IELTS Essays

« Previous  Next »

Topic: Some people think it is better for one single legal system throughout the world. Others say countries should have their own law. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

There is a general perception that there should be one common global law governing all the countries in the world to prevent criminals from one country taking refuge in another country to escape conviction in their own country. Others however argue against a common law and prefer that each nation has its own law to suit their culture and tradition. I agree with the latter with a caveat.

To initiate, every nation has legal authority over the people within its borders. To bring back criminals who have escaped to other countries, many nations have signed extradition agreements. However, proponents claim that with a common international criminal law applicable to all countries, such criminals can be quickly convicted. For example, Nirav Modi committed a fraud of over Rs 4000 million in India, few years ago, and escaped to the UK. Even though there is an extradition law between India and the UK, India has still not been able to bring him back to face Indian courts. Courts in developed countries accept the argument of criminals that the prison conditions in India are poor and there is the possibility of death penalty for terrorists.

On the flip side, opponents claim that each country must have only their own law based on their cultural and religious beliefs. For instance, there are several countries that have laws based on religious texts and communist philosophy, that are very different from laws in democracies like the US or India, so finding common ground is difficult. I too agree with this notion, as every country cannot cut off a thief’s hand for stealing like they do in some countries. However, countries must co-operate with the Interpol and ensure criminals are arrested.

To recapitulate, it may be difficult to have a common global law for all countries; however, since no law of any country supports criminality, some commonality in criminal law of different countries, especially for hardened criminals, can help reduce heinous crimes like money laundering and terrorism. (330 words).