Transparency International Recommends Tighter Laws Against Corruption

Transparency International UK’s report indicates that the UK is the safest place corrupt individuals could store their illegally-acquired properties and assets because it has an almost 1% detection probability going through the country. The report, published during the United Nations’ International Anti-Corruption Day, included recommendations from the watchdog to the United Kingdom.

The report indicated that a new law be introduced that would allow UK authorities to seize suspicious assets obtained by a public official. If the amount of the assets exceed the income of the public official, these could be seized and held. The official will have to prove that their assets were acquired legitimately to get them back.

According to UK’s previous financial watchdog the Financial Services Authority, almost £23-45 billion pounds were laundered into the United Kingdom on a yearly basis. According to TI-UK head Robert Barrington, the UK’s detection rate for stolen and laundered money in the UK is very low and will need great improvement.

The report also recommended that the UK should make use of the private sector to help detect suspicious asset movements in and out the United Kingdom to ensure sanctions be made to those who facilitate the movement of such assets.

Another is to ensure that the recovery team is properly resourced and should follow the example of Switzerland and Canada, whose governments allow authorities to freeze public officials’ suspicious assets when it is considered a ‘non-functioning judiciary’.

A full summary of the report could be found here.

PPI Complaints Expected to Increase in Number

With more than a million complaints being handled by the Financial Ombudsman in the first half of 2013 and enduring 266,238 PPI complaints from September, the organisation expects more PPI complaints to come in by the following year. Experts also agree on the estimation.

The Lloyds Banking Group’s recent addition of £750 million for their PPI refunds is a significant factor for experts that more PPI complaints are expected by the financial industry for the following year. Lloyds currently has the largest half of the mis sold PPI refund bill, currently situated at £8 billion in total.

Experts also expect the other high street banks, RBS, Barclays and HSBC, to publish their third quarter financial results and add more to their PPI refunds. With increasing numbers of PPI complaints, the total PPI refund bill by 2014 is expected to exceed £20 billion.

The Financial Ombudsman said that a great chunk of the financial industry’s refund bill goes to administrative costs, namely the payment for handling contractors and to the FOS. The FOS charges £900 in total for every complaint for mis sold PPI respective of its bank.

If you are planning to make a claim, click here for more information about PPI claiming and legal consultation.

How to Make a Good Motor Accident Compensation Claim

Motorcycles are lightweight and fast, which makes them both appealing and dangerous for many drivers. If you’re a motorcycle driver, it is best you know how to make a good motor accident compensation claim in case you need it.

1.    Scenario

Most motor accidents could injure you quite severely especially if due to a bad fall or collision. If you still have the strength, use a mobile phone with a camera to survey the damages and keep them on record. If you know you were not at fault, use these images in your defense.

2.    Medical Check Up

It is important that you get yourself to a hospital and have a medical professional examine you. Medical professionals can treat your injuries, indicate the pain and suffering you underwent and the possible future consequences of your troubles, all recorded on a medical certificate.

3.    Surveillance Reports

If your accident happened on a highway or a upper-class neighbourhood, you could consult with local camera operators if they caught your accident on camera. This is highly useful in proving that you were not at fault during the accident.

4.    Legal Help

Claims management companies and no win no fee legal solicitors could advise you on the best way you could reclaim your compensation. Most of them could also ensure a good out-of-court settlement.

Discussing Terrorists and Legal Rights

Syria is probably the hottest topic in the world and in the Internet right now. With most western countries believing that the Syrian regime is the one who perpetrated the August 21 chemical attack, the general public still believes that a coordinate military strike will solve nothing.

Terrorists have always existed in the world time and again and their methods continue to be destructive and end up killing many lives. But should they be given redemption for their actions and be treated in a way similar to any criminal who committed a crime?

A country or society that believes in the rule of law is obliged to say that no one is above the law. This means that they could not make an exception even to terrorists. Like all the famous sayings about the law, the law is nothing if no one will follow it.

However, people are also cynical about the legal system in the way that most professional lawyers and other corrupt individuals, organisations or companies manipulate laws and exploit loopholes to their benefit. Some just want to see the terrorists dead. ‘They killed thousands of lives and why should they be saved?’ is a common statement among people who want justice and do not consider them human.

Most terrorists die because they believe in something strongly, whether a political angle, an ideology or a religious calling. Murder and mass killing are heinous crimes and a crime to humanity. However, a crime does not make a person. Terrorists only die for their beliefs, which also do not make them. Nobody truly knows who a criminal is except for their actions.

What do you think? Should terrorists have legal rights? Or should they be persecuted for the thousands of lives they have taken.

Why Zero Hours Contracts Are Very Controversial

Imagine that your employer asks you to work for their company without specifying the actual length of time you’ll need to fulfil working. You could go to work at any time you wish and work the number of hours you choose. However, companies could bind you to respond if they need your help at any time during the day, even beyond your work hours.

Zero hours contracts became famous with the UK workforce because it allows employees more freedom in managing their schedule and also allowing them higher pay for more hours. However, it is not always as good as it sounds.

Sports Direct, a zero-hours contractor itself, faces a legalaction from one of its former employees. The employee expressed that the lack of financial security because the zero hours guaranteed nothing about work and income made it problematic for her as she suffered panic attacks.

According to recent statistics, zero hours contracts make up 4% of the UK workforce. Vince Cable even warned the entire UK about the issues surrounding zero hours claims.

He said that it was a way for employers to escape their responsibility to their employees. It also tips the balance to the employer.

There had been cases were managers who believe you have not done well with your work could easily slash off your work hours and employees were left helpless without a legal binding. It is also a tool for “employer bullying”, making it legally easy for them to just cut off their employees without any problems.z

Common Legal Issues With Websites

The Internet is the fast-evolving business and information access medium for many people in the world, but unfortunately, the legal system couldn’t keep up with the progress of these technology. Legal disputes can exist with owning a website and knowing the common legal issues might help steer you away from potential problem areas listed here.

1.    Copyrights

A website you made by hand cannot be copied by other websites and content from your websites should be given credit when referenced by other websites. While copyrights to your website design could be your main concern, you could have trouble if you display the creative works of other Internet users, specifically photographs, images, audio and video. Always give credit to your sources.

2.     Domain Names

A website’s domain name is the most important part of a website. To avoid losing a domain name, it is important that you obtain a trademark registration. Most website owners without a trademark registration ended up giving up the domain names that they actually paid for. For multiple domain names, you’ll need to make multiple registrations as well, even if working with just a single webhost.

3.    Defamation

It is easier to write lascivious material in the Internet especially if you’re anonymous. If any other website or comment defamed your website, it must adhere to the following before it is approved a valid defamation complaint:

1.    The statement is published with a third-party involved

2.    The person who issued the statement knows the statement was false

What You Need to Know About PPI Claims Management Companies

Although vilified by the financial industry and experts for advertising and mass marketing their services, PPI claims management companies are actually very useful if you know when to make use of their services. PPI claims management companies work under a no win no fee basis and take only a quarter of your refund for their service fees, if successful. But they are not miracle workers and here are some things to know about them.

1.    Works to Reclaim your Refunds

PPI claims companies are there to address all the paperwork and duties needed to reclaim your insurance policy. Most people say you could do this on your own and you could indeed. However, not everyone has the time and pleasure to review and address the details of their insurance policy. It can take an hour to process all your information by yourself and weeks of waiting for the results. Now think about your efforts when your bank rejects your claim.

2.    Does Not Force You To Work With Them

All claims management advertisements are not exactly self-serving; they only show you why they are necessary and how they can help you get your refunds. PPI claims managers do not force you to work with them. They can only show you what they can do, the successes they’ve achieved with previous clients and their knowledge base. Of course, do not work with claims management companies who may be scammers or continue to pester you with cold calls.

3.    Claims Regulation Number

The Ministry of Justice oversees all activities claims managers perform with their clients. If you decide to work with a PPI claims company, be sure to ask for their CRN. Most effective PPI claims companies have their CRN on their pages, such as the PPIClaimsCo website you could visit through this link.

The Truth Behind the Internet Privacy Act

Wikipedia describes that the Internet Privacy Act is a non-existent and bogus law created by websites that perform illegal activities such as peer to peer networking, download hosting and piracy. Usually, websites use this law as a defence against arrest and claiming entrapment in court.

I saw one website make use of this Act as a defence for itself in the early days of the Internet during the year 2000. The big problem was that many people believed this. Some websites had viruses for people with IP addresses linking to government or state authority establishments.

The Act was said to be signed by Bill Clinton in 1995, which allows the website owner to hide their Internet Service Providers, companies and people storing the files they own. The act also protects people affiliated with the page, including their relatives, from prosecution.

However, since authorities found it false in 2005, it is still seen in some modern file sharing networks, protocols and other areas. Some hackers make use of the Internet Privacy Act to bug visitors and eventually hack into their terminals with browser-based viruses. Websites who use the Internet Privacy Act also wish to give the public and the visitor a false sense of security regarding data protection.

What You Need To Look For in a Reputable Legal Representative

Law firms and claims management companies are plenty everywhere in the UK. However, which one would guarantee you good results? A reputable legal representative has the following qualities listed here

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1.     No Upfront Fees

What you might consider unprofessional and just plain rude is when a lawyer already asks you an upfront fee just before you consult your case with them. Upfront fees are not a good sign of a fruitful working relationship. A professional legal representative would first tell you their plan of action and achieve for you results before charging you with anything.

2.     Years of Experience

A lawyer knows more than he or she should if they have already been long in the industry. You could expect professional aid and in-depth knowledge based on your lawyer’s years of experience. They could also apply many legal propositions easily in court given that they have tried and tested these ideas in past cases.

3.     Expert in the Field

A legal representative could only be effective if they specialize in the field or aspect of your case. A personal injury lawyer could only do so much for corporate and business laws. It is important to know the specialty of your lawyer before you employ them to handle your case.

Distributed Denial of Service Attacks: Against the Law?

A computer hacker’s favourite weapon is the distributed denial of service attacks. These can deliver against websites by allowing users who open their browsers to allow a program to distribute multiple requests to target servers to break them down. Arrests have been made against computer users who have participated in distributed denial of service attacks or DDoS. However, is this really punishable by law?

Under the Computer Misuse Act of 1990, particularly section 3, states that any unauthorised act with intent to impair or damage computer operations of individuals is considered an offense. If the computer user has knowledge that his or her actions are unauthorised, authorities can arrest him or her for the offense.

The computer user is punishable if they have the intent to damage or impair the operation of the computer, hinder its access to any program or data in the computer and hinder its operations. Recklessness or mens rea in a criminal case means that the computer user knows the presence of a risk with their actions and that in all cases, taking the risk is actually unreasonable for the computer user’s end.

Any person guilty of violating the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 is subject to a summary conviction in England and Wales, can be imprisoned for 12 months or to a fine, or both. The maximum imprisonment they could serve is ten years, with or without fine.

Social Media Websites Could Be Held Responsible for Cyberbullies’ Identities

The Internet has seen its fair share of bloodshed as cyberbullies continue to pound on unsuspecting people forcing them to actually commit suicide or crimes through influence and abusive language. Justice Secretary Ken Clarke wants to remove anonymity on social media websites Facebook and Twitter to punish those who continue to speak lies, slander and libellous comments online.

Justice Clarke said that Internet companies will need to give up the names and identities of their members who continue to bully other Internet users, or else the Internet company itself will face charges for hiding the identity of suspects in question. Clarke also cleared that the suspects identities are only to the eyes of government entities.      

Clarke stated that individuals have no defence against defamers and rumor-spreaders using libellous comments on social media websites and other Internet social services. Some people have lost their jobs and families because of false rumours spreading with victims accused of pedophilia, manslaughter and other offensive and obscene accusations.

Recently, other governments, including some states in the United States, formed legal “social media” squads, who would allow offensive expressions of opinion, yet would counter any form of threatening message that could lead to undesirable consequences.

Public opinion was divided about the new law. Some netizens state that the law was intrusive and threatening to the freedom of expression. However, others found that it made sharing ideas and opinioins much safer knowing that there is a law that could protect people who get bullied by an Internet community.

Advertising Laws in the United Kingdom

Advertising laws are quite strict in the United Kingdom because unsolicited messages, advisories and inappropriate advertisements can affect the sensibilities of citizens. All around Europe and the western world, advertisements are regulated for false advertising, children-targeted advertising, tobacco advertising and alcohol advertising. Corporations are allowed to make market and advertising campaigns on the condition that they properly adhere to the following UK laws on advertisements.

1.     Outdoor Advertising

The UK Town and County Planning System regulate advertising billboards and print advertisements. Each advertisement medium should have a permit from the Planning Authority. It is considered a criminal offense not to have these permits when needed. The fine for each offense is £2500. Almost every UK major outdoor billboard company already received these offenses to date.

2.     Content

All UK advertising content in print ads, television, radio and Internet should promote wholesome messages and should never target children below 10 years of age.  All content should not be misleading, inaccurate, ambiguous, exaggerated or even omitted. Laws may apply if certain UK group sensibilities become offended.

3.     Direct Marketing

Direct mailing to customers are also within the Advertising Standards Authority’s investigation remit. Sometimes, unsolicited emails, brochures and catalogues sent excessively could become irritating and offensive to some customers.

4.     Internet

In the Internet, the use of pop up advertisements, banner advertisements and sponsored links are also regulated. It is important that Internet marketers do not use black hat optimization techniques to attract customers because it could cause computer system breakdowns in some customer terminals or excessive resource use that could damage systems.