Category: Law

Until the Marriage Act of 1753, a marriage was a private matter of mutual consent that was not even necessarily recorded. Sometimes marriages took place in the porch of a church, but not inside. Couples could separate but not divorce (this was introduced in the Reformation). Engagements, or ‘handfastings’, were similar to agreeing a contract, with hand-holding sealing the deal.

After 1753 the minimum age for marriage was 21 and weddings had to be held in a church. Registry offices were established in 1836 for couples wanting non-religious weddings. The 1929 Ages of Marriage Act reduced the minimum age to 16 with parental consent. The 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act allowed homosexuals to marry in registry offices. It is illegal to marry a relative closer than a cousin, though marriage of cousins is frowned upon. Adopted people can marry anyone in their adopted family except for the parents, but this is also rare.

One marriage ritual now performed only as a nod to our Victorian past is the prospective husband requesting permission from the father for his daughter’s hand in marriage. This used to be because the husband inherited his father-in-law’s property. A woman therefore had to be very selective in her male acquaintances.

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All British subjects possess what are called ‘protected characteristics’ in one way or another. These encompass gender, age, race, creed, religion, beliefs, disability, marital status and pregnancy. Add to these, trade union membership and whether your work is part-time, and there you have the current scope for possible discrimination in the workplace.

Discrimination takes the form of treating an employee less favourably than one with different ‘protected characteristics’ for no other reason. A person’s qualifications, personal skills and work experience should be the only factors taken into consideration, although in some special circumstances an employer is allowed to have specific criteria for recruitment purposes, e.g. women only for a women and children’s refuge.

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers who do discriminate in recruiting, dismissing, promoting, training and setting the pay of employees can be taken to a tribunal by the disadvantaged employee. Fines can run into tens of thousands of pounds in these cases.

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Reaching the age of 17 in the UK gives a few more legal rights on top of those granted at age 16. The most important milestone for many teenagers is the right to drive. A 17-year-old can take the driving test and, if successful, can drive any vehicle except:-

• lorries
• motorbikes over 125cc
• buses, unless he/she is in the Armed Forces

A 17-year-old can also fly an aeroplane or helicopter; leave his/her foster home or other care arrangement; donate blood; write a consent for body donation to a medical school; and be interviewed by the police without his/her parents having to be there. However, 17 is still not old enough to be classed as an adult, apart from a few child protection situations in Scotland.

(Image: Carissa Rogers at Flickr.com / CC BY 2.0)

The Electoral Register contains all the names and addresses of adults living in the UK who are eligible to vote in General and Local Elections. Although each person must take action to register, it is not supposed to be optional and the fine for not registering can amount to £1,000. Nevertheless, it is estimated that 15% of those who should register, have not done so. This hampers their credit rating and means they cannot serve on a jury.

A Household Enquiry Form is sent to every home in the UK each year by local councils. This lists the people who previously registered and asks for that information to be checked and amended where necessary. The response can now be given online, making it a very simple process.

A young person can register when they are 16 years old, in readiness for voting from the age of 18 (in Scotland, this is 14 years old, for voting in local elections from age 16). Members of the House of Lords cannot vote in General Elections, neither can EU citizens, nor convicted prisoners.

(Image: Anna Shvets at pexels.com)

Since 1949 it has been possible to apply for financial help with legal costs under the Legal Aid provisions. These were intended specifically for those on low incomes, thereby ensuring that all citizens are able to access legal advice and representation, much needed in a complex system in which legal fees can build up in a bewildering spiral, or so it may seem to the ordinary person.

Of course, this has cost the tax-payers billions of pounds, but in 2012 the Legal Aid, Sentencing & Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) reduced the number of people eligible to receive Legal Aid. Only serious cases are now considered, according to set criteria. However, there are charities such as Citizens Advice, the Law Centres and LawWorks clinics among others, which can offer assistance.

Unfortunately, it is thought that LASPO is a factor in the increased number of people representing themselves in court with limited knowledge of what to do or say.

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Until 1994, shops in the UK were generally not allowed to open on a Sunday, for religious reasons.  Since then, ‘large’ shops ~ those with a floor area of more than 3,000 sq.ft. ~ have been able to open for a single six-hour period any time between 10am and 6pm. Certain shops are allowed to open for longer ~ those in airports and petrol stations, for instance (gov.uk). There are no restrictions on any of the other six days of the week.

For ‘small’ shops ~ those with a floor area of less than 3,000 sq.ft. ~ there are no restrictions at all, even on a Sunday. However, all shops are obliged to close on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday. In Scotland, the Sunday opening hours can be longer than in England and Wales; in N.Ireland they are shorter, but there are variations across the UK according to local demand.

(Image of Birmingham Bullring shopping centre: MallSecrets at Flickr.com / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Most people on the Electoral Register are eligible to be officially requested to do jury service at a Crown Court. Random selection of people aged 18-75 is made by a computer. Jurors must have been resident in the UK for at least 5 years since their 13th birthday. Jury service is deemed to be a citizen’s duty but is also an exercise of our democratic right to judge the law.

The principle behind juries is to have unbiased decisions on trial outcomes. Therefore, each juror must be a stranger to all involved in the prosecution and defence. A juror can be rejected for mental impairment or if they fail a DBS check and/or is a convicted criminal.

If a chosen person does not attend the Court on the notified date, they can be fined £1,000. Of the group of jury candidates that are summoned, 12 will be chosen by the Court Clerk (15 in Scotland). However, a juror can also be rejected by the lawyers and one of the remaining candidates put in their place.

Verdicts of ‘guilty’ or ‘not gullty’ are decided by a simple majority of 10, except in Scotland, where the majority is 8 and a third option of ‘not proven’ can be decided.

(Image [cropped]: Ian Forrester at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)