Welcome to the third edition of The Argument – a critical analysis of the law by law students at the University of Kent.

In spite of our growth and increasing recognition within the legal community, the editorial team has been committed to preserving the foundational principles of The Argument. The premise of the publication has been, and will continue to be, to serve as a platform for critical law students to question and contemplate pertinent legal issues that are important to them, without the constraints inherently imposed within the academic setting. In line with the ideology adopted by Kent Law School, The Argument does not seek to consider a purely black letter approach. Indeed, to do so would be to ignore the political, social and economic realities of the law and undermine “the complex set of facts that constitute the relationships of members within a given society,” as the character Professor Kingsfield so eloquently offered in The Paper Chase.

This edition of The Argument is significant to us firstly because it affirms our belief that a critical platform is crucial to and sustainable at Kent Law School on a long-term basis. But more importantly, it also marks a transition for the editorial team of The Argument. We as founding editors have appointed a new team of editors with whom we have worked on Issue 3. The new editors will carry on with the publication and our hope is that Kent Law School staff and students will be supportive of them. As previously stated, the success of this publication depends entirely on the ideas and contributions we receive from students. We hope that you will continue to contribute and even challenge The Argument in order for it to mature into a permanent feature of Kent Law School and the University.

We trust that you will find the many articles herein thought-provoking and engaging. You will find perspectives on numerous legal areas, including criminal law, media law, human rights, legal theory, property law and intellectual property law. There are varied discussions on international law, covering legal issues in Bermuda, Bolivia, Iraq, the United States and Zambia. We have also featured an interview with a Corporate and Graduate Recruitment Partner at the international law firm Herbert Smith, a book review, the Kent Law Clinic reports and some legal updates. The editors of The Argument do not necessarily share the views of the authors of the articles nor do we initiate them. We however believe in the authors’ rights to air their views without constraints and we are committed to ensuring that we provide a reliable and impartial platform for this. We aim to develop not only personal writing skills but also those in advocacy. We also hope to develop into an established publication which will offer the wider legal community an accurate and good reflection of the credibility of law students at Kent.

We would like to thank the editorial team for their hard work in preparing this edition, the continued support of Kent Law School, the hard work of the University of Kent Design Team and the generous support of our sponsors and donors. Most of all, we thank our student contributors, for you have ensured the continued existence of The Argument. We look forward to hearing debate and your feedback, and hope that you enjoy reading this issue.

Walker Syachalinga is in the third year of a Law LLB; David A Amaro is in the final year of the senior status LLb (Hons)