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Law & GovernmentLecture I

The importance of economics

Economics is the allocation of scarce resources among competing ends to satisfy human wants.

Fundamental problem is SCARCITY.

Scarcity arises because: limited resources VS unlimited wants

Wants and needs are virtually unlimited because: goods eventually wear out and need to be

replaced, new or improved products become available, people get tired with what they already

own.

We have a need to satisfy our physiological needs.

What you get depends on your resources.

Scarcity is a country wide problem and economical issue.

To produce commodities you need to use inputs (ingredients) to get an output

Production: using the inputs or resources

Distribution involves getting commodities to end-users or consumers

Consumption involves the using up of commodities to satisfy wants.

Economic agents (consumers)

Factors of production: land (surface/gifts of nature), labour (physical and mental effort), capital

(real capital and money capital), entrepreneurs (risk-takers)

For every risk taken, there is a return or a loss (depending) (excess return or a large loss)

LIMITED RESOURCES VS UNLIMITED WANTSSCARCITYCHOICE

OPPORTUNITY COST

Making a decision to buy or not to buy (A or B (opportunity cost of A))

Opportunity cost: cost of one good in terms of the next best alternative (2nd

best)

The value of resources in their next best use

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ECONOMIC PROBLEMS (in the form of questions)

What is produced and how? (Resource allocation, determines the amount of goods that should be

produced and used)

What is consumed and by whom? (Who gets what/distribution etc.)

How much unemployment and inflation exist? (Buying less, no income to buy whatever goods

needed) (recession: economy operating at its lowest potential) (not using resources = less

income) (national income or GDP (gross domestic product)

Is productive capacity growing?

Since the 70s, inflation has been a grave issue in the world >_>

Unemployment and inflation

Productive capacity

Technological advances, education

An economic system is the way a society goes about allocating (deciding) which goods to

produce and in which quantities.

Three main types of economic systems:

1)

Free market or capitalist economies: resources are allocated by the price mechanismwithout government intervention. (USA and Hong Kong)

2) Socialist or communist economies: central ownership of all resources and decision-making process is decided by a body of central planners. (luxury goods) Karl Marx

produced the socialist system: one body owns all the resources (decision making

process||central planners who decide how to allocate the resources)

3) Mixed economies: combination of socialist and capitalist type systems. (free market andcentral planners) private and public sector allocating

Microeconomics: is the study of decision-making by individual economic agents

It examines the determination of prices, determines the forces leading to price changes, observes

the consequence of price changes, investigates the inter-relationships between markets and

market failure

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Market failure: shortage of goods that are wanted and abundance of goods that are not on

demand or unwanted.

Main goals of Micro policy making:

Efficiency: effectiveness in all sectors of the economy

Equity: greater equality in the economy is vital (minimize the gap)

Freedom: maximum freedom ****

Macroeconomics focuses on the whole or aggregate view of the economy.

Macroeconomics: seek to explain the causes and effects of increases and decreases in aggregates,

attempts to identify the conditions that make for a stable economy.

Governments implement policy to achieve macroeconomic objectives: fiscal policy, monetary

policy, trade policy, exchange rate policy. (Trinidad: managed float)

Main goals of macro policy making: HIGH EMPLOYMENT: entails a loss in output for the

society as a whole, PRICE LEVEL STABILITY: price volatility causes uncertainty,

ECONOMIC GROWTH: growth maintains or increases standard of living

N.B. Over employment: inflation

Foundations and growth of Caribbean economy

Law & Government (Lecture II)

Constitution & Manual Section 90

Section 91 Section 72 Three basic arms of government: judicial, executive, legislative (law making body) There are different sources of law Informal and formal (sources)

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Formal sources of law: in a number of jurisdictions (country) there are some countriesthat have no constitution and some have. The constitution is generally the supreme law of

the land.

The constitution is generally seen as an important formal source of law. Salient source oflaw.

Section II of the Constitution of T&T indicates that and stipulates, The constitution isthe supreme law of T&T, and any other law that is inconsistent with this constitution is

void to the extent of the inconsistency.(if part of a law does not line up with what the

constitution says, that part of law is basically invalid) (no legal effect)

There is a mandate that all laws generally must be consistent with the provisions of theconstitution.

For example: fundamental rights and freedoms Fundamental rights and freedoms which are generally enshrined in our constitution. Such

rights cannot be arbitrarily taken away. Those rights are usually referred to as inalienable

rights. Freedom of the press, association and liberty, thought and expression, conscious and

religious belief, movement etc.

The right to respect for your private life, a parents or guardian to select a school / meansof education for his/her child, the right of the individual to life, liberty and security.

Section IV (fundamental rights and freedoms) There are other laws which exist and those laws are by and large consistent with the

constitution.

The man has the right to life || if you kill a man the penalty is death (exception to thelaw which is recognized by the law)

Another source of law is: acts of parliament (described as statutes or legislations) Acts of parliament are sources of law. There is equity (fairness) (law of equity) , the common law (generally observed by the

commonwealth jurisdictions) (Australia, Canada, Guyanna, India, the UK)

Common law is judge-made law. Out of the common law, is derived what is known as judicial precedence The precedence are usually the leading cases and in particular the cases which have been

decided in the higher courts.

In a countrys legal system there is the hierarchy of the courts (higher and lower courts).In the UK for example there are a number of law courts which are known as tribunals.

Just above tribunals, there is the magistrates court (T&T) The supreme court of judicature is higher than the magistrate court and comprises of the

high court and the court of appeal. (the high court is lower than the court of appeal)

appeals from the magistricacy in the high court lie to the court of appeal.

Highest court in the land: the privy council

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Next, CCJ (the Caribbean court of justice). This is not however, the final court ofappellate proceedings.

The Caribbean region by way of the treaty of chagaramas is known as our own finalcourt. (2 jurisdictions: appellate & original)

The original jurisdiction comes of the treaty itself (as revised). It makes provision for anumber of areas which are concerned with cbean territorities for ej. The movement of

skilled labour, trading goods and services. (TREATY OF CHAG)

Appellate jurisdiction: civil, criminal matters (can be appealed there) (Final court inT&T: privy council)

Guyana the CCJ is the highest court. (final court) Treaty of Chagaramas (an agreement: regional) signed b/w states, if a state violates the

provisions of the treaty

Appellate jurisdiction: those civil matters, those criminal matters which are appealed untilit gets to the CCJ.

Binding precedence: if a judge makes a judgment in the Privy Council, that judgmentusually binds the lower courts.

Court of appeal/privy council Persuasive authorities come from other jurisdictions and are not binding precedence. Common law is law (duh) Written judgment = law Case: a matter, legal proceedings, a dispute (legal), legal action A convention/a treaty is a source of law Countries: UN member states: engage themselves usually in discourse which more or less

eventually results in a treaty (source of law). In its original jurisdiction of the CCJ is concerned with the treaty of chagaramas

(established CARICOM). By this virtue, a number of states signed a document and

therefore the CCJ in dealing with matters in dealing with the treaty is deemed as an

international court.

CCJ: two jurisdictions Briefly discuss the current structure of the legal system in any Caribbean territory. It has long been since established that sources of law may be classified into legal and

historical sources as well as formal and non formal sources. Briefly discuss the various

sources of law in any Caribbean jurisdiction.

Sources of law in T&T: Introduction to the legal system of T&T (V. Maharaj) Magistrates are preachers of statutes (original jurisdiction) (the law will determine what

the outcome is) (MAGISTRACY) in both criminal and civil matters)

The high court which is known as the superior court of record is a court of inherentjurisdiction. (The judge may rely upon other matters which are usually external to the

written law).

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The judge does not have to be confined by the law. Civil matter vs criminal matter Criminal matters which are initiated by the state which are prosecuted by the director of

public prosecutions (DPP)

Civil matters are matters b/w persons (persons of law) the law recognize a legal person asbeing more than just a man or an individual. A person = any body with legal personality.

You can sue and be sued. Some people cannot sue and those people are not persons. (at

law) (a minor)

In relation to civil matters, they are