions. The House of Commons is the pre-eminent chamber and dominates Parliament. The Commons’ membership consists of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are democratically elected by the public to represent their interests in Parliament. The membership of the House of Lords largely relies on patronage. Members of the Lords are appointed by the King on the Prime Minister’s advice. The House of Lords is an important revising and scrutinising chamber, and while it is subordinate to the democratically elected House of Commons, it is also a check on constitutional change by the Commons. The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 redefined the Lords’ legislative powers over public bills and established the Commons’ primacy. The chapter then considers the operation of Parliamentary privilege. Parliament needs parliamentary privilege to conduct its core business effectively, independently, and without fear of outside interference, and to protect everything said or done in the transaction of parliamentary business. Indeed, Parliament is self-regulating and, as a sovereign body, operates outside the jurisdiction of the courts except for the criminal law. Each House has its own standards of conduct and disciplinary powers which ensure accountability.
15. Introduction to judicial review
Authors: Dennett Anne
Published: August 2024

This chapter looks at the purpose and constitutional significance of judicial review. Where public bodies overreach themselves by acting unlawfully, the judicial review process allows individuals to hold public bodies to account in the courts, ensuring that governmental and public powers are lawfully exercised. This maintains the rule of law by helping to protect the public from the arbitrary or unreasonable exercise of government power. Judicial review is therefore a powerful check and control by the courts on executive action, but it also raises issues of whether the process gives the judiciary too much power over the elected government. There are three preliminary or threshold issues that a claimant needs to satisfy when bringing a judicial review claim. To be amenable to judicial review, the claim must raise a public law matter; it must be justiciable; and the claimant must have standing (locus standi).
16. Judicial review: grounds and remedies
Authors: Dennett Anne
Published: August 2024

This chapter assesses judicial review and the rule of law, the three traditional grounds of judicial review, proportionality, the modern approach to judicial review, and remedies. Judicial review is the rule of law in action. Through judicial review, the courts place constraints on executive power by upholding and projecting rule of law principles on to executive actions. Indeed, it ensures that administrative decisions are taken rationally, in accordance with a fair procedure, and within the powers conferred by Parliament. As such, the traditional judicial review grounds of illegality, irrationality, and procedural impropriety are applied flexibly to protect individuals against the unreasonable, arbitrary, procedurally unfair, or unlawful use of power. Judicial review has unique remedies known as prerogative orders which comprise mandatory orders, prohibiting orders, and quashing orders.
19. Police powers
Authors: Dennett Anne
Published: August 2024

This concluding chapter studies police powers. It is the function of the police to keep the public secure by preventing and detecting crime, and maintaining public order. This involves the exercise of public power and powerfully engages the relationship between the citizen and the state. There are clear links between police powers and the rule of law: it is imperative that police powers are not used in a random, arbitrary way; are clear, foreseeable, and accessible; are not unlimited; and are in accordance with the law. Police powers are mostly statute-based, the most significant of which is the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) which was enacted to achieve a balance between protecting citizens’ rights and effective police powers. Under section 66, the Home Secretary issues detailed Codes of Practice regulating the exercise of police powers and providing clear guidelines for the police and safeguards for the public. Police powers to maintain public order under the Public Order Act 1986 and other statutes may conflict with the right to freedom of peaceful assembly under Article 11 ECHR.
Tort Law Concentrate
Authors: Brennan Carol
Published: August 2024

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. Having begun with a consideration of the meaning of tort and the context of the ‘tort system’, Tort Law Concentrate covers the key elements of negligence: duty of care, breach of duty, and causation. Economic loss and psychiatric injury are specifically discussed. The book also explains the intentional torts: trespass to the person and to land as well as the tort in Wilkinson v Downton are covered, as is product liability. The family of nuisance torts, with their importance for environmental control are included, as is the key issue of remedies. This new edition includes coverage of recent case law, such as Barclays Bank plc v Various Claimants (2020) and Lachaux v Independent Print (2019). This edition has been fully updated in light of developments in the law, including the continuing impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
7. Causation in fact
Authors: Brennan Carol
Published: August 2024

This chapter discusses the law on causation in fact. This is a matter of historical fact and can be addressed initially by the ‘but-for’ test. However, the but-for test is inadequate to establish causation in a number of different situations: unknown causes, cumulative causes, and consecutive causes and those in which the test produces an illogical or unjust outcome. It is an area in which recent policy-driven decisions have revived the approach of ‘material increase in risk’, as in the asbestos case of Fairchild v Glenhaven. Allocation of liability has been addressed in the Compensation Act 2006, s 3.
12. Nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher
Authors: Brennan Carol
Published: August 2024

This chapter discusses the law of nuisance. ‘Nuisance’ relates to three very different actions: private nuisance, public nuisance, and statutory nuisance. All three are land-related torts, occurring indirectly, and often concern neighbour disputes and environmental wrongs. Unlike negligence, in nuisance the law is concerned less with the nature of the defendant’s conduct than with its effect upon the claimant. Private nuisance must have an element of continuation and damages will not be recoverable for physical injury. The case of Rylands v Fletcher (1868) established a new tort which provided for strict liability of defendants in certain nuisance-related situations.
16. Defences and limitation
Authors: Brennan Carol
Published: August 2024

This chapter first discusses the defence of contributory negligence, voluntary assumption of risk, and illegality. Contributory negligence occurs when the claimant has contributed to his own damage, and permits damages to be apportioned according to what is just and equitable. Voluntary assumption of risk is a complete defence, on the basis that the claimant freely agreed to run the risk of damage. Illegality is a complete defence, on the grounds that the law will not reward or appear to condone an illegal act. The chapter then turns to limitation periods, which restrict the amount of time within which legal actions must be commenced. The main statute is the Limitation Act 1980.
1. Introduction to Land Law
Authors: Bevan Chris
Published: August 2024

This chapter provides an introduction to land law and the subject’s foundational principles. Land law is the law of real property. It is ‘that part of the general law which governs the allocation of rights and responsibilities in relation to “real” or “immoveable” property’. Land law is about rights in things; in other words, rights in the land rather than rights which are merely personal to the people who created them. More specifically, land law creates a framework in which a variety of relationships between people and land can operate. Land law is concerned with the nature, creation, and protection of rights in land and, also the content of those rights. This chapter explores these issues as well as what we understand by, and what is included within, the definition of ‘land’ and the law of treasure.
3. Unregistered Land
Authors: Bevan Chris
Published: August 2024

This chapter focuses on unregistered land. Unregistered land continues to play a residual (if diminishing) role in contemporary land law. Although its influence is dwindling, there will remain a core clutch of land for which, for the foreseeable future, there will be no trigger for compulsory land registration and it will therefore remain unregistered. An appreciation of the principles of unregistered land gives students better insight into and a more informed angle on the principles of registered land and their effectiveness. Almost 100 years after the 1925 raft of legislation, much of which was designed to facilitate land registration, unregistered land principles therefore retain a significance. The chapter considers how dealings with unregistered land known as ‘title deeds conveyancing’ operate.
7. Licences
Authors: Bevan Chris
Published: August 2024

This chapter discusses the nature, status, and characteristics of licences. It explores the different types of licences that exist; what makes them distinct from other interests in land law, and how they can be brought to an end. Licences in land arise when the owner of land grants to another person, who may or may not own any land themselves, permission to use that land for a given purpose. A licence is therefore a permission to enter or do something on another’s land. The person granting the licence is the ‘licensor’ while the party to whom the licence is granted the ‘licensee’.
9. Leases
Authors: Bevan Chris
Published: August 2024

This chapter examines the lease and why it matters. Leases embrace a multiplicity of contexts from the residential to the commercial to the agricultural. This chapter considers the essential nature and ingredients of a lease; focusing on the central distinguishing of leases: exclusive possession. The chapter explores the importance and place of the lease in modern land law. It covers the different types of leases that exist: fixed-term leases, periodic tenancies, tenancies at will, tenancies at sufferance, tenancies by estoppel, and the Bruton tenancy. The chapter also looks at how legal and equitable leases are created. Finally, it documents the various ways in which leases can be brought to an end.
10. Leasehold Covenants
Authors: Bevan Chris
Published: August 2024

This chapter considers covenants that exist in relation to leasehold land—also known as ‘leasehold covenants’. As the name suggests, these are promises made between landlords and their tenants, and form the crucial foundation of this leasehold relationship. The chapter explores the nature and importance of leasehold covenants; how such covenants are enforced between the original parties and enforceability where there are successors to the original parties. In view of changes to the law introduced by the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995, this chapter considers both the pre-1996 and post-1996 regimes for determining enforceability of leasehold covenants. Finally, this chapter discusses the important issue of remedies for landlords and tenants facing a breach of covenant.
11. Easements and Profits
Authors: Bevan Chris
Published: August 2024

This chapter considers two rights in land that fall short of an entitlement to possession, easements, and profits. These lesser, non-possessory rights are a vital way in which even more of the value in land can be unlocked. An easement is a right of one landowner to enjoy limited use of another’s, neighbouring land. Common examples include rights of way, rights to light, rights to signage, and rights to storage. A profit involves a right to take something from another’s land, e.g. fish or wood. It involves more than a mere limited right over another’s land but rather entails a right to appropriate some part of the natural product of that land.
13. Mortgages
Authors: Bevan Chris
Published: August 2024

This chapter examines mortgages—a form of proprietary security for the advancement of a loan. A bank or lender advances a loan and in return they are granted a mortgage: an interest in the borrower’s land. This chapter explores the nature and creation of mortgages; the rights and powers enjoyed by mortgagors and the rights of mortgagees. Beyond this, the chapter discusses the effect of undue influence on mortgages and the priority of mortgages.
3. The rule of law
Authors: Faragher Colin
Published: August 2024

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the meaning of the rule of law, government according to law, the key features of a legal system based on the rule of law, whether the UK legal system complies with Dicey’s conception of the rule of law, whether wide arbitrary and discretionary powers are ever justified, privileges and immunities, and whether the courts ought to be able to extend the criminal law.
4. The separation of powers
Authors: Faragher Colin
Published: August 2024

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the meaning of separation of powers, what judges say about the separation of powers in the UK; what statutes say about the separation of powers in the UK, whether the UK Government is based on the separation of powers, the relationship between the executive and the legislature, the relationship between the executive and the legislature in the process of departure from the European Union, the whip system and backbench revolts, the relationship between the executive and the judiciary, the independence of the judiciary, the appointment and dismissal of judges, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, and the relationship between the courts and Parliament.
9. European Union law and institutions
Authors: Faragher Colin
Published: August 2024

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the Treaty framework and sources of EU law as well as the institutions of the EU. It covers the legal background to the UK’s departure from the EU, the legal process through which the UK left the EU, the key provisions of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (2020), and the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020. This chapter also discusses the effect of the UK’s departure from the EU on the status of the sources of EU law and the effect of leaving the EU on the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms as well as failure to transpose a Directive into national law and the effect of leaving the EU on the Francovich principle.
12. Grounds for judicial review
Authors: Faragher Colin
Published: August 2024

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the grounds for judicial review. These include irrationality—meaning unreasonableness—which is now linked to the principle of proportionality. In addition, the relevant case law and key principles concerning distinction between procedural and merits-based judicial review are fully explained. The impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on judicial review is assessed generally. The emergence and development of the ‘outcomes is all’ approach to judicial review, where breach of Convention rights is alleged, is explored by examining a number of significant House of Lords cases.
14. Introduction to human rights in UK law
Authors: Faragher Colin
Published: August 2024

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) and the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998. The ECHR guarantees civil and political rights: these are the right to life; the prohibition of torture, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment; the prohibition of slavery and forced labour; the right to liberty; the right to a fair and unbiased hearing; the prohibition of retrospective legislation; the right to respect for private and family life; freedom of conscience and religion; freedom of expression; freedom of association; and the right to marry and found a family. The ECHR has been expanded by a series of supplementary treaties called protocols. The First and Sixth Protocols give individuals additional rights which were incorporated into British law by the HRA 1998. This chapter also examines the significance of the Independent Review of the Human Rights Act which is due to be carried out in 2021.
15. Police powers, public order, and terrorism
Authors: Faragher Colin
Published: August 2024

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the law on police powers. These include the role of the police; the organization of the police in England and Wales; police areas; the powers and functions of Police and Crime Commissioners; the Mayor’s Office for Policing and crime in London; the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and its Codes of Practice, which contain rules concerning police powers of stop, search, entry, seizure of property, arrest, detention, and treatment of suspects; the meanings of reasonable suspicion and public place; and information which must be given on arrest.
2. Actus Reus : The Conduct Element
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2024

The actus reus is a central aspect of criminal law that defines the harm done to the victim and the wrong performed by the defendant. In many cases this involves proof that the defendant caused a particular result. A defendant will be held to have caused a result if but for their actions the result would not have occurred and there has been no intervening act of a third party. This chapter begins by distinguishing the component elements of a crime. It then discusses the voluntary act ‘requirement’; causation; classification of offences; the need for a voluntary act; omissions; and seeking a coherent approach to causation.
6. Non-Fatal Non-Sexual Offences Against the Person
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2024

This chapter discusses a wide range of offences against the person: from an unwanted touching on an arm to a life-threatening attack. Key to the law is the right to bodily integrity: a person should not be touched against their wishes. This right is protected under the common law and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Topics covered include assault and battery; assault occasioning actual bodily harm; malicious wounding; wounding with intent; poisoning; racially and religiously aggravated crimes; the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; threats offences; strangulation and coercive control; transmitting disease; consent and assault; the true nature and extent of violent crime; the nature of an assault; objections to and reform of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861; and emotional and relational harm.
7. Sexual Offences
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2024

This chapter considers the offences of rape and sexual assault. It begins with a discussion of the law on sexual offences, covering the perpetrators and victims of rape; assault by penetration; causing sexual activity without consent; sexual offences designed to protect children; offences against those with a mental disorder; prostitution and trafficking; and incest. The second part of the chapter focuses on the theory of sexual offences and sexual crimes; statistics on rape; the nature of rape; consent and sexual activity; the mens rea for rape; and the actus reus of rape.
8. Theft, Handling, and Robbery
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2024

This chapter begins with a discussion of the law on theft, robbery, assault with intent to rob, handling stolen goods, and money laundering offences. Theft is committed where the defendant has dishonestly appropriated property belonging to another with the intention to deprive the other of it permanently. The offence of robbery involves the defendant using force at the time of, or immediately before, a theft. The offence is also committed where the defendant causes the victim to fear that force will be used but does not actually use force. The second part of the chapter focuses on the theory of theft, covering property offences; the debate over Gomez; the Hinks debate; temporary appropriation; dishonesty; robberies; and handling stolen goods.
13. The Criminal Liability of Corporations
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2024

This chapter begins with a discussion of the law on corporate criminality, covering the difficulty in convicting companies of crimes; corporate killing; and vicarious liability. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 created a new offence of corporate manslaughter. This can be committed if the way in which a company’s activities are managed or organized amounts to a gross negligence and causes someone’s death. In a limited number of crimes, a company can be guilty in respect of the acts of one of its employees under the doctrine of vicarious liability. The second part of the chapter focuses on theoretical issues in corporate liability, covering the reality of corporate crime; the clamour for corporate liability; whether a company should be guilty of a crime; and what form corporate crime should take.
15. Complicity
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2024

This chapter begins with a discussion of the law of complicity, covering principals and accomplices; five ways one can be an accomplice; mens rea for accomplices; secondary participation and inchoate offences; conviction of the secondary party and acquittal of the principal; whether a secondary party can be guilty of a greater offence than the principal; withdrawal by a secondary party; accessories and victims; and assistance after the offence. The second part of the chapter focuses on accessories and the theory of complicity, covering general theories of accessorial liability; theories of accessorial mens rea; the theory of joint enterprise; actus reus issues; withdrawal; and law reform.
1. Tort: law and system
Authors: Brennan Carol
Published: August 2024

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. In civil law, tort provides remedy for a party who has suffered the breach of a protected interest. Tort law protects a wide range of interests. Currently, negligence is the greatest source of litigation with respect to tort. Torts of trespass to the person protect physical safety, while trespass to property governs the ownership of property. The tort of defamation provides remedies for threats to one’s reputation. Another tort-related area deals with the protection of privacy from media intrusion. This chapter discusses the range of activity to which tort law applies and the types of harm for which it provides compensation. It also considers the main interests protected by the law of tort, how the law of tort differs from other branches of the law, and the role of policy and the human rights dimension in the law of tort.
6. Defences to negligence
Authors: Brennan Carol
Published: August 2024

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. The claimant has the burden of establishing liability for the tort while the defendant has the burden of establishing the defence. If the claimant establishes a successful cause of action in tort, the defendant must plead one (or more) of the defences available to them. If the defendant establishes a successful defence, either their liability for the damage may be reduced or they may be totally absolved from liability. This chapter examines general defences applicable to all torts but which have particular relevance to claims in negligence, focusing on contributory negligence, volenti non fit injuria, and ex turpi causa non oritur actio.
7. Negligence: occupiers’ liability
Authors: Brennan Carol
Published: August 2024

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. While tort law is largely based on case law developed by judges through the common law, the liability of occupiers for the injuries suffered by those on their premises is governed by two statutes: the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 and the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984. The chapter explains the scope of an occupier’s liability and how it relates to other aspects of negligence, considers the duty of care owed by occupiers to lawful visitors under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, discusses the duty of care owed by occupiers to trespassers under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 and how it relates to the previous common law duty of care.
8. Employers’ liability and non-delegable duties
Authors: Brennan Carol
Published: August 2024

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. Employment contracts implicitly require an employer to take all reasonable care to ensure the health and safety of their employees. An employee who suffers an injury due to the tort of another employee may make the employer vicariously liable. In addition, the employer has a personal non-delegable duty of care to ensure that their employees are safe in the workplace. This chapter looks at the various sources of employers’ liability for workplace accidents and discusses the distinction between vicarious liability and personal liability. It also examines the non-delegable nature of the employer’s duty and considers developments in employer’s liability for occupational stress.
9. Vicarious liability
Authors: Brennan Carol
Published: August 2024

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. In general, liability is based on the personal fault of the wrongdoer himself. A person is liable only for their own acts, and a defendant will usually be free of any liability unless they have negligently or intentionally caused the harm or damage to the claimant. However, a person who has no fault or personal blame may also be held liable for the damage caused by the tort of another. This is known as vicarious liability, which is most common in the workplace and imposes liability without the need to prove that the defendant is at fault.
Family Law
Authors: Morgan Polly
Published: August 2024

This chapter starts by tracing the changing laws of divorce over the centuries including up to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. The chapter then considers the current law on divorce, civil partnership dissolution, and judicial separation, and asks: Why was reform needed? What role does divorce play in our society? What does divorce say about marriage as an institution? Should it be easy to get divorced, or difficult? The chapter uses realistic scenarios to answer these questions.
1. Introduction
Authors: Morgan Polly
Published: August 2024

Family law is often associated in people’s minds with unhappy times such as relationship breakdown, disputes about children, and financial problems. However, from a legal perspective, family law is a fascinating area of law as no two cases are ever the same. There are so many issues that need to be considered: Who does family law protect—and who is not protected? What human rights affect family law? How far should rules extend into people’s intimate relationships? How do people resolve their disputes, and how is this paid for? What is the current state of access to family law justice in England and Wales? This chapter asks all of these questions and presents the focus of the chapters to come.
2. Marriage and Civil Partnership
Authors: Morgan Polly
Published: August 2024

This chapter starts by tracing the regulation of marriage through history. It considers the legal steps necessary for a valid marriage, what happens if one gets it wrong, recognition of foreign marriages, and the law of nullity, using realistic scenarios. It looks at the evolving popularity of marriage to the present day. The chapter then addresses the social and legal significance of marriage. Why does the state encourage people to marry? What does marriage mean—to society generally and to the couple themselves? The Chapter considers civil partnership and the extent to which it differs from marriage, legally and in terms of public perception. Finally, the chapter asks: Is there a future for marriage?
5. Cohabitants and Remedies Not Dependent on Marriage
Authors: Morgan Polly
Published: August 2024

Marriage is not the only way that couples can live together. The term for living together without marriage or civil partnership is cohabiting. The number of people cohabiting rather than living in marriage or civil partnership is increasing. The acceptance of cohabitation across all age groups has risen also. Irrespective of the nature and duration of the cohabitation, there exists in the law a vast difference between the position of cohabitants and those of married couples when a relationship breaks down. This chapter looks at what the differences are and what remedies are available to cohabiting partners who suffer a relationship breakdown, including trusts of land, before considering whether the law should be reformed to give cohabitants ‘divorce style’ claims—and what those might look like.
6. Financial Support for Children
Authors: Morgan Polly
Published: August 2024

This chapter considers three areas of financial support for children: child maintenance as a percentage of gross weekly income of the non-resident parent under the Child Support scheme; the residual court jurisdiction including under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004; and claims under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989.
7. Domestic Abuse
Authors: Morgan Polly
Published: August 2024

This chapter starts by tracing the changing laws of divorce over the centuries including up to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. The chapter then considers the current law on divorce, civil partnership dissolution, and judicial separation, and asks: Why was reform needed? What role does divorce play in our society? What does divorce say about marriage as an institution? Should it be easy to get divorced, or difficult? The chapter uses realistic scenarios to answer these questions.
8. Parenthood and Parental Responsibility
Authors: Morgan Polly
Published: August 2024

This chapter starts by tracing the changing laws of divorce over the centuries including up to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. The chapter then considers the current law on divorce, civil partnership dissolution, and judicial separation, and asks: Why was reform needed? What role does divorce play in our society? What does divorce say about marriage as an institution? Should it be easy to get divorced, or difficult? The chapter uses realistic scenarios to answer these questions.
10. Private Law Decisions about Children
Authors: Morgan Polly
Published: August 2024

This chapter starts by tracing the changing laws of divorce over the centuries including up to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. The chapter then considers the current law on divorce, civil partnership dissolution, and judicial separation, and asks: Why was reform needed? What role does divorce play in our society? What does divorce say about marriage as an institution? Should it be easy to get divorced, or difficult? The chapter uses realistic scenarios to answer these questions.
Power grid project cost prediction based on improved CNN under low carbon background
Authors: Zhuang Shaojing , Chen Weiting , Zhou Xinyi
Published: August 2024

With the increasing awareness of environmental protection and the restriction of traditional energy, green energy has become the main trend in the development of power engineering. To solve the problems of the traditional power engineering cost prediction model, such as complexity, imprecision, and dependence on manual experience, this paper proposes an improved convolutional neural network (CNN)-based power transmission and transformation project cost prediction model. Firstly, the cost prediction model of power transmission and transformation project based on CNN is constructed. Then, the historical data is entered into the network model to extract data features. Finally, in order to solve the inconsistency between the expected output and the actual output, the stochastic gradient descent with momentum (SGDM) optimizer is used to optimize the weight parameters of CNN and complete the model training. This model combines the advantages of the SGDM optimizer and CNN, and it has higher prediction accuracy and stability than Levenberg-Marquardt (LM)-CNN and gradient descent (GD)-CNN models. The experimental results show that the proposed model is superior to the traditional methods in terms of prediction accuracy and efficiency, and it provides an effective reference for the reasonable budget and resource allocation of power engineering.
Sex Workers and the Mpox Response in Africa
Authors: Adebisi Yusuff Adebayo , Ezema Somtochukwu Marycynthia , Bolarinwa Obasanjo , Bassey Archibong Edem , Ogunkola Isaac Olushola
Published: August 2024

The ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa, now classified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization, presents a severe challenge, particularly for vulnerable populations like sex workers. Despite the endemic presence of mpox in Africa since the 1970s, recent developments, including the emergence of a new clade Ib strain with increased transmissibility, have exacerbated the situation. Sex workers are at heightened risk due to their occupational exposure, compounded by stigma, criminalization, and limited access to healthcare. These factors significantly impede efforts to control the spread of the virus, leading to underreporting and inadequate intervention. This article highlights the urgent need for an inclusive public health response that prioritizes the health and safety of sex workers. Such a response should involve tailored health services, legal protections, and community engagement to ensure that this marginalized group is not overlooked. The decriminalization of sex work is also proposed as a critical public health measure to improve access to care and reduce stigma, ultimately curbing the spread of mpox in Africa.
Morphometric relationships and reproductive traits of the deep-sea armored shrimp Glyphocrangon spinicauda A. Milne-Edwards, 1881 (Decapoda: Caridea: Glyphocrangonidae) from the southeastern Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Ramírez-Menéndez Alan J , Barradas-Ortiz Cecilia , Negrete-Soto Fernando , Lozano-Álvarez Enrique , Briones-Fourzán Patricia
Published: August 2024

Biological information on Glyphocrangon spinicauda A. Milne-Edwards, 1881, a western Atlantic deep-sea armored shrimp, is scant. This species occurs in the Gulf of Mexico, but at low abundance, in the southern (Mexican) part. We obtained a sample of 203 G. spinicauda at depths of 244–455 m during a research cruise exploring the biota of the upper continental slope of the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, off the Yucatán Peninsula. We examined morphometric and allometric relationships of the shrimp as well as some reproductive traits based on the number and size of embryos. Sex ratio (1.4 females:1 male) differed significantly from unity. Females had significantly larger total length (TL) and total weight, but not carapace length (CL), than males, suggesting that females have proportionally larger abdomens. All morphometric relationships were significant for both sexes and most were linear. Relationships against CL were mostly isometric, but TL and rostral length exhibited negative allometry, i.e., a proportionally smaller increase with increasing CL. Brood size (BS) and embryo mass volume were linearly related with female size, but embryo development stage significantly affected BS, embryo size, embryo mass volume, and reproductive output. We found a significant, negative relationship between residuals of the number and size of embryos, suggesting a trade-off in embryo production. Although G. spinicauda is of no commercial value, it co-occurs with other species of potential interest. Our results can thus be useful to design management and conservation plans should fisheries for deep-sea resources eventually develop in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
Advancing toward a unified eosinophil signature from transcriptional profiling
Authors: Chhiba Krishan D , Kuang Fei Li
Published: August 2024

Eosinophils are granulocytes that can accumulate in increased numbers in tissues and/or peripheral blood in disease. Phenotyping of eosinophils in health and disease has the potential to improve the precision of diagnosis and choice of therapies for eosinophilic-associated diseases. Transcriptional profiling of eosinophils has been plagued by cell fragility and difficulty isolating high-quality RNA. With several technological advances, single-cell RNA sequencing has become possible with eosinophils, at least from mice, while bulk RNA sequencing and microarrays have been performed in both murine and human samples. Anticipating more eosinophil transcriptional profiles in the coming years, we provide a summary of prior studies conducted on mouse and human eosinophils in blood and tissue, with a discussion of the advantages and potential pitfalls of various approaches. Common technical standards in studying eosinophil biology would help advance the field and make cross-study comparisons possible. Knowledge gaps and opportunities include identifying a minimal set of genes that define the eosinophil lineage, comparative studies between active disease and remission vs. homeostasis or development, especially in humans, and a comprehensive comparison between murine and human eosinophils at the transcriptional level. Characterizing such transcriptional patterns will be important to understanding the complex and diverse roles of eosinophils in both health and disease.
The Human Right to Science
Authors: Romano Cesare P R , Boggio Andrea
Published: August 2024

The Human Right to Science is about the “human right to benefit from progress in science and its applications,” also known more succinctly as the “right to science.” Although the right to science is one of the oldest internationally recognized human rights, it has suffered too long from neglect. International organizations and States pay little attention to it. There are only a few inadequate indicators to measure progress toward its realization. There is also little or no international or national jurisprudence, as the right as such is not litigated. However, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, both international organizations and scholars developed a new interest in the right to science. This book provides an in-depth historical account of the emergence and development of the right to science (Part II) and maps the right to science in international and domestic (constitutional level only) legal instruments (Part III). In Part IV, the right to science is broken down into twenty-two distinct but interrelated rights, grouped in four clusters: (1) the right to scientific progress and to scientific freedom; (2) the right to responsible scientific progress; (3) the right to participate in scientific progress; and (4) the right to benefit from scientific progress. For each cluster of rights, and for each of the rights contained in each cluster, the book discusses their normative basis and content, limitations, and possible indicators States and international organizations use, or might use, to track progress toward their implementation.
From the American Declaration to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Authors: Romano Cesare PR , Boggio Andrea
Published: August 2024

This chapter maps the origins of the right to science. It starts by putting the birth of the right to science in its wider historical context, during the Second World War. It then traces the origins of the right to the first preliminary draft of the American Declaration of the Right and Duties of Man, adopted on December 31, 1945, by the Inter-American Juridical Committee, and later, to the text of the American Declaration adopted by the Organization of American States in April 1948. Then, it follows the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from the beginning (1946) to its adoption in December 1948, focusing on the negotiations of the provisions regarding the right to science. It discusses in detail three debates that took place during negotiations: on the limits and teleology of science; on the right to benefit from progress in science; and on the right to benefit from the protection of intellectual property.
The Right to Science in National Constitutions
Authors: Romano Cesare PR , Boggio Andrea
Published: August 2024

This chapter maps the right to science in national constitutions. It focuses on five categories of constitutional provisions, corresponding to the four clusters of rights described in Part IV. Overall, provisions that protect scientific freedom and guarantee access to the benefits of scientific and technological progress appear in a considerable number of national constitutions, adding weight to the conclusion that the right might have attained customary international law status. However, it is difficult to tell whether those provisions are more than mere lofty proclamations. First, constitutional jurisprudence on the right to science or its various components remains scarce. Second, constitutional cases involving “right to science” issues are usually litigated and classified as violations of cognate rights, such as freedom of expression, academic freedom, right to life, right to health, intellectual property, or environmental rights, further complicating the hunt for the “right to science.”
A Matter of Trust
Authors: Stokes Liz
Published: August 2024

Nurses have a critical role in the advocacy and treatment for people with substance use disorder (SUD). SUD affects millions of individuals. The prevalence suggests that nurses across all practice settings will encounter people with SUD. Nurses must be ethically aware of dilemmas and complexities when caring for this population. SUD can often be stigmatized as a moral failing, rather than a clinical disease, and this is especially true in the case of pregnant people experiencing SUD. This chapter will discuss the moral perspectives regarding SUD and address the legal and ethical considerations that nurses must be prepared for when caring for pregnant people with SUD. This chapter asserts that in response to the ethical and legal considerations raised herein, nurses and other healthcare professionals should advocate for policy for people with SUD that is evidence-based, socially just, and addresses the true health needs of this underrepresented population.