Legal Eye for the Layperson

Heads up: in case you have not noticed, the Maintenance Act 1998 has undergone a magnificent revamp . At least someone has heard our cries! As of  9 September 2015 , the below amendments became law. It is not a complete makeover but it is at least a rather good start. Here is a brief summary of its benefits: A: INTERIM MAINTENANCE ORDERS The Maintenance Act currently makes no provision for  interim  Orders i.e. Maintenance Orders which are payable whilst the matter is still in Court and before final judgment is made by a Magistrate. This became a royal pain in the backside because often the primary caregivers fight tooth and nail to get Maintenance out of the other party. Now, even if that party chooses to put up a barricade of excuses as to why he / she / they cannot pay the requested Maintenance, at least your little ones will be looked after in between. Previously, under the repealed Act, interim Orders were permissible. For some unknown and bizarre reas...

A "workshop" which changed my life as an attorney and protagonist of peace...: I published this blogpost on my personal blog as well but purely for this blog, I have included this interesting thought experiment: What if all legal professionals were given a suggested way of thinking, which paradoxically ended up proving them wrong, but which also would lead to more productive, efficient, positive, and spiritual representation of people / communities / interests / groups? Now, what if our judges, magistrates, court staff, and drafters of legislation were given a means to change their lives as well as the lives of all those people over whom their legislative means operates? Is it so impossible to imagine a world where all legal professionals do not impose on the public their own beliefs / opinions / attitudes (which on their own are derived from their past experience)? This perpetuates the negativity that this world is trying to eradicate. This goes further: the legis...

It is not very often an attorney comes out and admits being helpless against a certain fight for a noble cause. With the appropriate resources, an attorney ( in theory ) should be able to fight the battle of David versus Goliath (David being the attorney). There are instances where, admittedly or not, attorneys are roped in achieving their final goals. Today marks this day for me. The fight is not yet over but the tragic finish line is imminent. The story begins with two little African children, who both had difficult births and infancy development. These two children are full siblings. Let's call the first-born Mather and the second-born Arthur. Mather is eighteen months older than Arthur but Arthur was born HIV positive. Before long, they were declared as wards of the State and eventually became orphans. Marher is moved to a small baby sanctuary under the care of a particular house mother (let's call her Mother Hen). She identifies a suitable candidate for this child to ...