L2 Students: WEEK 11 information for groups 28, 29 and 10

TOPIC of CLASS n° 11 (Week 11): Northern Ireland / The Legal Professions.

During this class, we will finish discussing Devolution in Northern Ireland. 

The text of the presentation to be prepared will be sent to you by email directly.

We will also cover the last unit of the booklet: Legal Professions in England and Wales. 

Accordingly, read the introduction to this chapter.

TOPIC of CLASS n° 12 (Week 11) (Make-up class)

Please note that May 5th being a bank holiday, Class n°12 will take place on Week 11, that is to say just before the midterm break:

G 10, 7h45 am, Thursday April 14th, Room 602

G 28-96, 2.05 pm Friday April 15th, Room 608

G 29, 3.35 pm Friday April 15th, Room 608

This class will be dedicated to the correction of the In-Class test and to a listening comprehension exercise. The Presentations initially scheduled for this class will be given after the break.

(TOPIC of CLASS n° 13 (Week 13): 

We will finish discussing the legal professions after the break and go over the main points discussed this term. We will also listen to the last presentations of the term)

L3 Homework for Week 11: Criminal Law

- Study Chapters 102, 103 and 104 of Glossaire de droit anglais.

- Listen to the "Law in Action" audio document (that has been sent via dropbox) and prepare the listening comprehension exercise parts 1, 2 and 3 (booklet p. 92-93)

- Do not forget to go over what has been discussed last week (Criminal liability + Defence of Loss of Control (Text)…

DEVOLUTION in NORTHERN IRELAND

How do we elect MLAs?

WATCH THIS "SPLAINER"


The Northern Ireland Assembly consists of 108 MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly), representing 18 constituencies. While, originally, elections were to be held every 4 years, they will now be held every 5 years. We vote by secret ballot at Assembly elections, using a system of Proportional Representation (PR) known as Single Transferable Vote (STV). STV is also used in elections to Northern Ireland Local Government (Councils),  the European Parliament and in elections in the Republic of Ireland.

What is Proportional Representation?

 The term describes electoral systems in which candidates win seats in a parliament more or less in proportion to the votes cast. Supporters of this type of system argue that it reflects voters' choices more accurately than other systems. A voter can usually indicate an order of preference for one or more candidates. Voters elect more than one candidate to represent a constituency, giving them a choice of representatives to engage with. This differs from the First Past the Post (FPTP) system used for electing Members of Parliament (MPs) to Westminster. Voters using FPTP choose only one candidate. The candidate with the most votes wins the single seat.

What is STV?

STV is a type of PR system. In an election using STV, constituencies elect a set number of candidates. In Northern Ireland this set number is six. A party standing in an election can put forward as many candidates as it likes per constituency.

Voters have as many preferences as there are candidates. They mark the candidates 1, 2, 3, etc. in order of preference with 1 for their first choice of candidate, 2 for their second and so on. Voters do not have to state a preference for all candidates – they can choose as many or as few as they like.

STV awards seats in proportion to the number of votes cast, with voters’ lower ranking preferences taken into account.

STV has advantages over ‘First Past the Post’ (FPTP), which is used to elect MPs to Westminster. Under FPTP, each constituency elects only one MP. The names of one candidate for each political party, plus independents, are on the ballot paper. Voters choose one candidate only and the candidate with the most votes wins the seat. They can win with a simple majority and many do so with less than 50 percent of the constituency’s support. In this system ‘the winner takes all’. Constituents who voted for the winning candidate are happy, but others may feel that they are not represented. However, MPs are required to represent everyone in their constituency. The STV system increases voter choice because they can vote for more than one candidate. They can choose between candidates within a party, as well as between parties. STV also allows more voters to affect the outcome of an election. In the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, over 80 percent of all valid votes determine the six successful candidates for each constituency. This means the results are more representative of the views of the electorate than under ‘First Past the Post’.

STV gives smaller parties a better chance in elections, as they may benefit from transfers from larger parties. PR systems tend to produce multi-party ‘coalition’ governments. FPTP is more likely to produce single party governments. Supporters of FPTP argue that coalition governments are not as stable or effective as single party governments. This is because coalition governments are often formed by parties with opposing political principles. This leads to difficulties in agreeing decisions. Parties may withdraw from government and cause it to collapse.

We have used STV in Northern Ireland for local and European elections since the introduction of Direct Rule, following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Parliament, in 1972. FPTP had produced single party government by one party for the life the Northern Ireland Parliament from 1921 to 1972. STV was introduced to provide better representation for those who supported other parties.

Northern Ireland has a unique model of coalition government. Most coalitions are formed when parties agree to work together. Northern Ireland uses the d’Hondt system to determine membership of theExecutive. D’Hondt is a mathematical formula used to allocate positions of power proportionally based on the number of seats a party has in the Assembly. This is called a ‘mandatory coalition’. It is a system designed to guarantee power-sharing between representatives from different sections of the community. A PR election system, such as STV, ensures that different sections of the community have their views represented in the devolved institutions. It is important that as many people as possible feel represented and included.

Source: http://education.niassembly.gov.uk

DEVOLUTION in SCOTLAND

The Guardian view on the Scottish elections: let’s talk about money too

Editorial

Nicola Sturgeon’s nationalists remain politically ascendant, but the Scottish public conversation is shifting on to material choices that challenge the SNP’s priorities. That’s all to the good

Wednesday 23 March 2016, The Guardian,

1. What does the article tell us about the popularity of the SNP? How should this be interpreted?

In spite of the victory of the No side in the referendum on the independence of Scotland, the SNP is still very popular. (See second part of § 2)

2.Comment on the position of the SNP on the question of the Independence of Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon seems to be caught in a rather paradoxical situation. On the one hand, given that the price of oil has registered a sharp drop in recent months, an independent Scotland would find it more difficult to be self-reliant. Now is not exactly the right time for Scotland to become independent.

Yet, the question of “Independence” being central / vital to the party, Sturgeon cannot but address the issue.

(A second vote (dependent on Brexit) may then be held.) (See §  3)

3. Comment on the party’s position on taxes

The article throws light on another paradox: the SNP has long relied on a left-wing rhetoric. Yet, when it comes to taxes, it seems that the party is actually not as left-wing as it claims to be. Sturgeon, who in recent months was the spearhead of the anti-austerity campaign, now campaigns to maintain things as they are.

Conversely, Scottish Labour has made real proposals in favour of a reform of the system. (See § 5)

4. What does the article say about arguments made about “money and spending choices”?

The journalist sees this shift of focus away from the question of independence to the question of taxation favourably as this question, the article contends, is just as central as questions of identity.

Not only would this shift benefit Scotland, but it would also be beneficial to the whole of Britain.

Relevant vocabulary:

Ascendancy (n.): a position of power in which someone can control or influence other people / governing, controlling influence

Battlements (n.) (usually plural): a low wall at the top of a castle with open spaces for people inside to shoot through

Sunder (v.): (Already covered in class)

Milestone (n.): an important point in the progress or development of something/ a very important event or advance

“The trend is still running strong”

“In the meantime”

Tank (v.): to be very unsuccessful: to fail completely

Dependent on:  (in this context) determined or conditioned by another =  contingent (Ex: plans that are dependent on the weather)

“Support has always rested on its claims”

“To issue a revised assessment of something” / to assess something

“To tighten the pressure on someone / something”

Let England Shake (The Economist) / 

(Text studied in class with Group 28)

Vocabulary: Presentation given by Oréa and Ridha

§Hotch-potch: (n) Vague and muddled mixture (Also: Hodge-podge)

§Derring-do: (n) Brave behavior in a dangerous or complicated situation.

§The bonds: obligations

§Jolts (n): political upheavals

§To muse: to think about something

§Threshold (n) : Value from which something occurs.

§To pull part : to make good use of something

§To borrow : to take temporarily something from somebody

§Meanwhile (adv): Simultaneously in the current action, but not taking place in the same place.

§Reiner (n): someone who go on a plundering raid. (See hist / border between Scotland and England)

§To muddle: to put into a state of confusion

§To pull apart: to separate people who are entangled

§To rile: to anger or irritate

Mhairi Black's "maiden speech" in the House of Commons

(The Maiden Speech is the first ​formal ​speech made by a British Member of Parliament in the House of Commons or by a ​member of the House of Lords)

L3 HOMEWORK FOR WEEK 10 (April 6th, 2016)

UNIT 8: INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL LAW

Study chapters 27, 28 and 102 of the Glossaire de droit anglais, as well as the vocabulary corresponding to each unit.
We will spend less time next week discussing these introductions so make sure to study them very carefully so we can discuss the text p. 91 and do some linguistic exercises.

The text to be prepared is text n ° 6= "Infidelity plus".
Read the whole text twice (at least), pay particular attention to paragraph 4 (p. 91) : "Lord Judge accepted that the statute…"
Answer the four questions on the text p. 92.
Make a list of all the new vocabulary. Look for the corresponding definitions in English.