NGOs Challenge Mass Surveillance In European Court Builds Pressure Against GCHQ

As James Bond-spying cases continue in the United Kingdom, it’s no surprise that a group of leading human rights NGOs would pressure the GCHQ to finally admit to its wrongdoings and accept reforms.

Privacy International, Bytes for All, Amnesty International, Liberyt and other civil liberties groups have filed a case against the UK GCHQ to overturn a ruling by Britain’s surveillance court the IPT or Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

The IPT found that GCHQ’s Tempora program, which functions to monitor web traffic in Britain using fibre optic cables is entirely lawful. IPT also found that British and American intelligence sharing service Prism is also legal.

NGOs appealed the IPTs ruling to the European Court, which states that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) complies with the duty of the UK Government to protect its citizens human rights.

The European Court of Human Rights will consider RIPA’s violation of Article 14 of the Convention, which bans illegal discrimination.

The GCHQ said in response to the appeal:

"We completely reject the assertions made in the press release from Amnesty International and others, which do not reflect the judgments of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. The IPT was clear in its December judgment that the legal regime is lawful, and that GCHQ does not seek to carry out mass surveillance. The government will be vigorously defending this case at the European Court of Human Rights,"

Mexico Still Having Troubles Enforcing the Law

The disappearance of 43 university students from the custody of local police in Mexico and the allegations of federal corruption in the awarding of public infrastructure contracts test the administration of Mexico President Pena Nieto.

His political party, the Institutional Revolutionary, could get sunk because of the crises. Pena has promised a massive reform for Mexico. 

However, confidence in his administration had worsened following the disappearance of the 43 detained students.

According to an official report from the Mexican Embassy in Washington, the missing students were political activists where they forcefully “borrowed” two private buses in Iguala in Guerrero to travel to Mexico City for demonstrations. Police opened fire against the students and then were handed to a local crime cartel, who confessed they killed the young protesters and burned their bodies.

The governor of Guerrero had resigned and the Mayor of Iguala, 36 municipal police officers and 35 other individuals are under arrest post-investigation.

Despite the protest against Former Mayor of Mexico City Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is trying to link the disappearance of the students to force destabilisation of the Mexican government, people are focused on resolving the issue rather than joining Lopez Obrador’s campaign.

It also shows that criminals have so much power in Mexico.

Three Easy Ways to Avoid Legal Troubles when Working

All problems start when one person’s freedom pushes against another person, denying him or her rights given naturally to any born citizen of a country. At work, the stress and tension makes thinking a bit less and acting a bit more, which can cause legal trouble. Here are three simple ways you could avoid it, based on my experience.

1.    Avoid the Social Flame

I was once working at a postal card creation service somewhere in 2009. A fellow employee, who was often rowdy, was fired mysteriously and the bosses never did explain what happened. In a formal statement, the bosses said that the employee was fired because of insubordination by posting about flames in social media. While many complained, a legal representative explained that going through the proper channels of complaints and not broadcasting the complaint openly in the web can stop the improper termination of contracts while having a say.

2.    Consider Yourself a Publisher

I often do an exercise where I think of myself as a celebrity. Aside from the vanity and ego, I also understood that each of my actions will have a significant backlash because of legalities. Today, social media, the internet and close-knit communities at work are areas where you publish your work. Obscene work could be considered propaganda in an office, so it is important to be careful about what one says, or rather in this context, publishes.

3.    Responsibilities

As stated in a contract, employees are bound by an amount of money, even if they are to stay in a company for a very long term. They have responsibilities that bind them with the contract, which they must fulfil or else they risk fighting off litigations and paying for penalties in breaking their contracts.

Should UK Be Next to Decriminalise Marijuana?

The United States had already approved the use of medical marijuana in their country and I couldn’t be happier enough for those living in Colorado and Washington. Maybe we in the UK should be next to decriminalise it, and for obvious reasons, the government will still want to keep marijuana in this country in check.

In the UK, marijuana is still classified as a class C type of drug. Anybody found possessing just a small ounce of cannabis could be pressed for fines, but not imprisonment. It seems that those supporting the anti-cannabis approval haven’t been properly informed.

Decriminalising marijuana also puts many things into an awkward position. Why would dangerous substances, such as alcohol and tobacco, be easier to approve than a plant that has no preservatives and dangerous chemicals? Companies all over the world work with governments to create profit. Also, many parts of the world have land fertile for growing tobacco leaves. Marijuana is yet to be tax-mapped, but many are growing their own illegally.

If the government cannot earn anything out of marijuana yet and the stigma remains there, the UK is powerless to have a decriminalised marijuana industry. Stigmas are everything, and no politician is willing to touch upon the public’s sentiment that marijuana and other drugs are dangerous substances.

The Possible Extent of the Modern Slavery Bill

Home Secretary Theresa May had recently proposed a Modern Slavery bill, which would protect those abused by their employers, victims of human trafficking, and those forced to engage in criminal activities, and according to analysts, its benefits may materialize for some time this year. However, their media description is most likely the ideal, because I know the local police and courts of justice will have different implementations of these new laws.

According to a recent speech by the Queen of England, the UK’s new legal bill will protect victims from traffickers, especially those forced to engage in criminal activity. The new bill, she said, will have them compensation from any of the assets seized from their traffickers. She added that the new bill will further strengthen the punishments for human traffickers.

Drug formulation and cannabis growth is illegal in many parts of Europe, and the United Kingdom is one of them. However, some European countries allow the consumption of cannabis. Many organised crime rings make use of foreign migrants, including women and children, to work in production, and most of them end up being associates or collaborators to the scheme when they were really victims.

Any law or bill that protects those whose stories are not told properly, especially confused collaborators, is welcome for me in the United Kingdom. However, it is important that UK officials, both on the domestic and national scale, will live up to the promise of benefits and rights the law indicates.

UK Still Has Slavery, Also Has Laws to Fight It

Home Office Secretary Theresa May recently passed a Modern Slavery bill that will allow victims of slavery to seek compensation and reparations from their traffickers, or employers, especially those who had had them work illicitly in improper occupations. 

I can’t believe that our country still has slavery. Sure, there are human traffickers, who sell people, including children, to brothels, black market companies and other organisations, but what I’m talking about is localized slavery. Yes, your dear neighbour.

I had a neighbour once, and their family had a domestic helper named Tina. She was from Morocco as I recall. Every day, the family will leave, but Tina was locked up from behind the door. She was told never to shout or cry for help outside. One time, I was walking beside her employer and she was following us. I could notice that she was malnourished.

I wanted to take it to authorities, but some colleagues said there was no law that protected domestic helpers. In the UK, it was always the citizen first, the migrants secondary, despite the fragrant words the world hears on television.

Maybe this law, along with other laws, will help these migrants, who came into the country to support their own families back in their country, have a right to the UK justice system. Nobody deserves to be treated like a slave, either through human trafficking or domestic imprisonment.

Clare’s Law and the Sanctity of Relationships

Now, before you think this is a “holy” type of post, I’d just like to clarify that sanctity in the title meant “honesty” or “values” in a relationship. I just want to point out here that the new Clare’s Law, or the Domestic Violence DisclosureScheme, while it protects individuals, it may also breed mistrust. 

I am all for the safety of our women and girls, but researching about the history of your partner, with his or her own knowledge, is a way of degrading the “honesty” and “genuine-ness” of relationships. Sure, it could be a romantic and less-than-practical notion, but why bother partnering up in a relationship if you could not even trust each other?

Potentially, the law can save lives, but is this law really necessary? Maybe it is, for people who look for partners in online dating and matchmaking websites. It will also be helpful especially in divorce cases, but the previous example is already an irony.

Definitely, it will really be nice to know that you have a good premise during divorce because you know that your partner has a violent history, but do you plan to get into a relationship just so you could get a divorce?

There is nothing wrong with Clare’s law, but intimate trust, understanding, patience and good values will always make a good relationship, not a back-end solution. There is nothing wrong with the law being passed, but if people use it to concern themselves of their partners, they were already planning to fail the relationship.

BMJ Report Accuses Several UK Medical Universities of Racism

A British Medical Journal report “Academic Performance of Ethnic Minority Candidates and Discrimination in the MRCGP Examinations Between 2010 and 2012: Analysis of Data,” claims that MRCGP examiners discriminate in the exams of Asian, Indian and Black doctors compared to white doctors. According to the authors, General Practice Professor Aneez Esmail and Biostatistics Professor Chris Roberts, medical universities have a bias when giving out their MRCGP examinations.

Today, the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) has filed a legal case against UK’s Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the General Medical Council (GMC) for the MRCGP examinations biased against minority ethnic candidates. This legal case puts medical practitioners minorities in the UK on the spotlight.

Esmail and Roberts’  report showed that Black and minority ethnic graduates trained in the UK were likely to fail than their white UK counterparts in their first attempt at a clinical skills assessment exam. Black and minority ethnic candidates who trained abroad also had a greater likeliness to fail in the exam. The likeliest to fail are minority candidates who did not train or study in the United Kingdom.

According to the lawyer of BAPIO, Attorney William O’Neill, should BAPIO win the case, it will mean good quality medical graduates from universities regardless of ethnicity, which would give the NHS the boost it needs to provide quality medical service.

Source

Don’t Take It to a Lawsuit at Once, Be Fair

We might say laws are meant to be broken, but being fair is more important. 

A neighbour of mine recently told me her story regarding her neighbour who moved out because she filed a litigation against their family without even warning them about a petty little thing. Since this country, the UK, has a compensation-culture society, anybody could get affordable legal help even if the legal aid cuts the government can implement any time.

But, this litigation culture can also damage personal reputations, particularly one’s social connections and well-being. My neighbour demand that their neighbours avoid looking indecent when sunbathing; they sunbathe naked without minding the passers-by across the area.

Sure, sunbathing naked is quite offensive and obscene right? I told her she could have sent a warning or a letter to them explaining why she found it indecent. However, she directly for a lawsuit.

A litigation is intimidating because it pits another person to definite terms in the law that he or she violated. Instead of appealing to their common sense, taking them directly against the wall can be offensive or unnatural.

My neighbour said that if she hadn’t done it, our area’s property values would have fallen. She asked me what could have happened if a media spectacle or a Youtube video was posted of it. I just said that it is still fair that she should have sent and explained these things to her neighbours first.

Fairness and ethics is important to retain in one side even if the other party does not bother to have or to learn them. This aids the law in defending who is truly right.

Getting Your Warranties Honoured Effectively

You just bought a new laptop, appliance or car and after the first week, you found some factory defects that affect the performance of the product completely. Warranties protect you from malfunctioning products as companies give you free service or complete replace of the product with their guarantee. However, some try to play you down. Here are a few ways to get your warranties honoured by companies effectively.

1.    Read Your Fine Print

Read through your warranty provisions and understand its provisions. There are some exclusions in some warranties that you need to know. Knowing your rights to obtain a guarantee from the company itself is highly important.

2.    Record of Repairs

This effectively works especially for vehicles. If the manufacturer gave specific instructions for car maintenance and care and this was not followed, the warranty might not be provided unless stated in its fine print. Have a record of maintenance procedures you do with the product and show this to the company.

3.    Paperwork

Always keep your sales receipts, warranty work and other documents. You will need them to receive a replacement part or an extended warranty for your product.

4.    Avoid DIY

Unless you are willing to compromise your warranty, never try to repair your product yourself. Once you open the product, sometimes, you destroy the warranty sticker, which guards the opening of the product. This voids your warranty completely.

Filing a Complaint Against A Business Establishment

If you have a complaint against a business establishment or you are pushing to file a case against the company for particular issues, here are a few things you need to know.

1.    The Companies Investigation Branch

The UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has a regulating branch called the Companies Investigation Branch. The CIB focuses on investigating companies that have stopped activity without going through formal insolvency proceedings. You’ll need to submit a CIB complaint form that will ask you about your relation to the company and how their activities have hampered you.

2.    Identity

It is possible to complain to the CIB anonymously if you fear you are facing a multinational company and your reputation is at risk. The CIB promises to treat your information and identity with strict confidence. However, you will not be able to provide further information to CIB or discuss any future concerns with CIB, which makes the investigation against the company in question less likely.

3.    Type of Upset

Most investigating bodies will ask you specifically how a company upset you as a customer or as an investor. This could range from physical problems, deficits, product consequence or the lack of transparency. You will need to provide evidence or an investigation reference for investigators to begin.

UK Legal Tips: Resolving Travel Disputes

Holidays were meant for de-stressing, not added stress. When your planned holiday goes wrong, it becomes a big, complicated problem. The first problem you get is that a travel package could not be seen, touched, experienced or inspected before you use it. If something goes wrong with your travel holiday, here are a few things you could do to resolve your disputes.

1.    Travel Agents Code of Conduct

Travel agents are expected to tell you in full honesty the details of your travel package, including the itineraries, the hotel or hotels you’ll be staying in and the local food in the area. Travel agents are bound by law to tell everything a traveller needs to know about the package. If your travel agent withheld any information that lead to damages or misinterpretations, you could file a claim.

2.    First Few Steps

When you make a complaint, you must have the travel agent know about the complaint immediately. You must inform any representative of the travel agency in-location at once. If you make the complaint as soon as you get home from your vacation, you are technically in breach of contract not unless it is an accident. You could report your complaints to a local travel agency representative or the tour operator in-location.

3.    Evidences

Your photographs are very important to illustrate to the travel agency your complaints about their services. If you incur any unnecessary expenses, you should retain your receipts. For accidents, a medical report would suffice.

4.    Complaint Proper

Your formal complaint must be written and addressed to your tour operator or travel agent. You must send in your complaint within six to eight weeks from the date you arrive in the United Kingdom.

Divorce With or Without a Lawyer?

In the United Kingdom, filing a divorce against your partner is possible even without the help of a lawyer. Lesser fees, lesser time and lesser stress with definite results is promised by a DIY divorce. However, what does a lawyer actually contribute to a divorce process? Here are a few things that divorcing with or without a lawyer gives you.

DIY Divorce

1.     Lesser Fees and Time

Filing a DIY divorce still means working with a law firm. However, they will only “springboard” your case to the proper avenues. Then, they will leave you a guide to follow for your DIY divorce. You usually pay 50% less without a lawyer present. The guide also ensures lesser fees and time.

2.     No Legal Support

The only problem with divorce cases is when complications and unexpected events arise. For example, an undefended divorce could escalate into a defended divorce at any time, especially if your spouse decides against the divorce. You will not have legal support in this case. Some terminologies in divorce forms might also appear confusing and without legal guidance, you might have trouble.

With-Lawyer Divorce

1.     Negotiations

A lawyer is a person who serves the interest of their client and negotiating with the lawyer of the spouse for the pension, properties, debts and other material-related aspects of the relationship is his or her specialty. If you cannot discuss the division of material aspects with your spouse properly, a legal representative could make it happen.

2.      Expensive

You could be paying higher fees due to the help of a legal expert. While you are guaranteed a flawless and protected passage with your divorce, you might pay an exorbitant fee for their miscellaneous services, particularly those that involve handling and processing special documents and other supplementary for your divorce.

Filing for A Court Appeal Without a Lawyer

It is possible to file a court appeal without a lawyer, but keep in mind that you should have appeared in court and received a proper court judgement. However, you cannot get assistance from any legal aid or court office if you make a court appeal without a lawyer. However, always keep these in mind.

1.     Dates

The stay of entry date is important and you could find this in your Notice of Entry of Judgement. Make sure that the date has not yet expired. If the date lands on a holiday or weekend, then its due date is postponed until the next business day. Determine if you’re to send mail forms or they are postmarked. Send mail forms require three days advance to get to their locations on time. Postmarked dates automatically deliver your form given that you submit them during the required date.

2.     Brief

Your case brief should be written with double-spaced type within one-inch margins on all sides and each page you must number. Courts prefer a brief with a Table of Contents to find the requirements, such as Affidavit of Good Faith and Affidavit of service easily, but they would also accept one without such items.

3.     Brief Cover

The brief’s cover must be white if you are a petitioner or an appellant. If you’re a respondent, the cover must be blue. All covers must be made of paper that is thicker than the one used in the brief. With your original copy, make three more copies of your Brief and its cover

4.     Fees

You will need to pay the filing fee and each petition has a separate cost. The Court of Appeals usually has specific costs for your appeal. You could ask for a waiver if you cannot afford the filing fee.

Identity Theft and What You Could Do to Prevent It

Identity theft is probably an adequately huge crime in the United Kingdom. Internet users who access their bank accounts or make payments with their credit cards online often get in trouble due to hackers trying to access their systems to hack into their financial accounts. You could end up being in debt if somebody tries to hack into your account. Here are a few things you should know about identity theft.

1.     Signs

If you see that your account have made unusual payments, debit withdrawals and your important mail from your online accounts missing, a hacker may have stolen your financial credentials.

If your inboxes and other areas of your mailbox appear tampered with, you could be in trouble. If there are new credit cards appearing on your credit record, someone else other than you is using your credit card.

2.     Protection

As much as possible, shred any receipt, billing statement or bank letter that contains your credit card bank number, signature, photo and other documents. Most hackers can randomly find your credentials and use it for their personal benefit if you don’t shred them.

Always transact with websites who offer a secure server. Most secure servers start with HTTPS:

3.     Legal Action

In case you have traced the hacker of your identity, authorities could file their actions as a violation of the Theft Act of 1968. The act indicates that any financial information, legal records or other personal identification owned by the victim and used by the suspect is considered stolen property, which is subject to legal action.