Critically analyse the arguments for and against the codification of Essay

Critically analyse the arguments for and against the codification of Scottish criminal law - Essay Example The commission did not articulate its own view on the appeal of using the draft as the foundation for passing a Scottish criminal code by articulated the belief that an extensive public discussion on the issues emerging from the draft code would be essential. Consequently, it provoked comments on December 15, 2003. The draft code was aimed at substituting the common law crimes, in addition to several constitutional offences, in the same sector with those crimes. It did not try to substitute decrees like the Acts on road traffic or drug-related crimes or on health and safety at workplaces, or gaming which are already controlling certain issues in an inclusive manner (Chan et al., 2009). The authors were not opposed to involving such matters ultimately by any means. This is because a better code is one that is highly inclusive. Not only did it appear less essential to involve crimes already in mind-codes, but also numerous issues of this kind are preserved issues under the Scotland Act 1998. Hence, the draft code was incomplete code. Because of this reason, many people argued for and against this code citing many succinct reasons as to why they took their position. While the codification of Scottish criminal law was aimed at improving current laws, it had shortfalls which if not amended, will have adverse effects on the Scottish people. The codification of Scottish criminal law had both advantages and disadvantages. For instance, the codification of Scottish criminal law would avoid the need for recurrence and stop certain kinds of gap in new legislation. Nevertheless, it did not appear to be a lucid case for substituting the current criminal law with a code (MacQueen et al., 2003). Courts will be required by the introduction of a code to stick to the letter of the code even where it create outcomes that are unjust on, not in accordance with sound principle. It might not be sure on how far it would be helpful to refer to institutional authors and preceding decisi ons. The codification of Scottish criminal law could have involved a variety of constitutional crimes encountered frequently in legal practice. According to Reid & Zimmermann (2000), it was difficult for the Sheriffs Principal to reach a view on whether the codification of the criminal law was in principle a project to be pursued by the Scottish Law Commission. They realized that illustrious judges in England had called for codification of the criminal law and called for a fully informed discussion on the matter in the Scotland. Scottish Law Commission is supposed to think to supplement the draft with a debate paper in a conservative style analyzing the misbehavior to be tackled, the section of the current law believed to be substandard and the different alternatives for reform. They were especially anxious to discover what had been the experience of judges and practitioners in other ordinary law authorities where the criminal law had been codified. Smith (1962) asserts that even th ough the codification of Scottish criminal law was approved initially at the abstract, it is now considered that when human rights needs had a helpful impact on the ordinary law; it was not time to codify the Scottish Criminal Law. This is because a code is supposed to codify the entire law including constitutional crimes. In the code, offence-creating conditions should be framed in a exceedingly

Virtue in Machiavelli's Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Virtue in Machiavelli's Philosophy - Essay Example "It is necessary for a prince, wanting to maintain himself, to learn how to be able to be not good and to use this and not use it according to necessity"(Machiavelli 57). He believes that one good man is surely going to suffer among those who are not good. Thus, the virtue of goodness is meaningless for Machiavelli. If a price is imagined to be just as what Machiavelli conceptualizes, he would not be less than a criminally wicked tyrant. On contrast, the Discourses is a good usable book, though being long, nostalgic, and difficult as well. Here, Machiavelli's advices go to not just the rulers but the citizens, social reformers, political leaders, and the founders of republics. The purpose served is to establish and sustain their liberty as well as the avoidance of corruption "unless indeed the goodness of one individual, together with virtue, keeps it free"(Machiavelli xxiv). Improving from the downgraded non-virtuous theme of The Prince, In Discourses, Machiavelli explain that as a new price tends to preserve his principality with glory for a long time-beyond his death-the foundation of a republic is the best approach. "A corrupt city that lives under a prince, can never be turned into a free one, even if that prince is eliminated along with all his line"(Machiavelli xxiv). However, one thing is clear that he devaluates the republics and principalities as imagined by the writers with virtue. And, the reason is that they emphasized on the moral virtue which, according to him, invites ruin; plus they also rejected violence, cruelty, and loss of faith, which are unavoidable and acceptable for the preservation of the principality according to him. And, this is what is objectionable in The Prince where he goes against the morality set by the classical and biblical values with an intention of framing a novel and modern "political" conception of virtue. The new definition of virtue means something that does not prevent the human from first gaining and then maintaining whatever has been gained, especially the authority. However, morality is one of his targeted themes that also include politics at the first place, necessity, fortune, religion, etc. As far as moral values are concerned, he shows his dislikes for the people of his time because, in his views, they were not actually following the "ancient virtue" but instead were content with keeping ancient statues in their homes, and thus honoring and imitating them in that way. The deeds rendered by the ancient rulers and republics were not at all imitated, neither their examples were meaningful to the then political scenario, according to him. In the first preface to the Discourses he talks about correct history knowledge lacked by his time. This suggests that Machiavelli was not against the ancient value; rather, he praises it with an aim of improving it. He was not much concerned about the would-be negative results of his writings and was eager to bring about a "Machiavellian" interpretation of the ancient virtue-along with a new look of the Renaissance in terms of modernity rather than a copy of the past. Machiavelli's virtue is questioned mainly because some of the advices in The Prince-such as cruelty for the sake of the subject-go against the virtue as perceived by the human masses. Also, his