Legal Mind

We go again! This time The University of Makeni (UNIMAK) is the host. November 1st - 4th, 2022.

The Law Society FBC presents its Winning Team

Alpha Sowe -LLB 4

Raymond Folarin Wiliams - LLB 3

Ben Massaquoi - LLB 3

Alpha Sanunu Bah - LLB 3

Nancy Brenda F. Junisa - LLB 2

Let’s go for the gold
Focus on the goal

Team Law Society, F.B.C

INTENTION TO CREATE LEGAL RELATION

Social and domestic
AgreementsArrangements between family members areusually left to them to sort out themselves andare not legally binding.Where husband and wife are estranged, anagreement between them may be taken asintended to be legally binding.

Balfour v Balfour (1919)
A husband worked abroad without his wife whohad to stay in England because of illness, andpromised an income of £30 per month.When thewife later petitioned for divorce, her claim to this income failed. It had been made at an amicablepoint in their relationship, not in contemplation ofdivorce. It was a purely domestic arrangementbeyond the scope of the court.

Merritt v Merritt (1970)
Here the husband had deserted his wife for anotherwoman. An agreement that he would pay her an
income if she paid the outstanding mortgage washeld by the court to be intended to create legallybinding obligations.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN CRIMINAL LAW & CIVIL LAW.
1. Parties Concerned:
In Criminal Law, the state & the accused person(s) are the parties to the matter. Offences are seen as
against the state, while with Civil Law, the parties are individuals as it is a dispute between private
individuals (companies, institutions, etc.)
2. Purpose of the Action:
With Criminal Law, the main purpose is to preserve order in the state by punishing offenders, while with
Civil Law, it is mainly to remedy the wrong which has been suffered.
3. Parties in the Trial:
In criminal trials, a prosecutor prosecutes an accused person on behalf of the state. Prosecutions are brought in the name of the state. For instance, The State V Orenthal James Simpson, The IG of Police V
Chares Taylor, Bratty V Attorney General of Northern Ireland.
4. Where the Action is heard:
Criminal cases are tried in the criminal jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s court & the Superior Courts of
Judicature in Sierra Leone (High Court, Court of Appeal & Supreme Court). Civil cases are heard in the
civil jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s court & the Superior Courts of Judicature in Sierra Leone (High Court,Court of Appeal & Supreme Court).