A history: two main approaches to international law: positivism and naturalism
Historically, there are two main approaches to international law:
- Natural law, which can be thought of as the idea that power of law does not come from voice of authority. In contrast positivisim says the authority is what makes the law the law. Natural law says there is a higher reason why the law is the law (e.g morality, universal principles, religious, etc.). Under natural law, horrific immoral laws would not be valid even if they came from a legitimate authority.
The application of these approaches goes back 2000 years. Natural law finds its origins in ancient Rome and Cicero the philosopher. Thomas Aquinas examined source of law’s legitimacy. According to him natural law is God’s natural law.
A more modern definition is that natural law is universally applicable rules derived from reason. A doctrine that human affairs should be governed by ethical principles that can be understood by reason.
The difference between a treaty and declaration.
A treaty has signed participants who pass legislation pursuant to it. A declaration is just the UN declaring something. You can determine which one equates to quicker application.
There is a Doctrine of state continuity which means if a state signs a treaty, even if there is a major change of government, the state is still bound by its prior treaty obligations.
Pain Free Today – Painful Tomorrow
If you sign papers because you feel just fine today, what happens if your health deteriorates tomorrow? I know of some people who’ve been in car accidents, and 10 years later their body starts to break down. What recourse do they have?
The Minor Injury Regulations (“MIR”) provide a framework to determine what injures are ‘minor’ by the courts and therefore have damages ‘capped’ at a certain value. Read the rest of this entry »
Protect Yourself Hire and Attorney when Injured
When you’re involved in a car accident, or really any incident where you’ve been injured, it’s important to protect yourself.
You may find yourself faced off against another’s insurance company. You may also think that your insurance company is on your side. That’s partially not true. The insurance companies see you as profit–as a number. That means they may not always be looking out for your best interests 100% of the time. That’s why it’s prudent to hire an attorney who has the responsibility of thinking about you over the bottom line of the insurance companies. Read the rest of this entry »
Intentional Torts and Types
Types of intentional torts include:
Battery – unwanted intentional touching
Assault – threat of battery
Intentional infliction of mental suffering
Intentional interference with chattels (theft)
Recklessness
Functions of Tort Law Cours
Remember,
ex ante: the effect that decisions in this case will ahve on future behaviour (punish the tortfeasor).
ex post: ignores future behaviour, observes equitable distance between two parties (compensation of victims).
2 Functions of Tort Courts:
1) Determine Liability: who pays
2) Damages: how much they pay.
Tort Law Approaches in Economics
In tort law if you come from the perspective of the economist then judges behave ‘as if’ they were setting precedents that discourages negligent behaviour. There are two primary approaches:
1) ex ante: precedent used as deterrent,
2) ex post: used to compensate victims.
Pictures of Your Slip & Fall
What’s perhaps the greatest asset when seeking adequate compensation for a slip or fall injury? Quite simply it’s pictures. A picture in this case would be worth a 1000 words. Pictures from multiple angles, with measurement tools or comparison objects, close ups, even a landscape shot, there’s no shortage of how many pictures you can take of a scene.
Help yourself build a case by ensuring your ‘evidence’ is substantial. Read the rest of this entry »
Just a Number with Insurance Companies
We all have to get insurance if we do certain things like drive. Other forms of insurance are ways of mitigating risk, like life insurance or home insurance.
To complicate matters there are a variety of forms of insurance one can purchase to protect the same thing. Life insurance has ‘term insurance’ or the much maligned ‘universal life‘, but there thousands of iterations.
But what happens if you need to make a claim?
Pleading in Civil Action in Canada
Pleadings function to include written statements of the parties to an action, served by each party in turn on the
other, and filed in court, which set forth in a summary form the material facts on which each party relies in support of the claim or defence, as the case may be.
By the time the pleadings are closed, there will be a precise definition of the issues between the parties.
There are 3 fundamental principles of pleading:
Read the rest of this entry »