In a discussion I had with one of my very many smart friends one of who has the opinion that the Law is apparently black and white. The black and white phrase means obviously clear enough to identify right and wrong. Oh yes of course, we would all expect the law to be straight forward but I want to let you know that there is a whole lot to the term and the provisions of 'LAW'.
Understanding the sources of complexity in legal systems is a matter which has been long considered by various legal commentators. The Complexity of Law is the tendency for a matter or decision or rule to become more complex over time and at the same time becomes more debatable and has been highly commented on. One can imagine the amount of legal scholars or commentators that have developed different methods or approaches to deal with these complexities but notwithstanding, it's still present.
When I read through legislations and cases, I try to understand what could possibly have influenced the decisions or the provisions and if it is open to any possible modifications. The number of pages of legislations and case judgements have been in constant increase which then makes it difficult, even for those deeply involved with legislation, to know what is going on. However, these are the only ways we (I mean every other human being) can assume and try to understand the law and its complexities.
It is important to note that not every other individual except of course those interested in the legal system will have in one way or the other noticed that there are several issues in the Law that seems outrageous. In order to discuss this topic I guess it will be ideal to probably write a book or some dissertation/thesis on it, however I would just give some illustrations oh how complex the law is and could even get if it is not modified.
1] One of the most uncommon complexity would be The Sexual Offences Act 2003. This Act explicitly talks about rape amongst many other things, saying that only women are capable of raping. This may seem very odd as of course only a woman can rape as she has no Penis.
I Quote 'A person commits an offence (Rape) if—he intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with his penis, B does not consent to the penetration, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents'.
I guess we all fail to realise the question as to why must the penetration only be by the penis. Penetration can be by any means like your hands could also penetrate. Also what if the male does not intend to rape but is induced by the woman (woman giving him something to drink which makes the penis to erect). would that be classified as a rape by a man or a woman. Although she has no penis to penetrate but she has caused the erection of the penis to penetrate and forcefully rapes the man. As awkward and absurd this sounds, it is also very unheard of for a man to claim that he was raped by a woman.
2] The other provision is the Law of Property Act 1925. This Act is seriously outdated and should really be modified. It says that a disposition of an equitable interest at the time of disposing it must be in writing and signed by the person disposing off the same. Cases like Grey v IRC, Vandervell and Oughtred n IRC have been caught up in the mess of this provision. In all three cases they all decided to transfer equitable title in their respective properties by oral directions and ideally they should not be liable for Advalorem stamp duty (tax) which of course is payable when a disposition is done by way of writing and also signed.
The point I am trying to point out of this provision is that it states that a disposition must be in writing and signed so why do I have to pay tax over a disposition I did orally. Oh and trust the Inland Revenue Commissioner's (I.R.C) to always claim for their taxes. This Act is since 1925 and things are obviously changing so also should the Act because I'm sincerely amazed it's still in force today. According to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in 'The Future if Man' The more complex a being is, so our Scale of Complexity tells us, the more it is centred upon itself and therefore the more aware does it become. In other words, the higher the degree of complexity in a living creature, the higher its impact on things these living creatures do. Certainly they are not Gods and obviously will not be able to ascertain problems of the future but should however not fail to recognize that some certain provisions are just too old and need to be amended.
This indeed is just a short description of what goes around my head as a potential Lawyer and I hope it has also stirred some thoughts in your minds because we all deserve to understand how and why a decision is regarded as the truth and final truth.
Truth be told, there are just certain laws that are too ridiculous to ignore...check out this page http://www.elistmania.com/juice/10_most_ridiculous_laws_from_around_the_world/
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