Citizenship

AQA AS level 

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  • Created by: Lauren
  • Created on: 23-05-12 14:40

Crown courts 

  • operate on a circuit system with judgd travelling around the courts in  one of the six circuits in england and wales to hear cases 
  • hear indictable cases and offences triable either way, where the accused slects trial by jury. 
  • also handle sentencing 
  • Indictable offenses can be classified into four categories
    1- offences include murder and treason  
    2-offences often very serious such as manslaughter
    3-offesces are indictable ones not in classes 1,2,4
    4-offensces are least serious- death by dangerous driving etc 
  • class 1- onlty be tried by high court judge in a first tier crown court
  • class 2- heard by a circuit judge in 2nd tier court
  • class 4- circuirt judge or recorder in 3rd tier. 
  • crown courts also have a civil caseload as in cases of appeal over licensing matters  
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Role of judges  perform several specific functions:

  • preside over criminal trials for serious offences, being responsible for all matter of criminal law and making sure that all rules of procedure are properly applied 
  • deliver what they believe to be appropriate sentences 
  • peacefully resolve civeil disputes uphold the will pof the legislature,taking responsibilty for applying its ules without fear or favour. 

sorts of people appointed as judges?

  • white, males, upper/middle aged and class 
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courts and human rights act

  • since the civil procedure act (1997) civil cases that go before the courts are allocated to the small calims track, the fast track procedure or the multi track procedure. 

Role of Uk supreme court 

  • constitutional reform act 2005- create a supreme court 
  • highest court 
  • final arbiter on poinrts of law for the whole of the UK 

Role of the European Court of human rights:

  • set up in 1959 in france 
  • court aims to apply and to protect the civil and political rights of the continents citizens. 
  • court will only hear a case when all domestic legal avenues have been tried
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membership of the ECHR

  • current british rep= nicolas bratza. 
  • no two judges may be nationals of the same country.
  • serves for renewable 6 year periods
  • terms of office expire when they are 70.

Judicial review 

  • process that enables judges to override the decisions and laws of democratically elected governments 
  • natural judice is a legal philosophy used to determine whether legal proceedings are just and fair. 
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law, morality and justice 

  • law- set of public rules that apply throughout the community and are usually considered by everybody as binding. determines what can and cannot be done 
  • morality- involve conforming to conventional standards of moral conduct. concerned with whether human behaviour is right or wrong with what should and should not be done. 
  • Justicies- implies ideas of fairness and impartiality in judgement or actions, the principle that like cases should be treated alike.
  • rule of law- theory that government smust be based of the supremacy of law which must be applied equally to all and through just procedures. 
  • natural or god given law- a moral system to which humans do or should do in the view of those who subscribe to it. 
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Civil or criminal law 

  • law is made by parliament(statute law- the body of law introduced as a result of parliamentary legislation) or th courts (case law- the body of law created by judges written opinions that interpret prior case law, statutes and other legal authority). majority of law is international law- system of rules that constrains states in their mutural relations). 
  • Criminal law- relates to the body of law dealing with crimes which are offences against the state. concerned with maintaining cetrain standards of behaviour, aim=punish those who break the law. 
  • civil law- relates to the body of law dealing with disputes between individuals or groups in society in which the aim is to win compensation for the victim. 
  • neglience- refers to a breach of care resulting in damage to another person.
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why punish?

  • retribution- revenge 
  • protection for society 
  • deterrence- person never commits the crime again 
  • reformation/rehabilitation
  • captial punishment- penalty of death 
  • corporal punishment- form of physicla discipline that is intended to cause pain and fer in the offender. 
  • Community rehabilitation orders-invovles a person being placed on probation with possible restictions. probation officer monitors the defendants progress, helps them find a job/home
  • community pubishment orders- involved ordering a offender to carry out between 40 and 240 hours of work, unpaid, on projects designed to value the community. 
  • ASBOs: individual can be ordeed not to go to a certain place/activity for a minimum of 2 years 
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restorative justive- 

gives victims of crime the chance to tell offendenders about the real impact of their behaviour to get answers to their questions and recieve an aplogoy. enables them to get on with their lives. gives offenders the chance to understaqnd the real impact of what they have done and to do something to repair the harm. also holds offenders directly and personally to account for what they have done. 

how restorative justice operates: offenders and victims bought together through:

  • direct mediation: meet face to face
  • indirect mediation: communicate through letters 
  • conferencing- involving supporters for both parties
  • wider community 
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migration= movement of people 

immigration- enter and settle in a country or region to which is not native 

emigration- leave a country or region to settle in another 

push factors- lack of safety/services, flooding, drought, poverty, war, high crime, crop failure

pull factors- high employment, wealth, safer, less crime, political stability, better education, lower risk of natural hazards, better education, better health care/ free health care. 

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citizenship  refer to membership of the state 

nature of citizenship - acient athens- athenian democracy, citizens expected to:

  • participated 
  • attend civic meetings & take part in debate 
  • vote on issues of public policy 
  • be active memeber of the community 

acitive citizenship- the belief that citizens who have done well out of life and have a moral duty to be active, participating members of the community, volunterring to help others 

crick report- education in parliamentary democracy, social and moral responsibility, community involvement. 

subjects and citizens- subjects=people who live under regimes that place obligations upon tem but concede no rights

citizens possess rights and have a say in the manner in which government is carried out

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 rights and duties 

 right culture- a way of life in which there is repect for human rights and in which people are very conscious of the rights that they possess and keen to assert them 

human rights act 1998- a measure introduced by labour in the UK to set out a series of indivduals rights based on the european conventions of human rights 

human rights- universal and fundamental rights that derive from peopel humanity. cannot be granted, taken away, or limited

legal rights- rights granted to citizens by virtue of their membership of their particular state 

duties: obligations e.g. the responsibility to vote 

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discrimination: unfair treartment of a person or social group based of prejudice

  • indirect- occurs where the effect of certain apparently neutral requirements imposed by employers have adverse impact
  • direct- occurs when someone is treated less favourably than others 
  • genocide- most extreme- killing whole race/group
  • physical abuse-attacks of individuals from a group 
  • antiolcution- making joe about a minority, hurtful language which leads to...
  • avoidance- avoiding the minority 
  • discrimination- putting prejudice into action- denying jobs etc 

prejudice- an opinion unfavourable one formed without adequate info & facts 

  • islamophobia- demostration/dislike/fear/prejudice/ against muslim or islamic culture
  • homophobia-an irrational dear/hatred of homosexuals activityt & behaviour based upon that fear/concept 
  • sexism- tp of prejudice/discrimination based on gender
  • rasicm- prejudice against a different race 
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poverty- household income below 60% of the median disposable income level in that year

life chance- chances to achieve a goal/ambition/desire

  • life chances in education- national statistics show that in 1992 60% of children with high jobs attained5 or more A* to C GCSES 44% more than children with unskilled parents.
    indian children performed better than any other social group
    m/c children are more likely to g to 6th form & uni 
  • life chances in employment & income- better qualifications=better job 
  • life chances in rlation to health- m/c higher life expectancy than w/c- most likely to be more healthier than w/c to 
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stereotyping  to have a generalised view about a person or group of people - usually a group we do not belong to. 

labelling - classifing people using an easy word/ phrase that represents a generalisation about them and their characteristics

mass media- section of the media designed to reach a very large audience- influence us, with stereotypes. 

culture-  a shared way of life of a particular society or social group 

multicultiralism-  a mixture of different races with many cultures and much ethnic diversity within a coutry/region/city/town

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local government (access to information) act 1986- made local council records available within a short period after they were documented 

data protection act 1998 gives you the right to know what information is held about you and sets out rules to make sure that thi sinformation is handled properly. the act gives individuals rights to: 

  • gain access to their data
  • seek ompensation 
  • preventtheir datat being processed in certain cirumstances 
  • 'opt out' of having their datat used for direct marketing
  • 'opt out' of fullt automated decision making about them 

freedom of information act 2000- establishes rule on access to information or records held by government bodies. 

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other rights of UK citizens 

consumer rights 

  • protection of health and safety- involving banning the sales that may jeopardise them 
  • protecting the consumeers economic interest- regualtions of misleading advertising, unfair contractual agreements and unethical sales techniques 
  • granting the right to full information about goods and service offered- labelling of foodstuffs, medicines, textiles 
  • right to redress- rapid and afforsable settlement of complaints by consumers who feel they have been injured or damaged by using services 
  • consumer rperesentation in the decison making process- via consumer associations such as which! 
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welfare rights refer to entitilements to benefits under the legislation that created and sustains the welfare state 

Right to defend oneself- 

  • defend himself from attack 
  • prevent an attack on another person 
  • defend his property, 
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nobody

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Good notes thanks

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