The world is continuously changing and developing, in order to remain relevant and effective, the law needs to evolve with it. Social, economic, political, moral and technological changes the world has seen throughout the years have all had a significant impact on not just the laws we have in place, but also the processes and procedures undertaken by professionals in the field. It would be impossible to list every worldwide event and movement that has changed the landscape of law, so here we will focus on some of the major events throughout the years.
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AI and technological advancements
Arguably, the biggest impact on the way law is practiced on a global scale, is the technological advancements we have seen throughout the centuries. Some of the technological advancements that has benefitted legal practitioners include:
- Mechanised writing: the typewriter was one of the first technological advancements to be implemented into law. It allowed us to increase transcription speeds and create legal documentation, share research and create written text much quicker than before.
- Copiers: prior to copiers, legal companies were forced to print numerous of the same document or outsource to professional printers, both of which were costly. Copiers saved these legal companies time and money.
- Fax machines: the effectiveness and speed of communications were improved for every business with fax machines, law companies rely on communications.
- Computers: these not only increased our productivity but they also allowed us to share data more securely, while also enhancing information management and knowledge.
- Word processors: with this new ability to amend documents, document creation became much faster, saving legal companies time and money.
- Computer assisted research: law libraries were costly, but necessary, for law practitioners, databases on computers made research quicker, cheaper, quicker and more accurate.
- Laptops: the ability to work remotely gave legal practitioners the ability to work from courtrooms and client’s premises.
- The internet: although laptops allowed legal practitioners to work remotely, their capability was limited, until the introduction of the internet which allowed them to do things like research in court.
- Smartphones and tablets: smaller, but with the capabilities of a laptop, smartphones and tablets improved legal practitioners’ ability to work remotely.
Human Rights
Over the years the UK has passed several laws designed to protect human rights and the freedom of the people. Between 1954 and 1970, the law of race relations evolved entirely following movements to abolish legalised racial discrimination The Equality Act of 2010, for example, prohibits the discrimination of individuals based on their nationality, ethnicity and race.
As the world has become more aware and accepting of sexual orientation, same-sex relationships have now been legalised, with laws passed to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. More recently, the Gender Recognition Act has been passed to allow people to change their gender legally.
Although there is still some way to go to ensure equality for all, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or social background, the law has made strides over the years and will continue to do so to ensure human rights are protected as much as possible.
Politics
Politics impacts every part of our daily lives, including the laws we live by. The government have the power to introduce legislation and as we know from the changes in politics over the last century, different governments focus on various aspects, leading to new legislation being created. As well as changes in governments, we have also seen other changes that have impacted the law.
For example, when Britain joined the European Union (EU) our laws were amended to reflect the new relationship and ensure they were in-line with EU legislation.
Then again, when we later voted to leave the EU, our laws were changed again to reflect our independence, develop new laws that best fit the needs of the country and ensure our future. In fact, it wasn’t until the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (the first time in the history of England and Wales) that the judiciary was officially made independent from the government.
Looking at life as it we know it now and comparing it to the world as it was a century ago, our evolution and changes are very obvious. With advancements in areas such as technology, we have seen a massive increase in the need for privacy and data protection.
With changes in the economy, we have seen an increased need to protect the rights of workers and how they work. And with higher rates of immigration, we have needed more defined regulations.
All of this has led to new laws, and these are just a couple of the many examples of the ways the world has evolved. Law is ever-changing and it will continue to evolve so that it can serve and protect the people of Britain most effectively.
