Why is it very important that this world see Jesus as Lord Essay - 1

Why is it very important that this world see Jesus as Lord - Essay Example Here, prophet Isaiah intended to warn the people of Judah against the wrath of God and makes to them a promise that eventually God will comfort his people and will make them strong again. In that context, prophet Isaiah makes many prophesies about Jesus and the coming of the Lord and Savior. It specifically needs to be mentioned here that the word ‘Immanuel’ used by prophet Isaiah to refer to Jesus means â€Å"God is with us† and hence prophet clearly prophesied that not only will Jesus come to Erath, but that Jesus is truly the Lord. Prophet Isaiah goes on to refer to the coming of Jesus as the Lord and savior of the people. Here again prophet Isaiah goes on to prophesy that Jesus is the Lord and Savior. Prophesies about Jesus being Lord is continued on in the New Testament. The Gospels many a time mention Jesus as Lord and declare Jesus to be Lord. These are the word from the Gospel of John, written by John, one of the disciples of Jesus. In this Gospel John writes about the period A.D. 26-30, when Jesus taught and performed miracles. The Gospel of John clearly shows to the people that Jesus is Lord. Believing the scriptural evidence that confirms Jesus as Lord, it is the duty of people to totally surrender to Jesus, as one surrenders before one’s Lord. Going by the fact that Jesus is Lord, it is the duty of the believers to live for Him. For instance, when around 627 B.C., when people of Judah mocked and hated prophet Jeremiah, he prophesied the mercy of God, and the restoration of the people of God, through the coming of Messiah by saying that: â€Å"The days are coming, declares the Lord when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD our Righteousness.† Yet history has stood witness to the fact that time and again people

Merger and Acquisition in China Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Merger and Acquisition in China - Coursework Example Therefore it will be very important to understand how this trend impacts the Chinese economy, as the country is effectively competing with other countries for FDI and this should affect the over all position of China in the international trade arena. The open door policy initiated by Deng Xiaoping in China in1992 with the intention to push forward China's economic progress brought in considerable wealth in the form of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) (Galbraith, 2000). This policy enabled institutional change (North 1990), which in turn created opportunities for investment into the Chinese economy. What was different about this policy was that it was a gradual change and not a sudden change as experienced in other developing countries, which led to bankruptcies and high costs (Campbell and Lindberg 1991). This policy also placed emphasis on foreign capital policy, the foreign exchange system, and it also offered promising conditions for foreign investors (Galbraith, 2000). This policy has since reaped dividends given that the main mode for FDI into the Chinese economy has been through foreign funded and joint venture companies. This has also reflected in figures which show that between 1990 and 1996, China managed to attract app roximately $230 billion of foreign capital, with 20% of that amount coming from developing nations (Galbraith, 2000). However, the open door policy did more than just attract FDI to China; it also introduced the market for corporate control, which is where firms are sold and bought, or are taken over (Groenewegen 2004). This market for corporate control previously did not exist, due to the high number of enterprises owned by the state, which also meant that no FDI was coming into the economy. By opening up the economy, most of these government enterprises have now been left open for mergers and acquisitions, due to market forces operating in the economy. For instance, this open door policy led to initiatives from the Chinese government to reduce non-profitable enterprises (Groenewegen 2004), and between 1995 and 2002 the number of state owned enterprises decreased by 46% and profit increased by 163.6% (SASAC 2004). First of all these figures demonstrate that during that time period there was a record number of mergers and acquisitions, and that these were probably due to the need to establish profitable organizations for the Chinese government. These figures also show that mergers and acquisitions have the ability to generate revenue through profits, which demonstrate that the new organizations are more efficient than they were in their previous state. This clearly suggests that the Chinese government experienced a lot of the advantages of mergers and acquisitions from the introduction of the market for corporate control; however one also has to consider the effect of this open door policy on small private companies. The move from a centrally planned economy to a market economy has also encouraged FDI as the government has had to make changes to tax systems, in order to make them more favourable to investors. Foreign investors are considered to introduce new technology, new methods, structures, process and management styles to the economy which result in increased productivity

Planck mission explores the history of our universe Research Paper

Planck mission explores the history of our universe - Research Paper Example With the help of NASA, Planck was able to construct a composite image from observations of the Milky Way Galaxy made at wavelengths of light longer than what we see with the naked eye. According to Charles Lawrence, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planck is equipped enough to see not only the old light from the origin of our universe, but also gas and dust in today’s galaxy. Planck stated that it would make the data (that will be detailing all the observations made in the entire mission) available to the public on 5th February (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California para. 4). With this data, that has informed research in matters including dark matter, theories on the cosmos will be put to a test and the knowledge we have on the universe revolutionized. There are several points of interest in Planck’s mission. For any study on the origin of the universe, there are some issues that need to be addressed. Dark energy is said to have had a lot of power over the formation of the universe. Today, it is still believed to be affecting the survival of the planet probably due to acting against gravity. Researching on how the dark energy can affect the planet or the universe is imperative to understanding what effects it had during the creation of the universe. The milk way, also, is another important part of the study. Our planet is found in the milk way, and it is, therefore, crucial that proper knowledge of the region is acquired. Among some of the most striking findings is the length of time the universe was supposed to have remained in darkness. Planck’s data show that the universe may have remained in darkness during its infantry period for a hundred years or so (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California para. 5). This research, however, is inconclusive and subject to review. During this period, dark energy is a major factor of consideration. According to Planck, dark energy does exist, and it is working against gravity at an increased

Cold Mountain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cold Mountain - Essay Example It is worth noting that this two individuals only knew each other for a brief moment but Inman deserted the war troops in a bid to see Ada again. In summation the whole book is filled with flashbacks which give a detailed account of the history of this two separated souls. However, in the subsequent sections of this narrative we are going to discuss three important quotes and there relevance in the novel. First and foremost, â€Å"what have you achieved today? Was always nothing†. On the same point, the author uses this particular phrase to signify that Inman had nothing else going on apart from the fact that he wanted to be reunited with Ada. This is evident from the fact that he embarks on a fatal journey in his bid to reunite with Ada despite his war injuries that have not yet healed properly. Secondly, â€Å"But I had no idea on how to prepare a meal†. Apparently, the author uses this phrase to signify that Ada was helpless before her encounter with Ruby, a young woman who taught her survival techniques before the reunion with her husband Inman while she was hunting wild turkey. Lastly, â€Å"Then red her letter† â€Å"she could speak French and Latin†. It is worth noting that Ada was the ministers daughter thus she was well educated. In actual fact, the author uses this particular statement to support this argument since individuals who spoke both French and Latin at the time were mostly the literate individuals in the society. To this end, the cold mountain is an interesting fictional story thus can be read for leisure

An Analysis of an Aspect of the Role of the Early Year Practitioner Essay

An Analysis of an Aspect of the Role of the Early Year Practitioner - Essay Example Because of the apparent differences between the outdoors and indoors environment, the roles of practitioners in promoting children independence vary in these two distinct learning situations. This paper explores the various roles of the practitioner when young children are learning both in outdoors and indoors in fostering the child’s independence. Wells (2000) argues that developing a confident and independent child involves creating an enabling environment that promotes mental health. Promoting independence in children is a multidisciplinary and social cultural undertaking, intended to achieve the favourable conditions that enhance the wellbeing of the child. This undertaken through various activities that enhance emotional resilience, through activities formulated to encourage self-confidence, and life skills, such interpersonal skills and resilience (Barnes, 2000). In learning institution, promotion of mental health or independence in children is achieved through various a ctivities in both the outdoors and indoors setting. Nicol (2002, p93) defines outdoors environment as â€Å"a place that provides opportunities for a person to interact with the dynamic systems of nature and its elements†. ... Besides interacting with the environmental aspects, outdoors learning provides the children with limitless opportunities of engaging in social interactions with their peers and other members of the community (Kellert, 2005, p96-106). Outdoor environment provides three major types of learning, including environmental, personal and social education (Nicol, 2002, p52). This form of learning is accompanied by physical activities that play critical role in normal development of children and tackling health challenges such as obesity. Therefore exposing children to interact freely with the natural environment provides them with opportunities of engaging productively with nature (AIR, 2005). Higgins (1996) argues that failure to familiarize children to the environment adequately could induce fear of the natural world in them. Outdoors learning involves a wide variety of activities. Therefore, the role of practitioners is mainly restricted to facilitating the activities, using different mult isensory and experiential techniques (Education Scotland, 2008, p83). These approaches promote children’s involvement in various physical, spiritual emotional, aesthetic and cognitive experiences as components of learning. Organising outdoor learning activities requires utmost consideration of the various relationships necessary for optimising the learning experience and ensuring the needs of the children are met. Thus, the practitioner should consider relationship between participants involved, the activities and the place where the outdoor activities take place (Education Scotland, 2008). According to Barnes (2000, p39), children need space and freedom and these necessities underscore the importance of outdoor learning. Space provides

Group Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Group Analysis - Essay Example The work environment also teems with groups, either of friends or groups put together to facilitate the achievement of a specific organizational goal. The next stage in life is to form families of their own which are also groups with the cycle beginning all over again. Almost all activities carried out by people are done in groups, making them a core element of study with relation to understanding human behaviour. According to Forsyth, groups have long been the subject of interest to both researchers and scholars (2006). Extensive studies have been carried out with regard to how groups are conceived and how they are later dissolved; this includes how they are transformed and how they are used to either realize set aims, or how they can be used to execute offenses (Forsyth 2006). This paper discusses group dynamics and communication within a group of first year undergraduate nursing students’, participating in a peer-led team learning group. I participated in a peer-led team le arning group in my first year as a nursing student; therefore, this assignment is an overview of my observations of the group. The use of peer learning is a practice that has been adopted in many universities worldwide, as a means to improve students understanding of concepts through supportive discussions that take place in small groups, and where the discourse encourages as many questions as there might be, from students (Peer-Led Team Learning 2013). It is a fact that most students feel free around their fellow students, rather than around their lecturers and professors. This makes them more inclined to discuss concepts and questions with other students, than with a lecturer or professor. Peer-led team learning holds the strengths of being a method that enhances student engagement and motivation in learning, as well as overall performance (Centre for the Study of Higher Education 2002). This is due to the fact that in the process, students learn to communicate effectively as they work in teams, while peer leaders gain self-confidence, learn a number of group management skills, and how to teach. In this context, students were requested to band themselves into groups of four. Two peer leaders (i.e. group leader and assistant group leader) for each group were then selected from third and fourth year students, who had displayed exemplary performance in class. As a way of equipping them with the necessary skills, the peer leaders were taken through brief training mainly focussed on how to handle groups. When this was set, each group was given a structured problem to solve. According to the guidelines, each group was required to meet twice every week, and members were given the privilege to choose the best time for their discussions. Description of Peer Leaders and Group Members Characteristics and Behaviours 1. Tom (Group leader) He is a fourth year nursing student. He is firm, confident, and resourceful. His resilience and optimism helps him conquer complex pro blems. He also has a very open minded approach to things. He is however quite poor in time management since he often comes late for the discussions, and is usually late to meet deadlines. His lack of respect for time and set deadlines is at times considered as lack of respect towards the assistant group leader and group members. 2. Olivia (Assistant group leader) She is a third year nursing stud

Legal Sources of the UK Constitution and Human Rights Law

Legal Sources of the UK Constitution and Human Rights Law 1. The UK constitution is described as an unwritten one. Explain with reference to the legal sources of the UK constitution and appropriate examples, why it is called unwritten, and consider whether the distinction between a written and unwritten constitution is legally significant. The word constitution has many different meanings, however only two of them are applicable to constitutional law. Firstly, constitution could mean a written document which contains the rules and principles according to which a country is run. Secondly, the word constitution could refer to: the body of rules and arrangements concerning the government of the country.[1] The second definition does not impose any requirement of writing. It should be stressed that although some states do not have a written constitution every country in the world, including the UK, has a constitution in the second sense of the word. Over the centuries the attitude towards the British/English constitution ranged from admiration to sever criticism. Thomas Paine went even further, he ruled out a possibility that an English constitution could exist.[2] The British constitution has been sometimes described as ‘political.’ Griffith believes the word ’political’ can be used to refer to a wide range of qualities, e.g. the UK constitution assumes equality of all citizens and many important rules are not legal rules. He also stressed that operation of the constitution is closely linked to Parliament and Parliamentary elections, this leads to a conclusion that the British constitution must be analysed in the political context.[3] The UK constitution draws on a wide range of sources: statutes, common law, the royal prerogative, international treaties and agreements, conventions and academic texts written by legal experts. As an expression of Parliament’s will statutes are the most important source of law, some of them have a particular constitutional significance, e.g. the Magna Carta 1215, the Act of Settlement 1701, the Representation of the People Act 1983 and the Human Rights Act 1998. Another written source of law is case-law. Although judges should merely interpret the law, and not get involved into a law making process, many crucial legal principles have been established in the course of legal proceedings, for example in British Railways Board v Pickin[4] Lord Reid said that the courts have no power to overrule Acts of Parliament on any grounds. International treaties and agreements, such as for instance the Treaty of Rome 1957, have also become a source of English law; similarly, texts written b y legal experts may acquire exceptional legal significance, e.g. Diceys An Introduction to the Study of Law of the Constitution. The unwritten sources of the UK constitution are the royal prerogative and conventions. The royal prerogative stems from the powers which used to be exercised exclusively by the monarch and which are now exercised by the ministers on the Queens behalf. The examples of the royal prerogative are the power to declare war, the control over the appointment of ministers and the right to dissolve Parliament. The legal nature of conventions is somewhat different, they are non-legal norms which should be obeyed by those to whom they apply; although conventions cannot be enforced by the courts they are usually respected. As the above discussion illustrates, a large part of the constitution is written. However, due to lack of a separate document which could be called a constitution this fact is often disregarded and the UK constitution is said to be unwritten. The unwritten character of the UK constitution, or rather the existence of unwritten rules, has serious legal implications. The first point to note is that Parliament can pass and revoke the law as it sees fit. Until recently the British constitution did not guarantee any rights; although an Act, called the Bill of Rights, was enacted as early as 1688 it dealt exclusively with issues related to Parliament and Crown. This meant that, in theory, Parliament could pass any legislation it considered appropriate even if it infringed rights of UK citizens. Prior to the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 the only limitation on the Parliamentary sovereignty in cases involving of human rights violation would have been the rule of law. However, effectiveness of the rule would have been limited if the courts, wanting to avoid interference with Parliamentary decisions, refused to enforce it. This should be juxtaposed with countries which have written constitutions and where rights of ordinary citizens are protected by specially drafted provisions. In addition to being uncodified the UK constitution is flexible and unitary (provided devolution is not taken into account) but it is not entrenched. The result is that while written constitutions are rigid the UK constitution is flexible, an advantage of flexibility is that any necessary changes can be introduced quickly and relatively easily. On the other however, lack of entrenchment leaves a lot of power in the hands of a small group of people. Moreover, unwritten constitutions always involve a degree of vagueness, the situation is made worse by the fact that norms which are not written cannot be enforced by the courts. These problems do not arise if the constitution is written, yet it does not follow that all the relevant law can be found in the constitution. Munro argued: â€Å"It ( ) also suggested, wrongly that in countries such as the United States, all the rules and arrangements concerning government had been reduced to writing in a single document. In practice, this is never the case.†[5] Both written and unwritten constitutions rely on the legal precedent, they are formed and modified by judicial interpretations of the law and political practices. The UK constitution is said to be unwritten however as has been shown above it is not, strictly speaking, true. The constitution relies on a wide range of sources and most of them can be found in writing. It has already been mentioned that the constitution can be described as political, yet following developments such incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights, membership of the European Union and changes which took place post-1997, more and more constitutional rules are being codified. Thus, according to Munro the UK constitution is becoming ’legal.’[6] It is, therefore, submitted that the gap between the unwritten British constitution and the written constitutions in other countries is gradually becoming narrower. The new EU constitution may close this gap entirely. BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS Munro, Colin R, Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths, second edition, 1999. ARTICLES Griffith, John, The political constitution, (1979) 42 MLR 1. CASES British Railways Board v Pickin [1974] AC 765, [1974] 1 All ER 609. STATUTES, TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS 1215Magna Carta 1688Bill of Rights 1701Act of Settlement 1950 European Convention on Human Rights 1957Treaty of Rome 1983Representation of the People Act 1998Human Rights Act 2. Explain the doctrine of ministerial responsibility to Parliament. Consider whether it should be constitutionally necessary for Ministers to defend their decisions in judicial review claims before a court, as well as answering to Parliament for those decisions. Ministerial responsibility can be either collective or individual, since it is a convention it is unwritten and unenforceable in the courts of law. The operation of the doctrine can be described as follows: â€Å"Ministers are responsible for the general conduct of government, including the exercise of many powers legally vested in the Monarch; and ultimately, through Parliament and parties, to the electorate†[7] The convention of ministerial responsibility has a historical origin, it is a product of tradition and a multitude of historical events. In the nineteenth century ministerial departments used to be very small and the ministers’ workload was limited, in this circumstances it was not unreasonable to expect ministers to be responsible for all their civil servants; this explains how the doctrine of individual ministerial responsibility was born. Collective ministerial responsibility can be traced back to the ministers’ relationship with the Monarch, in the past the sovereign played a role of the Prime Minister and ministers were expected to answer to him. A minister who fails in the performance of his duties has four options: he can explain the situation to Parliament, apologise to Parliament, choose to take action or, in extreme cases, resign. The convention of individual ministerial responsibility has often been found problematic, it is not always clear when, and for what reasons, ministers should resign. It is debatable whether they should resign due to problems in their departments or only if they fail to accomplish tasks for which they are personally responsible. In the past ministers could not be excused from responsibility for their own civil servants, however following the Crichel Down affair (1954) the convention no longer seems to be so severe. It can even be argued that as ministers begun to refuse to resign there has been a shift towards the other extreme. In 1983 James Prior did not hand in his resignation over the Maze Prison escapes. In his view the fallings of the prison system resulted from an inadequate policy.[8] Th e Scott report also had an effect of limiting ministerial responsibility, it concluded that ministers should continue to answer to Parliament but they should no longer be personally responsible for the mistakes of their subordinates. The Nolan Report on the other hand deepened the extent of ministerial responsibility, it stated that ministers should avoid conflicts of interests and bear in mind the impact which their private lives may have on their ministerial positions.[9] The past few years have seen an increasing drive towards accountability, transparency and codification. Thus, in 1992 a decision was taken to publish the previously confidential Questions of procedure for ministers. The Questions, which are now known as Ministerial Code: A Code of Conduct and Guidance on Procedures for Ministers, provided guidance for ministers and played a role of a partly codified convention. In 1995 the Code was amended and the new version instructed ministers not to intentionally misinform Parliament. Appointment of Select Committees also had an impact on ministerial responsibility, the Committees can conduct their own enquiries, question ministers and interview witnesses. At the same time, however, complaints have been made regarding the availability of witnesses and access to documents. The doctrine of collective ministerial responsibility is based on three main principles: the confidence principle, the unanimity principle and the confidentiality principle. The fist principle presumes support of the House of Commons as long as the Government does not receive a vote of no confidence. The second principle imposes an obligation on ministers to vote unanimously while the confidentiality principle demands that any discussions which take place in Cabinet remain confidential. A good example of a breach of the convention of collective responsibility is Clare Short’s disapproval for the war in Iraq. Judicial review can be described as a process of challenging decisions of public bodies, public bodies include the executive but not Parliament. Judicial review proceeding are conducted by the Divisional Court of the Queens Bench. It should not be confused with an appeal procedure, judicial review involves an assessment of the legality of a decision. There are three grounds on which the court can declare a decision ‘unlawful:’ illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety. Illegality arises when the law has been misunderstood or misinterpreted and therefore applied incorrectly, irrationality applies to cases where the judgement appears unreasonable or unfairness, while procedural impropriety refers to cases involving bias. Following the judgement in R. v. Secretary of State for the Environment, ex parte Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council[10] even discretionary ministerial powers can now be challenged in the process of judicial review. Nevertheless, review of ministerial powers will not be possible in cases involving political decisions, national security or government policy. In R v Director of GCHQ ex parte Hodges[11] one of the judges said: I apprehend for myself that the majority of their lordships were of the view that once it had been established by evidence that a decision had been made on behalf of Government in the interests of national security the whole ambit of that decision was one which the courts can neither enquire nor intervene. It is undisputable that the GCHQ case is a groundbreaking decision, instead of concentrating on the source of the power the courts have been encouraged to focus on its nature. Many forms of scrutiny of the ministerial power are already in place, ministers answer to Parliament, they are subject to judicial review and in cases of serious misconduct they may be investigated by the Select Committees. As regards the breach of conventions the sanctions are political rather than legal, this means that conventions may be ignored and courts are unable to compel the executive to obey them. Yet, ministers may be subjected to political pressure, Clare Short resigned two months after her Iraq war announcement while Sir Thomas Dugdale resigned over the Crichel Down affair. In the later case the process of Parliamentary scrutiny was as a result of pressure exerted by backbenches. In these circumstances, it does not seem necessary for the ministers to answer to Parliament as well as be subjected to judicial review. BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS Munro, Colin R, Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths, second edition, 1999. ARTICLES Oonagh Gay, Thomas Powell, Individual ministerial responsibility issues and examples, Research Paper 04/31, (2004). Oonagh Gay, Thomas Powell, Collective responsibility of Ministers an outline of the issues, Research Paper 04/82, (2004). CASES R. v. Secretary of State for the Environment, ex parte Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council [1991] 1 AC 521. R v Director of GCHQ ex parte Hodges (1988) QBD. 3. Explain whether devolution has had any impact on the sovereignty of the Westminster Parliament. Devolution is delegation of centrally held power to regional governments. In the 1980s New Labour advocated devolution in order to win votes in Scotland and Wales, however the actual process of transferring power did not gain momentum until the 1990s. Devolution featured in the New Labours election manifesto and it was only when New Labour won the general election that changes begun to take place. Yet, the reasons behind devolution were not only political but also economic. In the 1980s England was going through a period of high unemployment and although the economic situation in England was critical it was even worse in Scotland and Wales. There was also a feeling of discontent caused by an unequal distribution of EU funds and unfair economic policies which favoured England. Dissatisfaction with British rule was even more visible in Ireland where it frequently led to violence. The 1916 rebellion in Dublin, known as the Easter Rising, was followed by the two year civil war. Eventuall y, the persistence of Sinn Fein forced the British Government to negotiate and Ireland was divided into two parts. Britain retained a much smaller northern part which is now known as the Republic of Northern Ireland.[12] Both academics and politicians distinguish three different types of devolution: administrative, legal and financial.[13] As the name implies, administrative devolution involves delegation of power to manage parts of the administrative system. The central government retains control over related matters of greater importance, for instance even if a regional body is put in charge of healthcare and/or education, as it is the case in Scotland, privatisation decisions must be taken by Westminster. Financial devolution involves granting of power to rise taxes, change the taxation rate or make decisions concerning distribution of public funds. Similarly, legislative devolution refers to the transfer of rights to pass legislation. Devolution is often said to be asymmetrical this means that power is not distributed evenly, e.g. although the structure of the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly are similar the later cannot legislate on policing and criminal matters.[14] These a rrangements have far-reaching consequences for Westminster, firstly it can be argued that following the break-up of the colonial system Parliament exercises its powers over a smaller geographical area.[15] Devolution, along with the membership of the European Union, create an impression that the remaining Parliamentary influence outside England is largely superficial. Secondly, the fact that devolution is asymmetrical could lead to calls for additional rights in order to redress the balance, the White Paper considering an extension of legislative powers of the National Assembly of Wales is already being considered.[16] According to Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, a classic work by Dicey, sovereignty means that Parliament has the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and further, that no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament.[17] In view of the above discussed developments can it still be argued that Westminster has not suffered any loss of sovereignty? Theoretically, there is no conflict between sovereignty and the process of devolution, in the memorandum to the Procedure Committee, the Leader of the House, Margaret Beckett said: None of the devolution legislation affects the House’s ability to pass legislation on any matter. For all public bills, the Government would expect that a convention would be adopted that Westminster would not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters without the consent of the devolved body.[18] Finally, Munro explains that being sovereign Parliament is free to impose limitations on its own power.[19] Despite what has been said above there is also evidence to the contrary, devolution produced a paradoxical effect known as the West Lothian Question. It means that although Scottish MPs can seat in the British Parliament and decide on issues related exclusively to England English MPs have no influence on similar Scottish issues which have been devolved. This situation has been severally criticised on many occasions and led to calls for an English Parliament.[20] Parliament tackled these problems by further devolution but this time power was devolved to the English regions, e.g. the Regional Agencies Act 1998 established development agencies[21] while in 2000 the newly established Greater London Authority saw its own elected Mayor and the London Assembly. In November 2005 the Government issued a Consultation Paper which proposes extending the responsibilities of the London Assembly and the London Major.[22] These developments have already limited, and will continue to limit, the power s traditionally held by the legislature and the executive. Although, in theory, Parliament could choose to withdraw the devolved powers at any time a total withdrawal is unlikely to be possible in practice. Westminster would have to consider both political and social implications of such actions and it is likely that the response of the public would range from widespread discontent to outright violence. Riots would be likely to break out in Northern Ireland where, as mentioned at the beginning of this paper, violent resistance to English rule has taken place in the past. In 1972 Edward Heath re-established direct rule over Northern Ireland, he was criticised by both unionists and nationalists. The sense of national identity in Northern Ireland remains very strong while in Scotland objections to a withdrawal of devolved powers would probably be raised on nationalist, and particularly economic, grounds. Consequently, it is difficult to deny that devolution undermined sovereignty of Westminster Parliament; arguments to the contrary have limited , and purely theoretical, validity. BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS Munro, Colin R, (1999), Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths, second edition. ARTICLES CONSULTATION PAPERS A Consultation Paper, The Greater London Authority: The Government’s proposals for additional powers and responsibilities for the Mayor and Assembly, (2005). Leeke Matthew, Chris Sear and Oonagh Gay, An Introduction to Devolution in the UK, Research Paper 03/84, (2003). Wood, Edward, The Procedural Consequences of Devolution, Research Paper 99/85, (1999). WHITE PAPERS STATUTES 1998Regional Agencies Act 2005Government White Paper: Better Governance For Wales INTERNET SOURCES Campaign for an English Parliament, http://thecep.org.uk/devolution.shtml [Accessed on 4 August 2006]. 4. Explain how the Human Rights Act 1998 has changed the approach to the protection of human rights in the law of England and Wales. Has the change been for the better or for the worse? Enactment of the Human Rights Act was one of the many objectives which featured in the New Labour’s 1997 election manifesto, the proposal to implement the Act was also part of a much broader programme of constitutional reforms. The statute, which entered into force in 2000, implements the European Convention on Human Rights. According to Lord Lester of Herne Hill the Human Rights Act 1998: â€Å"declares basic rights and freedoms inherent in our common humanity, and the ethical values of a modern democratic society governed under the rule of law a society in which individual and minority rights must be protected against the tyranny of majorities and the abuse of public powers, especially where excessive means are used to pursue legitimate ends. The Act provides an ethical framework to guide law- makers, judges, and individual men and women.†[23] However, as will be shown below the changes brought on by the Act have not always been considered positive. Prior to its entry into force the Act received a lot of negative media coverage, concerns were raised about widespread abuses of the immigration procedures as well as the welfare system. There were also fears that the Act would force judges to disregard Acts of Parliament and by doing so undermine the doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy. Yet, as the subsequent events have shown most of these concerns proved misplaced. The unease about statutory interpretation was mainly due to section 3 which provides that, whenever possible, legislation must be enforced consistently with the Convention. Section 4 adds that in cases where such interpretation is not possible the court may issue a declaration of incompatibility. The declaration does not overrule any provisions but merely states that the law does not comply with the European Convention of Human Rights. The Act lead to an increased protection for the rights of individuals, e.g. in Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones v Hello![24] the Court of Appeal recognised the right to privacy. Another notable example of human rights protection is the decision in Mendoza v Ghaidan,[25] in this case the protected Rent Act tenant passed away. The court was asked to consider whether, for the purposes of the law of succession, the surviving homosexual partner should have the same rights as he would have had if the couple was heterosexual. The case is significant for several reasons: firstly, the court held that discrimination was unlawful, secondly, it shows that the Human Rights Act applies both to public and private bodies and thirdly, the court interpreted the Rent Act 1977 broadly enough to give effect to the Convention rights. In the opinion of Lord Lester of Herne Hill Mendoza[26] was correctly decided, he even prised the decision for upholding constitutional rights which include equal tre atment.[27] Despite what has been said above the Act is also known to have its opponents. The decision in R (Q and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department[28] proved particularly contentious and it has been a subject of a sever ministerial criticism. The court held that firstly, the Home Secretary must support asylum-seekers and secondly, the Home Office acted in breach of Article 6. Article 6, which grants a right to a free trial, was violated when the applicants were refused to have their circumstances assessed on individual basis, moreover they were not allowed to appeal. In response to this decision the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, said: If public policy can be always overridden by individual challenge through the courts, then democracy itself is under threat.†[29] In Alconbury Limited v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions[30] Lord Hoffmann was equally disapproving of the way the case-law has been developing, he that although the Human Rights Act was meant to reinforce the rule of law it reinforced the rule of lawyers instead. September 11 gave rise to many contentious legal issues, human rights, terrorism, extradition and prohibition of torture are now hotly debated. Some of the problems stem from the fact that newly granted civil liberties are counter-balanced by measures introduced on the grounds of national security; hence the Terrorism Act, which came into force on 13 April 2006, prohibits ’glorification’ of terrorism. The ’glorification’ of terrorism is now a criminal offence and applies to speech as well as membership of political and non-political groups. There is a possibility that the provisions of the Act will conflict with the rights guaranteed by the Human Rights Act 1998, future challenges are likely to be based on Article 10 which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. It is yet to be seen what will be the effect of the Act and how it will be interpreted. Another issue which has become particularly contentious is extradition. The Human Rights Act 1998 does n ot contain any provisions prohibiting extradition however it does impose some conditions, the person who is being extradited should not be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment. Finally, can it be said that following the implementation of the Human Rights Act the protection of human rights has improved or, on the contrary, worsened? It seems that there is no ’right’ answer to this question. As has been shown above, ministers can be very critical of the way the Act is interpreted while the judiciary appears very enthusiastic. Nonetheless, human rights are now an integral, and written, part of the British constitution. The Act introduced a new approach to statutory interpretation and added to the range of reasons on which government action can be found unlawful. In other words it increased the accountability of the executive and at the same time encouraged respect for the rule of law. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the Act facilitated many positive changes. BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS Munro, Colin R, Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths, second edition, 1999. ARTICLES Glover, Richard, Retrospectivity and the Human Rights Act 1998, [2003] 4 JCLI. CASES Alconbury Limited v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions [2001] 2 WLR 1389. Mendoza v Ghaidan [2003] 2 WLR 478. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones v Hello! (2001) 2 All ER 289. R (Q and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, 20 February 2003, Times Law Reports STATUTES 1998 Human Rights Act 2006Terrorism Act INTERNET SOURCES Lester, Anthony, The Human Rights Act five years on. 2003 (online). Available from: http://www.hrla.org.uk/docs/lord lester.pdf#search=human rights act 1998 law [Accessed on 6 August 2006]. Footnotes [1] Munro, Colin R., Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths) 1999, p. 1. [2] Munro 2. [3] Griffith, John, The political constitution, (1979) 42 MLR 1. [4] [1974] AC 765, [1974] 1 All ER 609. [5] Munro 3. [6] Munro 13. [7] Munro, Colin R., Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths) 1999, p. 57, per G. Marshall and GC Moodie. [8] Oonagh Gay, Thomas Powell, Individual ministerial responsibility issues and examples, Research Paper 04/31, (2004). [9] Oonagh Gay, Thomas Powell, Collective responsibility of Ministers an outline of the issues, Research Paper 04/82, (2004). [10] [1991] 1 AC 521. [11] (1988) QBD. [12] Munro 32. [13] Munro 29 44. [14]Matthew Leeke, Chris Sear and Oonagh Gay, Parliament and Constitution Centre, An Introduction to Devolution in the UK, Research Paper 03/84, (2003), p 7. [15] Munro 127 -166. [16] Government