Sample LAW1081 The Individual and The State Assignment

LAW1081 The Individual and The State Assignment Sample

Word Limit: 1,500 words
(including footnotes and appendices, excluding bibliography,
contents, tables of cases and title pages)

Submission deadline:

Tuesday 5 April 2022 12noon (midday) UK time
Essay formatting: minimum 11 point legible font (eg Arial or Times New Roman), with minimum 1.5 line spacing and 1 inch margins. Place your anonymous code and word count in the header of your essay.

Essay Title for Essay Writing Help

Concerned by the potentially adverse economic and environmental impact of the proliferation of online grocery shopping since the Covid-19 pandemic, and keen to ensure an appropriate supply of food across the country to prevent shortages, Parliament has introduced legislation requiring local councils to license up to a specific number of grocery stores to take online orders for the local area – the (fictitious) Eat Local Act 2022. Section 1 of the Act makes it an offence for stores to take online orders from customers living in an area for which they do not hold a licence. The Act does not set out specific criteria for local authorities to employ in exercising their discretion, but Section 2 of the Act does state that local councils ‘must refuse all applications which are likely to reduce the competitiveness of local businesses.’ North Shire, a small county in the North of England, is allowed to licence up to four online grocery stores. Nomado, Caterose, and Resco (all of which are nationwide supermarkets) have been refused licenses by North Shire Council on the basis that their main storage facilities are too far away and that they are, therefore, not environmentally sustainable choices for North Shire residents.

The management of all three grocery stores feels that the decision not to issue the licences was unfair. In addition, they have the following individual complaints. Nomado, which is an online-only business with a warehouse situated 20 miles south of North Shire, is disappointed because it had requested the opportunity to make a presentation to explain its licence application, but this was refused. Caterose, which does not have a local branch and uses a warehouse around 125 miles south of North Shire for all online orders, claims that when its Managing Director, Lisa, sought clarification from the Council about the likelihood of obtaining a licence, Maria – the Council’s Chair – told her that the licence application was a 'mere formality.' On this basis, Caterose proceeded with the purchase of premises for a ‘Caterose On Demand’ store in North Shire, which would operate on a click and collect basis (i.e. clients would shop online and collect in store). Caterose now stands to incur substantial losses, as these premises do not have enough shopfloor space to operate profitably as a regular supermarket. Resco claims that Maria, is opposed to the grant of the license to Resco, because Maria’s daughter died after having an allergic reaction to calamari purchased at Resco’s North Shire store three years ago. Maria has often spoken about her experience tearfully on local television. While Resco’s main warehouse is nearly 600 miles south of North Shire, in an effort to improve its carbon footprint, Resco has started working actively through its local stores. The North Shire store has developed strong links with North Shire farmers and more than 60% of the produce delivered to North Shire online shoppers comes from the branch shelves, albeit that the rest is flown in from the warehouse. North Shire Council has received only one other online grocery store application, which it has granted. The application is from Redbury’s, a nationwide supermarket with a local branch opposite Resco’s. However, Redbury’s operates its online business mainly from a warehouse 100 miles south of North Shire and does not involve the local store in its processing of online orders. Advise the grocery stores as to the likelihood of bringing a successful claim in judicial review.

Solution

Introduction

A state is defined by the political structure of society or the legislative body, or, more specifically, the institutions of the state. States are distinct from other social organisations because of their aim, which is to maintain order and security; their tactics, which include the execution of the law; their territory, which is defined by their physical limits; and ultimately, their sovereignty. It is the collective agreement of people on the methods for resolving differences that constitute the state (Britannica).

An individual is defined as a human being or an organisation having the same rights and responsibilities as a human being. Counties and cities have the same legal status as corporations when it comes to dealing with them. When it comes to punitive damages, businesses, counties, and cities aren't accountable since they don't have human emotions like malice and hence aren't liable for them unless there is applicable legislation permitting them (Britannica).

The following essay is being conducted to recommend a successful claim in a judicial review regarding the Eat Local Act 2022, which prohibits local grocery stores from taking orders from consumers not being present in the area the store operates.

Discussion

Due to the occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK has faced adverse effects on its economy, which has resulted in a shortage of food supplies within the area. To address this issue, the UK parliament has enacted legislation named the Eat Local Act 2022. This Act allows local grocery stores to obtain orders only from consumers who are currently residing within the surrounded premises of the store they are ordering from. Hence, prohibiting the grocery stores from obtaining orders from customers residing in areas they do not hold a licence for operating their business. This provision has been mentioned in Section 1 of the said Act. In addition, Section 2 of the Act states that local councils of the counties present in the nation have the right to refuse the applications for licenses for the reduction of competitiveness within the local businesses present in the nation. Due to the application of this Act, the county of North Shire is known to allow the licensing of a total of four online grocery retailers.

Concerning this step, the local authorities of the North Shire County have refused the providence of license to Nomado, Resco’s, and Caterose, which are supermarkets based on their storage facility is far away from their operating areas. This is considered by the Council to be environmentally harmful to the residents of North Shire County. The management of the above grocery retailers strongly agrees that this decision is unfair and is known to cause a loss in their business opportunities. Nomado is known to have its warehouse located 20 miles south of the county; despite their claim explained for applying for a licence to conduct online business in the region has not been provided with the licence. Caterose, which does not have a local store in the county, having its warehouse located 125 miles from North Shire, has been refused a licence from the local authority.

The reason behind the refusal has not been clearly stated by the local authorities of the Council.

Lastly, Resco has been refused the licence from the Council as the Council Chair of North Shire County expressed a personal incident that caused the death of their daughter due to an allergic reaction from calamari purchased from the supermarket. Even though Resco has been widely recognised for its contribution to the reduction of carbon footprint by operating its warehouse 600 miles from the county and actively providing groceries obtained from the local farmers of the North Shire County. In comparison, Redbury's, having a local branch located opposite Resco's, has been provided with the licence to conduct their online business despite having their warehouse located 100 miles south of North Shire, and no local shop is involved in online purchase processing.

According to The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, all stores involved online delivery of goods are obligated to provide their consumers with the steps required to make a purchase. A contract is defined by its terms and conditions. The customer must be able to duplicate and store this information. It is also obligated to provide a precise price of the product and the cost of shipping and taxes incurred from the service. In addition, in the UK, the UK food legislation applies when a shop sells food through mail orders or the internet (legistlation.gov.uk). The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation, and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 is the primary legislation governing distance selling. All commodities sold through distance selling are covered by this rule; it is not limited to food. The following are some of the more specialised areas of law: safety, record-keeping, removal of goods, customer dissatisfaction, a clean and healthy environment, labelling, custom-tailored to your particular line of culinary products. There is a primary focus on the quality of food that is delivered to the customer. The following things are protected by the law: information that the seller must offer to the buyer before the deal may be finalised, contract cancellation rights, payment restitution in the event of cancellation, consumer's return of products that had been cancelled at home or office deliveries of food and beverages (legistlation.gov.uk).

Furthermore, in the UK, all food safety regulations apply to all firms in the food industry, submitting an environmental health registration form to the local government. This is mandatory under the Food Safety Act, 1990 (legistlation.gov.uk). In addition, A violation of the Competition Act 1998 is punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of up to £25,000 per day. Companies that misuse their position of power to undermine competition are included below. A violation of EU treaty articles 101 and 102 that has an impact on commerce between member states shall be dealt with in accordance with those provisions. The CMA is in charge of enforcing the law as well (legistlation.gov.uk). It is against the law for companies to make anti-competitive agreements and exploit their market dominance. Competition law in the United Kingdom forbids anti-competitive behaviour.

Alongside these provisions, the Licensing Act 2003 of the UK is only applicable to businesses that are known for selling alcoholic drinks. The Licensing Act 2003 governs the licencing of establishments that sell alcoholic beverages in England and Wales. In the United Kingdom, it serves as the foundation of alcohol legislation and specifies the rules for any company selling alcohol, including which licences they must seek and what they must do to conduct their business in a responsible manner. Along with these licenced activities, late-night refreshment and controlled entertainment (such as presenting a movie or sporting event) are governed by the Act. By law, you need to apply for a licence from your licencing authority (LA). Generally, a local council is able to carry out certain regulated activities. The LA is obliged to have a licencing committee to accept or refuse any applications. The Home Office is in charge of all aspects of alcohol licencing legislation and regulation (legistlation.gov.uk). In defence of this Act, the grocery stores are only involved in the sale of grocery items.

Thus, the Eat Local Act’s provisions for having a licence to operate within a certain premise are arbitrary and are known to cause a financial loss for these businesses that are willing to operate their business in the nation. Therefore, the three grocery stores have the right to claim a judicial review for the biased Act that is known to cause biases and loss for such businesses. Judicial review is the judiciary's ability to analyse the activities of the legislative, executive, and administrative branches of government to see whether they are in accordance with the constitution is known as judicial review. Controversial actions are ruled unlawful and consequently invalid (Neal Tate). To appeal for a judicial review, the organisations are required to appeal the case to an Upper Tribunal or in the High Court. Magistrates and county courts are only eligible for the review of the decision (Courts and Tribunals Judiciary).

Conclusion

The above essay has been conducted to determine the legality of the legislation passed by the UK parliament to reduce the chances of food shortage and decrease competition among the local businesses within the nation. The Eat Local Act, 2022 is categorised as arbitrator legislation as it prohibits the right to conduct online business in grocery stores due to their geographical location. In addition, the licensing provisions demarcated by the Act are known to show personal bias against a grocery store. Furthermore, the licensing system is also not appropriate as they are unable to address the issues or grounds for rejecting the license of the organisation. This showcases that the licensing authority might be involved in the Act of corruption and favouring the ones that are bribing for acquiring a license. Hence, this practice is both unfair to the business and the legality of the situation. Therefore, the essay has provided valid grounds for claiming a judicial review regarding the Act.  

References

Black’s Law Dictionary, ‘Individual’ < https://thelawdictionary.org/individual/> accessed 04 April 2022

Britannica, ‘state’ < https://www.britannica.com/topic/state-sovereign-political-entity > accessed 04 April 2022

C. Neal Tate, ‘judicial review’ < https://www.britannica.com/topic/judicial-review> accessed 04 April 2022

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, ‘Appeals process’ < https://www.judiciary.uk/you-and-the-judiciary/appeals-process> accessed 04 April 2022

Legistlation.gov.uk, ‘Competition Act 1998’ < https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/41/contents> accessed 04 April 2022

Legistlation.gov.uk, ‘Food Safety Act, 1990’ < https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/16/contents> accessed 04 April 2022

Legistlation.gov.uk, ‘Licensing Act 2003’ < https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/17/contents> accessed 04 April 2022

Legistlation.gov.uk, ‘The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013’ < https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/contents > accessed 04 April 2022

Legistlation.gov.uk, ‘The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002’ < https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2013/contents > accessed 04 April 2022