European Law

Introduction

In order for a country to run properly, there must be a set of rules and regulations through which the people are governed.  The laws of a country dictate people on what is expected of them.  Regulations govern the way in which citizens conduct themselves by ensuring that they do what is right and avoid the wrong.  Regulation creates order in the society and enhances security among the member states.  It is therefore important for each nation to come up with rules that will govern the citizens.  In my case here, I will examine the case of the following women: Helen and Margret.  As far as their life is concerned, I will examine the legal issues that arise, their rights  and whether or not their rights of free movement is violated as far as the European Law is concerned.  I will also examine the ways in which the law affects the lives of these individuals and issues likely to arise because of this.  The laws of a state should aim at making the lives of its citizens better.  However, the rules may favor some people because in most cases a state is made up of people from different races in some cases.  If a law is found to be discriminative, then it should be eliminated so that all the members receive the same treatment (Caenegem, 2002).   

Discussion

The European Law is a set of laws and court judgments amongst the member's states of the European Union.  This Law exists together with the legal systems among the member states.  The European law directly affects the members of the European Members such that in cases of conflicts between the member states, then the law is applied.  The main source of the European law is the treaties made by the members of the Union.  The main aim of these treaties is the establishment of policies and institutions with the aim of achieving particular set goals.  There are two types of legislative acts in the European Union.  They include directives and legislations.  Regulations are made laws in all the states the very moment they come to force without necessarily being implemented (Caen gem, 2002).    As for the directives, members of the state have to attain a particular goal.  Implementation therefore depends on individual members of the state.  The decisions of the European legislation are based on the European Union level but implementation takes place mainly at the national level.  The European Court of Justice ensures that all the members' states are treated equally.  This helps in ensuring that members do not apply and interpret the European Law in different perspectives. 

Margret and Helen had created a civil partnership even though they did not come from the same country.  Helen is a Belgian while Margret is from Germany but the two have one factor in common and they stay in the same country.  Helen is a employer of the NASA where she has been working for the last three years (Anthony,  2002).    Her friend Margret does not have a job.  In the process of her work, Helen was injured and sustained injuries after which she could not work anymore.  Helen is bored and idle and as a result, she engages in drug abuses whereby she takes cannabis that leads to her confiscation.  She is finally told to move out of the country five months after the accident because she is financially down and cannot support herself.  In addition, she is also a convicted criminal.

Her friend Margret is a qualified teacher and in a position to communicate using Germany fluently.  She decides to look for a job but finds that non-Germany job seekers have a separate section whereby the jobs that are available are very few (Anthony,  2002).     She later comes to realize that teaching jobs in the state schools are reserved for Germany citizens because they argue that these are jobs for public service.  She chooses to apply for a job in a private school of which she has qualified very well but she does not succeed since they need somebody who can speak Esperanto the international language.  She is ordered by the state to leave because she is a burden to them.  The case of these women raises many issues.  One gets to understand what these women are going through, then he or she has many questions to ask himself.  It is very clear that the kind of treatment that this country is giving to these women is the worst and something needs to be done about it.  The laws and regulations that govern Germany as a country do not care about the welfare of the citizens.

It is clear from the treatment of these women that the law in Germany is discriminative.  It only favours the citizens of that country.  Even though Margret is born in Germany, their civil partnership was not created in her own country and that is why she can get a job in her country easily.  She could not get a job as a teacher in the state schools even with her ability to fluently speak in Germany language.  She also seeked for a job together with other people who did not come from Germany because she is termed as an outsider  (Alter, 2001).  This makes it clear that citizens from other countries who live in Germany are not considered in the major decisions of the country.  Either they are left out or given the inferior positions in the country regardless of the qualifications that one is likely to have.  This can be termed as discrimination of the highest degree and it affects the economy of a country negatively.

There is lack of respect for human life.  Helen was injured in the process of her work which makes it the duty of the country to take good care of her until she recovers.  When an employer sustains injuries during her work, he/she should be taken to the hospital and the medical bills should be cleared.  They should take care of that person until the person recovers fully.  How comes that this country is sending away Helen only five months after her accident and yet she has not recovered? The fact that she is financially down implies that her employer does not provide her with money (Alter, 2001).  In addition to being taken to the hospital, she should be compensated.  The country does not care about her life because they would have replaced her with another person but continue caring for her.

European Citizenship was introduced in 1992 by the Maastricht treaty was signed around that period but it started working in 1993.European citizenship in the European Union exists together with national citizenship and it contains other rights of the European union member states  not contained in the national citizenship.  Each individual with a nationality of the member state is a member of this union.  It is considered as a supplement of the national citizenship but cannot be used in place of it.  Citizens of this union are composed of members of the whole state in general (Anthony,  2002).    There are many rights that the European citizens are guaranteed.  Rights of human beings are the things that human beings are supposed to be done for.  For instance, children have the right to education that should be provided by their parents.  Children have the right to demand education in cases when the parents are reluctant because it is their right to be educated.  In some cases when people do not get the rights of the things that they deserve, then it is the high time to consult the law making bodies of the country who are responsible for handling such cases.  For example during the times of divorce, some parents tend to ignore their role of taking care of their children but measures by the court of law forces them to fulfill their duties.  It is therefore important to ensure that one is aware of their duties wand in the same time avoid interfering with other people's rights.

The European states as well have their own rights.  Citizens in their country have duties that they should fulfill .These rights include: Citizens have the right to free access to their parliament, council and the documents of the commission.  This is to mean that they are free to read the contents of their parliament and ask questions if applicable.  They have right to receive equal treatments without being discriminated based on the nationality.  Discrimination can be based on race, tribe, gender and other factors.  This should not be subjected to the members of the European Union.  (Anthony,  2002).   Discrimination takes place for instance in working places whereby unqualified people are given jobs in favour of people with full qualifications simply because of the above factors.  Discrimination can also occur in institutions like hospitals and schools.  In some hospitals, patients who are well up are given better health services compared to people of low class because they afford to pay which is unfair and many people in hospitals loose their lives because of this reason.  Some schools employ teachers basing on some factors like the distance he/she has to cover before arriving at school, the gender and the race of the teacher and such factors affects the learning institutions negatively.  The citizens have the right to move freely and live in any part of the union.  People are free to migrate from one place and settle in another peacefully.  In some countries some territories belong to some tribes and people from other areas cannot settle there or else chaos will arise but for this union movement is free

Right to vote is another right of all the citizens.  It is  the right of the citizens to stand in both the local and European elections regardless of which members state it is,  apart from the individuals state of origin.  The new member should be exposed to the same conditions just like members of that state.  This ensures that people choose the leader of their choice.  Freedom of voting makes good  choice of leaders because if a leader is not performing his/her duties well, then he is not going to receive much votes.  Citizens have the right of protection.  The state is responsible for ensuring that there is security among the member states by controlling both internal and external wars (Caenegem, 2002).   Other rights include freedom of speech whereby people are free to express themselves.  There are some states where citizens are not free to express themselves.  They may be going through mistreatment but saying it out may cause them dangers because the leaders will not sit behind to hear the citizens criticize them.  Because of the fear of being executed, they sit behind and continue being pressed by their leaders.  Freedom of speech ensures that people are not forced into what they do not feel as being right to them because of the fear of power.  They are also free to assemble and discus the most important issues affecting their lives.  Article 45 states that citizens have the freedom of movement to work.  The movement of workers in the union should be secured which avoids all sorts of discrimination that is based on the workers nationality of the members of the state as far as the working conditions are concerned.  Rights are very important because they help in the maintenance of order in the society.  People should learn to respect other people's rights because they are important in the lives

Margret and Helen were denied some of their rights for instance the right of residence as per the European law.  When Helen sustained injuries after the accident, she stayed in the country for only five months after which she was forced to leave the country since she could not sustain herself financially.  Instead of them taking good care of her until she fully recovers, they are sending her away and yet she was injured in the process of her work.  Driving her out of the country is denying her the right of residence.  Margret was also forced to move away from her own country because she did not have a job.  It is therefore clear that Germany as a country do0es not respect thpe rights of residence of their citizens (Caenegem, 2002).   Discrimination in working places is another factor that is affecting this country a lot.  In order to get a job in Germany one should belong to some kind of class apart from the qualifications.  Margret was a qualified teacher and able to speak in Germany fluently but she could not get herself a job in the state schools because these jobs were preserved for Germany nationals.  She also tried her fate in the private schools but she failed because they needed a teacher who could speak using the international language.  This makes it clear that discrimination in working environment is widespread in Germany.  Safety of workers is also not taken care of.  This is because Helen does not seem to have received some compensation after the accident like it should be.  She is financially down even though she was working.  In many countries, when an individual is injured in the process of work, he/she is taken good care of until recovery after which he is compensated.    

The court of justice is responsible for handling cases like the one of Helen and Margret.  The main role of the court of justice is to settle disputes so 'that individuals get their rights.  The court of justice helps people in getting the truth.  For example, it's the court which should take care of the case of what happened to Helen.  If Helen could have taken her case to court, the court should have forced her employer to compensate her.  If the employer fails, then it is the duty of the court to take the necessary measures because the court works for benefit of the citizens.  In other cases, when the working conditions are too harsh to the workers, they are free to report the employer in court so that he can adjust the working conditions (Hartley, 2007).

Conclusion

In conclusion, therefore, the European law is based on various rights as indicated above but some states like Germany do not seem to adhere to the above rights and freedoms.  However, I agree with the European law that these rights should be taken care of for the welfare of the citizens not only to the European states but also in all the states in the world.  Discrimination should be avoided if the states are to develop so that nobody feels inferior than the other.  The working conditions for the employees should also be improved so that there is productivity in the working places .This ( Hartley,  2007) will also be a way of motivating them so that they work to their level best.  Free movement and settlement regardless of tribe should be allowed in all the countries.  Individuals should also be free to work in any part of the country.  Generally, all the rights should be taken care of if the country is to develop economically.