Essay Example on The rule of law is a central aspect of the British Constitution

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It assumes a particular significance in the absence of a written codified and entrenched document which legally and constitutionally sets out the limits of the government particularly in the context of human rights In the United Kingdom the rule of law denoting the fundamental principle that government is under the law takes on a particular significance One of the most important of the judiciary s responsibilities is to uphold the rule of law since it is the rule of law which prevents the Government of the day from abusing its powers In terms of equality before the law Dicey argued that all individuals both citizens and state officials are under the ordinary law If a state official breaches the law he would be treated the same treatment as an ordinary citizen Dicey's principle of equality under the law can be noted in the case of Entick v Carrington In this case officials in the state were sued in the law of trespass for unlawfully entering Entick s property and seizing his papers A private individual would have been sued in the same way had they entered and seized Entick s property This illustrates the state being held to account by the ordinary law of the land before the ordinary court system

The rule of law is a central aspect of the British constitution as it is an essential element of constitutionalism namely the principle that government and state power must be limited regulated and controlled A practical demonstration of the rule of law is illustrated each time a judge in judicial review proceedings in the Administrative Court holds the executive and public bodies legally to account for the misuse of their public law powers The rule of law is fundamental to the socio politico economic development process and to the fight against poverty and right to development The rule of law begins with constitutionalism The first strategy for strengthening the institutional foundations of good governance in Malaysia is greater appreciation and acceptance of the philosophical and legal foundations of the rule of law by both rulers and people The issue in Malaysia is regarding the rights of persons with disabilities Persons with Disabilities PWD can be defined as the functional limitation within individual caused by physical mental or sensory impairment According to World Health Organisation a person can be considered disabled if he or she suffers such conditions including impairments activity limitations and participation restrictions PWD are subjected to discrimination from the society Rights such as access to buildings transportation education employment and full engagement with society are denied because of incapacity 



The concept of equality in the Federal Constitution stated that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law Both the 1776 American Declaration of Independence and 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man described the concept of all men are created equally and men are born and remain free and equal in rights Under Article 8 all persons are equal before the law and entitled for equal protection There shall be no discrimination on grounds of religion race descent or place of birth Therefore PWD should not be discriminated Malaysian courts still recognize the dichotomy between discrimination suffered in public and private hence Article 8 is not applicable to all aspects of life Thus if PWD suffered discrimination within the private sector public authorities are not liable The study of PWD from legal perspective has not been widely acknowledged in many countries except in North America and some European countries However there was lack of study involved protection of PWD from the perspective of human rights The first country that enacted legislation regarding people with disabilities was the United States of America through the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA 1990 This is to ensure the equality in opportunities and prohibits discrimination in various areas In United Kingdom the formal equality for PWD is provided under the UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995 The Act only deals with the consistent or equal treatment which based on procedural justice In the 1990s United Nations UN has been actively promoting the idea of equality for PWD with other persons under 1993 Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for PWD and Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action in 1993 Besides the 1993 Vienna Declaration recognised the importance of equal opportunity for disabled people It became the first proper stage to adopt legislative framework for a much better access and rights of PWD In Malaysia law regarding PWD is only enacted when Parliament passed the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 Malaysia should improve its protection of PWD through long term investment Before 2008 there was no certain laws to protect the interests for PWD generally The law that specifically covers persons with disabilities was only made in July 2008 However the Act was only tabled for first reading in


Parliament on December 17 2007 and passed on December 18 2007 at Dewan Rakyat After almost a year on December 24 2008 Dewan Negara had passed the Act without amendment Finally the new Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 Act 685 got the royal assent on January 09 2008 It can be considered as the most uncontroversial and welcomed law especially from the disabled community This Act itself has 46 sections divided to five parts Some of the definitions and provisions are based on the UN CRPD The most important part in this Act is the promotion and development of the quality of life of PWD access to public facilities amenities services and buildings public transport facilities education information cultural life recreation leisure plus sport


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