Testing the Moral Status of Artificial Beings; or “I’m Going to Ask You Some Questions …”

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael LaBossiere
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Moral Status ◽  
Presumption Of Innocence ◽  
System P ◽  
Moral Theories

While sophisticated artificial beings are still the stuff of science fiction, it is reasonable to address the challenge of determining the moral status of such systems now. Since humans have spent centuries discussing the ethics of humans and animals, a sensible shortcut is to develop tests for matching artificial beings with existing beings and assigning them a corresponding moral status. While there are a multitude of moral theories addressing the matter of status, the focus is on two of the most common types. The first comprises theories based on reason (exemplified by Kant). The second comprises theories based on feeling (exemplified by Mill). Regardless of the actual tests, there will always be room for doubt. To address this, three arguments are presented in favor of the presumption of status, similar to that of the presumption of innocence in the legal system.

A culture of disputing: how did Cairenes use the legal system?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Baldwin
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Institutions ◽  
System P

Chapter 6 examines how Cairene litigants navigated the multiplicity of forums and practices with overlapping jurisdictions that constituted Cairo’s legal system. Moving away from the state-centric orientation of much Ottoman historiography, this chapter adopts the perspective of the legal consumer in order to discover how legal institutions were used, rather that the role the state intended them to play. The chapter emphasizes the lack of formal hierarchies or defined relationships between the different legal forums, and argues that this jurisdictional imprecision offered litigants opportunities to manipulate the system’s pluralism to their own advantage.

Scotland

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Ward
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Legal System ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
System P

Introduction and Background As one of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (‘UK’), Scotland has always retained its separate legal system. Scotland occupies the northern part of the island of Great Britain, together with some...

The Adoption of Written Constitutions

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-95
Author(s):  
Stuart Banner
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Natural Law ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Legal Tradition ◽  
System P ◽  
Late 18Th Century ◽  
Constitutional Thought

This chapter traces the effect of 19th-century constitutional thought on the decline of natural law. Written constitutions were an American innovation with no direct parallel in the English legal tradition. Natural law had long been understood as a constraint on legislation, but constitutions served the same function, which raised the question whether American judges had the authority to invalidate legislation that conflicted with natural principles rather than written constitutional text. In the course of this debate, American lawyers voiced their first sustained critiques of the use of natural law within the legal system. The adoption of written constitutions in the late 18th century thus lay the groundwork for the eventual disappearance of natural law from the legal system.

The Impact of the Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration on German Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 301-329
Author(s):  
Ulrich Stelkens
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
German Law ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
System P ◽  
Individual Protection ◽  
National Constitution ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

This chapter discusses the impact on German administrative law of the pan-European general principles of good administration developed within the framework of the Council of Europe (CoE). The chapter highlights that most of the German core statutes on administrative law had already been enacted or were developed before the adoption of the said principles. Moreover, the low availability and the lack of translation of the ‘CoE sources’ as well as the (over)reliance of German courts on the national constitution in developing standards of individual protection present further hindrances for their full permeation. However—at least conceptually—German law lives up to the said principles and often even exceeds them. The chapter concludes that it seems to be only a matter of time and the right opportunity for such impact to become full-blown in the German legal system.

The Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration in the Italian Legal System

2020 ◽  
pp. 182-209
Author(s):  
Marco Macchia ◽  
Claudia Figliolia
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
European Court ◽  
System P ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Court Proceedings ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Constitutional Jurisprudence

This chapter discusses the impact of the pan-European principles of good administration on Italian administrative law. The chapter presents the main finding that the Italian legal system is generally in line with these principles. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights has played a particularly strong role in national administrative law (especially in the context of administrative sanctioning and lengthy court proceedings). At the same time, some limitations to full reception of the said principles remain, the most notable of them being the resistance of constitutional jurisprudence to give ‘generalized’ execution to the pan-European principles and the low degree of recognition of the importance of the Council of Europe’s recommendations and conventions (other than the ECHR) for the development of these principles in national administrative law. The chapter concludes by stressing the (sometimes) contradictory nature of Italy’s acknowledgement of the pan-European scope of these principles.

The Impact of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the Russian Legal System

2020 ◽  
pp. 143-172
Author(s):  
Paul Kalinichenko
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
System P ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Russian Model

This chapter presents the findings of the author on the impact of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the Russian legal system. To start with, this chapter includes a brief description of the background to the modern Russian legal system and, in particular, the structure of the Russian judiciary. The contribution goes on to describe the Russian model for approximating its legal order with EU rules and standards, as well as adding some remarks on the application of EU law by the Russian courts. Then follows an explanation of the specifics of the database used, together with a description and analysis of citation of CJEU decisions by Russian courts in the period 2006–18. Conclusions and recommendations are presented in the final section of the chapter.

The Impact of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the Turkish Legal System

2020 ◽  
pp. 115-140
Author(s):  
Ulaş Karan
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Government Procurement ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
System P ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
The Impact

This chapter explores whether the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) produces any impact on the Turkish legal system and, if so, its possible underlying causes. Protection of intellectual, industrial, and commercial property rights, competition, trade defence instruments, government procurement, direct and indirect taxation have been regarded as the main areas of ‘approximation of legislation’. Accordingly, laws adopted mostly in the past three decades show that the influence of EU law is valid only in certain fields of law, such as intellectual property law, labour law, and competition law, and this is also where we find most CJEU citations. This influence forms part of the EU accession process, which requires Turkey to harmonize its laws with the acquis. According to the research, despite the existence of a long-standing accession process and legislation based on the acquis in certain fields of law, on the whole, the Turkish judiciary does not seem committed to follow EU law in general or CJEU jurisprudence in particular.

Police Procedures and Petitions in Roman Egypt: The Role of Village Officials

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-40
Author(s):  
Roberto Mascellari
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Legal Procedure ◽  
System P ◽  
Roman Egypt ◽  
Local Officials ◽  
Police System

This chapter examines how far village officials were involved in the handling of crimes in the first three centuries of Roman rule in Egypt (AD I–III). Village officials played a primary role in the early enquiries, as they represented the main point of contact for any villager who sought guidance and support in case of offence. They were assigned well-defined tasks in the police system and were able, within fixed limits, to act independently from higher authorities. The evidence shows that the interaction between villagers and local officials after crime was reported often determined the adoption of a specific legal procedure by the offended party: frequently, the prompt submission of written complaints to higher officials. This study suggests that, contrary to some previous views, the work of village officials in dealing with crime was fundamental for the functioning of the broader police and legal system.

Why the “Haves” Come Out Ahead: Speculations on the Limits of Legal Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 297-302
Author(s):  
Marc Galanter
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Change ◽  
System P ◽  
The Law ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Do So ◽  
The Way

This article proposes some conjectures about the way in which the basic architecture of the legal system creates and limits the possibilities of using the system as a means of redistributive change. Specifically, the question is under what conditions litigation can be redistributive, taking litigation in the broadest sense of the presentation of claims to be decided by courts. Because of differences in their size, differences in the state of the law, and differences in their resources, some of the actors in society have many occasions to utilize the courts; others do so only rarely. One can divide these actors into those claimants who have only occasional recourse to the courts (one-shotters) and repeat players who are engaged in many similar litigations over time. The article then looks at alternatives to the official litigation system.

1. The Nature of the International Legal System

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dixon ◽  
Robert McCorquodale ◽  
Sarah Williams
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
International Community ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
System P ◽  
Cultural Processes ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
Political Economic

International law is a description of an entire legal system: the international legal system. It is an international legal system by which legal rules are created in order to structure and organise societies and relationships. It acknowledges the influence of political, economic, social and cultural processes upon the development of legal rules. This chapter discusses the relevance of international law; the international community and international law; theories of international law; and the practice of international law.

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