All posts tagged United States

What A Civil Marriage Is

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A civil marriage is not hard to define. It is the union of two people legally for life, without any religious affiliations. A government or a civil official will be present to officiate it. It is a wedding that meets all the legal requirements of the state or country. In some countries, couples are required to hold a civil ceremony first and get the legal business sorted out. Later, they can have a church wedding which will include more fun fare and traditions. How to have your wedding is a personal decision. There are many advantages that come with a civil marriage. Some of the advantages include the following. You do not have to worry about any legality because; it ensures that that everything is right. If you wish to have a simple ceremony, the civil option is the best. You just need the presence of a few witnesses and a civil official like a judge to join you together. You can have your wedding within a short notice too. The traditional wedding will require months of planning but, all that matters is the certificate. Thousands of singles go through the civil marriage never to regret it.

Remember, you always have the option of throwing a big wedding anytime. Therefore, you really have nothing to loose. As a result, the partners who get married through a civil system will have legal rights and obligations. In the United States, the government issues rights to religious leader to perform religious marriages that are recognized by the state. Ministers, priest, rabbi and others will therefore have the authority to oversee a marriage ceremony. For a marriage to be considered legal there must be an issuance of a marriage license by civil authorities. Above this the marriage needs to be endorsed or cleared by them to proceed. Gay people also enjoy the right to civil marriage. However, theirs is not a marriage but rather referred to as, a civil union. There are several states that have given same sex couples equal right to get in to civil unions and they include Vermont, Connecticut and others. Countries like Canada have also granted their gay population the right to civil unions.

Countries like the UK do not recognize same sex marriages. They are of the opinion that a family is not defined by same gender parents rather by a man and a woman who can produce offspring. If you are gay, it is vital that you find out what your state or country thinks about it. If a civil union is not allowed, you need to follow the law. Many couples have gone to places where the civil union is legal to get married. Couples have had difficulties proving to their governments that they are married. If you want to do this, know what the implications are and most importantly, do everything within the legal boundaries. If you need to get more information on this, the Internet will give you more details. Do not forget to search for the relevant information from your area of residence.

Civil Law Definition And Overview

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Civil law or European Continental law or Romano-Germanic law is the principal system of law in the world. Civil law is the legal tradition that derives from Roman law. The primary feature of which is that laws are written into a collection, codified, and not (as in common law) interpreted by judges. Civil law seeks to resolve non-criminal disputes such as disagreements over the meaning of contracts, property ownership, divorce, child custody, and damages for personal and property damage.

The body of laws of a state or nation deals with the rights of private citizens. The law of ancient Rome as embodied in the Justinian code, especially that which applied to private citizens. A system of law has its origin in Roman law, as opposed to common law or canon law. Unlike criminal law, Civil law regulates relationships amongst persons and organizations. Civil law, in this sense, is usually referring to redress to civil law courts (as opposed to criminal courts) and is often used as a means to resolve disputes involving accidents (torts such as negligence), libel and other intentional torts, contract disputes, the probate of wills, and trusts, and any other private matters that can be resolved between private parties.

Conceptually, it is the group of legal ideas and systems ultimately derived from the Code of Justinian, but heavily overlaid by Germanic, ecclesiastical, feudal, and local practices, as well as doctrinal strains such as natural law, codification, and legislative positivism. The function of civil law is to provide a legal remedy to solve problems. Sometimes civil law is based on a state or federal statute; at other times civil law is based on a ruling by the court.

In the United States, civil law has two meanings. One meaning of civil law refers to a legal system prevalent in Europe that is based on written codes. Civil law in this sense is contrasted with the common-law system used in England and most of the United States, which relies on prior case law to resolve disputes rather than written codes. The second meaning of civil law refers to the body of laws governing disputes between individuals, as opposed to those governing offenses that are public and relate to the governmentthat is, civil law as opposed to Criminal Law.

It is sometimes used in contradistinction to criminal, to indicate the private rights and remedies of men, as members of the community, in contrast to those which are public and relate to the government; thus we speak of civil process and criminal process, civil jurisdiction and criminal jurisdiction.

Pack more knowledge of law in your brain to do your duty and maintain your rights, just remember to be a good citizen.

The Craze Of Entering The Civil Service And Pursuing Graduate Studies

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For over a decade, the craze of Chinese college graduates taking qualifying examinations to become civil servants has remained unabated. An important proportion of graduates views civil service as their top priority in job selection and they spare no efforts in preparing for those examinations, sometimes years before their graduation . There’s the same as Civil Service. Millions of Chinese college students sit for qualifying examinations for graduate studies, primarily in Masters programs. Students prepare for those examinations either through years of arduous self-education or by spending large sums of money attending local training schools. The publishing of examinations-related study materials and the training programs offered, both online and offline, have combined to form a sizable industry.

Faced with the harsh reality in the employment market, which is forever looking for graduates with higher degrees, many college graduates find going to graduate schools is a good way to avoid unemployment and to enhance ones competitiveness in future job hunting. To some extent, this craze is a modern revival of the ancient notion that those who excel in academics end up in officialdom. In the present-day ,there are complicated reasons underlying this phenomenon. The jobs in sectors other than civil service are insecure and unstable, and employees have to work under greater stress faced with growing competitions in the workplace and the industry. Some government departments are related to monopolized industries and civil servants can enjoy unusually high salaries and welfare benefits. Finally, government officials are usually regarded as occupying the highest rung of the social hierarchy and a student who succeeds in becoming government official is considered the pride of the family, adding prestige and glory to the entire clan.

For all the apparent attractions of the officialdom, the craze of entering the civil service is a distorted one. In the United States, truly ambitious students enter the industry instead of civil departments, where they apply their individual initiative to achieve personal success. It has already been pointed out that, with so many best minds of the nation fighting their way into the civil sectors, the consequences are catastrophic. The civil servants system, with its inherent bureaucracy and rigid rules, would inevitably turn the otherwise energetic and aggressive young people into docile followers of their superiors instructions and dutiful but mediocre implementers of executive orders. This will considerably undermine the vitality of a whole generation and the competitiveness of the entire country in the international arena. All forms of craze are accompanied by elements of irrationality and abnormality and, the sooner this craze vanishes, the better.It is really pathetic to see that students undertake graduate studies with an ulterior motivenot for the sake of loving what they study, but for the sake of merely landing a job, which in many cases might be unrelated to what they have studied.

An alarming fact about this craze is that most students pursue graduate studies not out of their voluntary will. However, without that voluntary initiative, most students who do enter graduate schools are not motivated. For them, the only thing that ultimately counts is the degree or the diploma which they expect could give them an upper hand against other job hunters. As to the actual substance of their graduate studies, its not a big deal for them, as long as it leads to that degree or diploma.The chill truth is that students soon find their anticipations are a mere dream. As so many undergraduates proceed onto graduate studies, the employment situation remains as severe as ever. Instead of bringing about apparent competitive edges, two or three years of additional academic training is simply a waste of time and energy. They need to reflect on this craze and would have been better off distinguishing themselves with outstanding knowledge and skills when they were undergraduates.

What Is The Difference Between Civil And Criminal Courts

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In the United States there is a very clear distinction and separation between civil courts and criminal courts. The purpose of a civil court is to settle disputes. A common example is the division of property in a divorce case.

Criminal courts, on the other hand, prosecute those who are accused of breaking the law. A crime may be categorized as a serious violation (a felony) or a minor offense (a misdemeanor).

A felony could involve crimes such as drug dealing, robbery, or murder. If someone is found guilty of a felony, he or she is often sentenced to a term in jail or prison.

A misdemeanor may be an offense such as jay walking, littering, or parking illegally. Court appearances are not usually necessary when a person is charged with a misdemeanor. Instead, he or she usually just pays a fine.

Most of the people who are caught committing a misdemeanor are issued a summons. However, if a foreigner violates a local law he or she could be given a warning.

Anyone who has been caught committing a felony is arrested.

People who are arrested are usually frisked so that any concealed weapons can be found. They are then handcuffed and read their rights.

This includes their right to remain silent, their right to have an attorney present during their questioning, and their right to have an attorney appointed by the court if they cannot afford to hire one.

When a person is arrested for a felony he or she is given the option of waiving their rights. Because any statement that they make could be used against them in the courts, it is unadvisable for them to waive these rights.

Instead, it’s best to retain all of your rights all the time. If you ever find yourself in this situation, do not say anything until you’ve spoken with your attorney.

When people are arrested they are taken to the police department. There they will be charged with their crime and given the right to make one phone call.

If a foreigner is arrested his or her call should be made to their consulate or embassy. Otherwise, it should be made to an attorney or to the local legal aid office. Or, if necessary, it should be made to a person who can bail them out.

The accused felon will be jailed until their case goes before a judge. Usually it will be the same day they are arrested or the following day.

If there is no case to answer then the accused will be released. If the offense is minor then the accused may be released on their personal recognizance. Otherwise, bail may be set.

Bail is either cash or its equivalent amount in property value.

However, if the case is serious the judge could oppose bail.

Asbestos cases are most often decided in civil court. However, to be properly represented, plaintiffs in asbestos-related cases should be represented by asbestos attorneys.

Essay on Civil Disobedience and Unjust laws

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Should all laws passed by the government be obeyed by its citizens? For Henry David Thoreau, citizens should not blindly obey all the laws passed by the lawmakers. There are certain laws which may be disobeyed by the public. Thoreau called these laws as unjust laws.

Unjust laws are laws that violate basic and inherent rights of the people. These laws trample upon the same rights that the government has sworn to protect and uphold. Unjust laws are an anathema to a democratic society primarily because they are passed by the same institution that should protect and recognize the rights of the people. These laws violate the right to due process of law, equal protection of the law, and other basic and inherent human rights.

Thoreau said that the United States government has passed laws in the past which are unjust and immoral. Some of these laws are those that were passed before the Civil War – laws allowing and perpetuating the slavery of colored individuals, laws prohibited the marriage of colored individuals and white, laws that denied colored individuals the right to vote and citizenship. According to Thoreau -Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded or shall we transgress them at once.-

Unjust laws will continue to exist in the future. Based on the basic principles of a democracy which upholds that maxim that the majority is always right the government is bound to pass unjust laws in the future. So long as certain groups of individuals have the numbers in government, they can have their way in the government and pass unjust laws. It should be stressed, however, that the majority is not always right. While there is strength in numbers it is possible that they could be wrong about the passage of some legislations.

Thoreau believes that citizens should not be forced to obey an unjust law. In fact, Thoreau believes that citizens have the moral obligation to fight an unjust law. The citizens should not wait for the time to come when the law is rendered unconstitutional. It takes time to do so. Thoreau believes that the public should take a stand. When he was asked to pay the taxes which he considered was unjustly imposed, he disobeyed the government and refused to pay the taxes. He advocated civil disobedience as a means to fight an unjust law.

Thoreau warned that there are consequences for civil disobedience. The government will not hesitate imposing punishment on individuals who disobey the law. However, Thoreau believes that this is the only way to fight an unjust law.

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