Private vs. Public International Law

International law is a largely important mediating factor when conflicts between different countries arise. The sector of international law that deals with all the legal proceedings involving foreign laws is called private international law. Private international law is also known as the conflict of laws because it is over federal and national laws when the countries in conflict submit to international ruling.

Further, private international law determines who has jurisdiction over a specific case and which laws are to be applied by the country given jurisdiction to. Private international law has been around for a long time, with the Romans leading the way by establishing a tribunal that resides over cases of foreign states that had conflict of laws.

Private international law was therefore established to settle disputes between foreign countries. But there is a downside to this set-up because favoring one over the other can mean a backlash which can lead to further conflicts. Thus, any ruling taken into account by private international law is dealt with consideration and sensitivity so that a common ground is struck between the conflicting countries.

Public international law, on the other hand, is not concerned with the conflict of laws. Instead, it is focused on the configuration and conduct of states and other entities including international organizations and commercial industries. Public international law is also known as the law of nations.

International law, whether private or public, is made to maintain good relations and preserve international peace. Apart from this, it also aims to avoid any armed conflict, implements arms control, deals with environmental issues, and everything else that deals with the law.

How to Get into Law School?

Getting into law school is a dream many individuals have in mind. But why make it remain a dream? You can get into law school as soon as you realize the calling. Just keep in mind some of the few things that you have to take note of when planning to get into law school.

The two most important things that will get you into law school is your grade point average (GPA) and your LSAT score. These requirements serve as basis for your acceptance in their school. But these are not the only requirements that you have to take note of because most law schools are interested in your work experience. They may even require letters of recommendations and a personal statement from you.

Law school admission officers will look closely on your GPA and base their acceptance from there - the higher the GPA, the more chances of getting accepted to law school. This is to ensure that you will not drop out after a quarter of taking challenging courses.

There is no specific course to get into law school. However, it is observed that most people who enter law school have a liberal arts background. But this should not matter because just like any regular college, law school will need you to take various classes ranging from mathematics to business.

Most of all, you have to have the drive to get into law school to be able to be successful in your quest to enter the institution.

The Difference between Civil Law and Criminal Law

Law is an interesting subject yet it can be very complicated at times. Understanding the difference between the two types of law can be overwhelming but nevertheless, it is still important to know the basics.

The type of law that is often seen in the television and movies is called criminal law. This type of law involves court trials, sentences, jury system, etc. One way to identify criminal law is that only the prosecution for the government can file criminal charges. However, these charges are not directly committed against the government. Another characteristic of criminal law is that when the accused is found guilty, a punishment, such as prison, fine, or execution, is imposed.

Civil law, on the other hand, is the law which deals with a private party filing a civil case against another called the plaintiff. The private party can be an individual, a company, or a corporation. The burden of truth in a civil case first lies with the plaintiff. If found guilty, no punishment or incarceration is imposed, instead, the losing party will be asked to refund the amount of loss called punitive damages.

These are the simplest differentiations between civil law and criminal law. And while civil law is different from criminal law, both have one end goal and that is to correct a wrong through fairness. Truth will always prevail no matter how it is being presented. Civil or criminal law is bound to give the due process that is appropriate to the individual in need.

A Landmark Environmental Case

There is a landmark case decided by the Supreme Court of the Philippines which created a huge impact when it comes to environmental law litigation all throughout the world. This is the case of Oposa vs. Factoran GR. No. 101083 decided on July 30, 1993. This is a class suit instituted by several minors represented by their respective parents against the Secretary of Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The plaintiffs on this case prays that the defendant order the cancellation of the existing timber agreements in the country and to further disallow any renewal or acceptance of the same.

 

The controversial thing about this case is that the petitioners assert that they are filing the case in not only for the benefit o themselves but also for the generations yet to come. As we all know, a person may only file a case if he has the personality to do so. Consequently, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that petitioner has no locus standi to sue.

 

In its decision, the Supreme Court held that it can be allowed on the ground that their right to sue is concerned. Furthermore, SC held that every generation has the responsibility to the next to preserve the rhythm and harmony of nature for the full enjoyment of the balanced and healthful ecology as stated in the Constitution.

 

It must worth stressing that there are a number of criticisms about this decision. This usually comes from those who desire to follow the wording of the law rigidly. But however, they argue it, in my own opinion, this is the most plausible for now.

The Judge Told Me To Convict Him Or Else

Just recently a juror comes to tell his local news that she was forced by the judge and fellow jurors to send a 37 year old black man to prison for stabbing and killing a white teen. He states that he stood tall in front of the judge and would not back down, however, he says the judges intimidation tactics worked.

The jury did end up convicting Ronny Probus 43 of killing Tim Horan 17 and is now on death row. The trial became very popular once the criminal defense attorneys stated that the black man killed the white teenager out of self defense.

Juror Renee Speilberg stated that the judge used many pshyological tricks to get her to sway her vote his way and was in fear of her well-being.

Other fellow jurors denied that they 16 hour deliberations had anything to do with the outcome of the verdict, or in fact that a holiday came into play; Renee felt otherwise.

Ohio Supreme Court Judge Fired For Ethics Violations

An unforgettable move on the supreme court recently sent judge Michale Mcahgan off the bench for ethics violations. He was accused of money laundering and other moral/ethics violations.

This removal has been taken the law world by surprise, since this is the first time it has ever happened to a sitting judge in the past decades.

The supreme court stated that Mr. Mcahgan has caused significant damage to the judiciary  and lawyers. Upon further investigation, the supreme court ruled that Mr. Mchagan has been breaking the law for more than a decade.

The supreme court also found that the judge had made several withdraws from relatives estates without any of their knowledge. He also released a man from prison that had been behind bars for rape without any evidence to do so.

The Supreme court, without any further ado, took his license to practise law and banned him from ever practicing law in the united states again. The courts was very moved that he was stealing from his own relatives involving real estate deals and they could not do anything about it.

This has not been the only crack-down in the judiciary lately. Mr. Renolds serving on the supreme court of Kentucky was disbarred for his involvement in the distribution of cocaine and other narcotics. Another recent disbarment was placed against a Jefferson County judge for murder of a fellow attorney, but he had left the court and hired an lawyer before he was ever kicked off the bench.

Youtube Being Hounded By A Federal Judge

Completely unrelated to your privacy when watching videos….. A US supreme court judge has been put into a position to decide if youtube should be responsible for their users copyright infringement. The Us supreme court judge will gain access to youtube’s logs as to determine if the copyrighted material is being watched more then your armature booty shakers.

The data that youtube was instructed to release will not be shown the the public, but only for the court to see. It is also said that the data will not show user name or email addresses.

Googles lawyers, google who owns youtube.com, relpy in saying to come up with all those logs would be like printing out 12 million books. The process to get the information to court would be very time consuming, would be very expensive and a threat to users privacy.

The log books would reveal which videos get played and when. Attached to every log will show the users ip address to their computer as well as the viewers user name. I really hope that they do not show my mother my own personal logs!

Viacom is not the only people that are going after the big G. A British soccer league is also sueing for damages.

Google has been in this type of hot water before and this isn’t the only time in which it is trying to protect it’s users privacy. After a pornography case back in 2001, google was requested to hand over logs that would show what a user is searching for and the time of the day that the search would be most targeted.

Online Legal Content

As one of your interns has a hard time answering several different questions you throw at him or her, and when their fresh faced law school graduates come to your firm, they might just have a question to the answer you are looking for due to a new database that has been put together for court verdicts.

The Chicago based attorney early one morning thought that their should be a online database for the free for the public to see. What does the courts have to hide anyway if our justice system is so superior?

At first she setup this online database for only attorneys, but then had become quickly familiar with the interest from your average joes. After all, attorneys aren’t the only ones searching for law information on the Internet. Most people, if they can get away with it, would rather save the money and represent themselves other than paying a high priced attorney.

Since the company become public in late October 2007, they indeed hit the jackpot on this one. 432 people that signed up on the first day became more aware of their legal system around them. Attorneys alike started submitting their articles like crazy and now this system has been used by over 10 million people.

According to the much respected website jdbyrider.com, the website has many contributors from all over the galaxy. I mean this website is huge and the information that it gives unparalleled to any other I have ever encountered.

Ways You Can Make Sure Your Firm Gets Paid

In result of the mortgage credit crisis putting a damper on the economy, small to medium sized businesses and ones’ self will probably notice a decline in people wanting to spend their hard earned money for your products and thus be a little lighter in the hip-pocket.

In result of the problems that we are going through and unforeseen financial times, many people and companies alike might rather hold on to their reserves instead of paying your law firm on time.

Financial problems have almost always been the number uno why their customers do not pay their bills on time. In the business of law, this is becoming a huge problem.

Debts that do not really seem to matter to your business workings are probably going to be the last on the “let’s get this one paid list,” unfortunately.

Your customers are going to be very smart when it comes to their money. They are going to know that if they do not pay their debts on time to a law firm, that their is not much they can do about it. That is unless they never pay them at all. The current crisis that we are in right now makes it ruff on attorney’s offices. Their are many tactics that individuals and corporate customers can use to delay the process of  not paying on time, or just not pay ever, however, these tactics will not be discussed in this post.

So what do you do if your firm is in this time of situation?

I personally think that they all should be sued, however, you have to look at it at the law firms perspective. Law firms have conditioned their clients not to pay their bills on time over the years. Boy, for economical melt downs, wasn’t that a bad practise.