The Impact of Different Sources of EU Law on the UK - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2298 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Level High school Tags: European Union Essay Did you like this example? Executive Summary The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact which the different sources of European Union law has had on the law of the United Kingdom. The general conclusion regarding the inculcation of the United Kingdom into the European Union is that it has brought about considerable effects and changes to the legal framework of the country. The sources of the European Union law could be classified as primary law, secondary law and supplementary law. The impact of these different sources is most felt through the direct applicability of European Union law, above the will of the Parliament, in the United Kingdom. Moreover, the English courts now issue declarations of incompatibility where they hold the relevant United Kingdom laws to be discordant with the purposes of the European Union. Also, the effect of European Union law has affected the way rights are accorded to the citizens of the country. Introduction The European Union is an economic and political partnership between 28 or so European countries (Europa.eu, n.d.), where it seeks to protect and integrate the political, economic and military interests of the continent in a wholesome manner. The law of the European Union primarily refers to elements such as the laws found in treaties, laws enacted and the judicial decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union, amongst other Union courts (Borchardt, 2010). The laws emerging from these sources are treated as if they were codified à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" they are accorded immense respect in the member States such the United Kingdom. Indeed, where there exists a conflict between the laws of the European Union and those of the Member States, the former is accorded primacy over the latter by default (Mayer, 2005) . Therefore, this paper seeks to analyse some of the effects which the sources of European Union law have had on the legal framework of the United Kingdom. In order to do so, the paper would firstly seek to analyse the different sources of European Union law. The next section would enumerate on how these sources, either individually or collectively, have impacted on the English legal framework. The paperà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s summary conclusion is that the principal effect of European Union law is that of displacing Parliamentary will as supreme in the United Kingdom (Thompson and Gordon, 2014). Sources of European Union Law There are principally seven different sources of European Union law namely, European Union treaties, secondary laws made under these treaties, non-legally enforceable instruments which aid the interpretation of Union law, treaties made between the Member States, international treaties entered into by the European Union, fundamental rights upon which the Union is grounded and the judicial decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU hereafter). However, it is possible to classify these sources into three main categories à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" pri mary law, secondary law and supplementary law (Reich, 2005). Primary law refers main to the treaties comprising the European Union, which are namely the Paris Treaty of 1951 and the Rome Treaty of 1957 (the founder treaties of the European Union) and the Treaty in Functioning of the European Union (TFEU hereafter). These treaties were formulated after considerable negotiations between the Member States and were subjected to ratification by national parliaments (Reich, 2005). These treaties seek to outline the role and duties of the Member States, the roles of Union institutions, and all other pertinent bodies involved in the functioning of the European Union (Alter, 1998). Primary law also comprises of law pertaining to the amendment of these treaties, protocols annexed to these treaties and the treaties entered into when new member countries accede to the European Union. In order facilitate proper functioning of the Union, treaties set expansive policy goals and then inaugura te institutions which play a principal role in ensuring that these policy goals are met via corresponding legislation. These legislations are broadly classified as either directives or regulations (Snyder, 2000). Regulations are directly applicable in every single Member States of the European Union, without requiring any implementing legislations from the part of the Member States. They automatically supersede all domestic legislations which conflict the regulation (Snyder, 2000). Directives, as opposed to Regulations, require the Member States to produce the purported effect of the Directive, but leave the Member States at liberty to formulate the best possible way to achieve this outcome. Secondary law pertains mainly to the unilateral acts and agreements signed by Member States in order to govern their activity in producing a pre-conceived outcome. Unilateral acts refer to a broad umbrella, referring to decisions, regulations, recommendations, opinions and directives (Treaty of Lisbon, 2009, Art. 288). While these are listed under Article 288 of the Treaty of Lisbon, other unlisted unilateral acts refer to recommendations, white papers and communications. They also refer to the international agreements/treaties entered into by the European Union, agreements undertaken between Member States and inter-institutional agreements existing between the institutions of the European Union (Aziz, 2004). Finally, the third group of sources of European Union law is supplementary law. This primarily refers to the uncodified/unwritten rules of law developed by the judicial decisions of the CJEU. The court is given the duty of interpreting the European Union laws in such a manner that they are applied similarly in all of the Member States. Thus, the CJEUà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decisions serve as a bridge between primary and secondary laws. The principles established by the CJEU permits the court therefore to implement rules from different domains (Garrett, Kelemen and S chulz, 1998). Supplementary law could also include international legal tenets and customary international law principles. Moreover, supplementary law includes the fundamental rights which the European Union is based à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" these include human rights, criminal law as founded within the legal frameworks of Member States, competition law (Snyder, 2000) and fundamental freedoms such as the free movement of capital, free movement of goods, free movement of people and free movement of services (Dinan, 2005). Competition law pertains to the control of economic activities between the Member States, in order to avoid certain powerful Member States from distorting the economic regulations and rules. Competition law therefore regulates activities such as mergers and acquisitions, monopolistic/oligopolistic anti-competitive measures undertaken in Member States and regulation of the public sectors (Rose and Bailey, 2013). Similarly, one of the fundamental rights (also pertinent to the cause of this paper) protected under the garb of supplementary law is the provision that men and women need to be accorded equal treatment in all of the Member States. This anti-discriminative provision seeks to ensure that gender-based biases do not disadvantage the opportunities and rights given to women at workplaces (Horspool and Humphreys, 2014). Thus, given that these rights are a source of European Union law, they give citizens of Member States the right to sue the organisation/government which is responsible for the discriminatory measure, under the context of violation of human rights. The only prerequisite is that the corporation needs to be situated in one of the Member States of the Union. Therefore, it could be gathered, from an analysis of the sources of European Union law that they operate on a principle of supremacy. The European Union laws are accorded precedence over national laws insofar as the latters provisions are inconsistent with the former. Hence, it is clear that the principal effect of the sources of European Union law mentioned above is that they dominate the legal frameworks of Member States, which includes the United Kingdom. Effect on United Kingdom Laws The United Kingdom enacted the European Communities Act 1972 in order to incorporate the aforementioned sources of law into the legal framework of the United Kingdom. Despite the sources of European Union law, it is important to note that they are permitted to have the effects to be mentioned below solely owing to the enactment of this Act à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" without this Act, the local governmental/judicial bodies would be under no obligation to let European Union law affect United Kingdom law. The first effect of European Union law on the laws of the United Kingdom is the supremacy accorded to the laws of the former. As per the constitutional practices of the United Kingdom, the parliament is ranked supreme, whereby it serves as the most potent legislative au thority (Eleftheriadis, 2009). This means that, unlike in the United States, no domestic courts could override the law-making authority of the Parliament. The Parliament can make and unmake any laws as it deems fit, and no Parliament can enact a law in such a manner that it can bind future parliaments. Yet, the sources of European Union law have altered this position. As per the Treaty of Rome, the primary provisions of the European Union founding treaties apply to all Member States, including the United Kingdom. This means that the European Union law reigns supreme over the will of the Parliament in the United Kingdom, thereby fundamentally altering the legal framework of the United Kingdom (Loveland, 1996). As a result of this, the United Kingdom courts may even disapply certain domestic legislations where they do not complement Union provisions. Evidence for this is found in the ambits of the European Communities Act 1972 itself, whereby section two clearly outlines that le gislation, be it enacted before or after the foundation of the European Union, must be interpreted in a manner consistent with the European Union provisions. In R v Secretary of State for Transport ex parte Factortame ([1990] UKHL 7), the House of Lords held unambiguously that the judiciary of the United Kingdom are under a legal obligation now to apply directly applicable Union law, even if it is inconsistent with domestic law. In this case, the House of Lords had to declare certain provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 as invalid for this purpose. Therefore, it is inadvertently clear that the sources of the European Union law have had the effect of making the domestic provisions and law-making powers of the Parliament in the United Kingdom less potent. This issue was principally settled in the landmark case of Costa v ENEL ([1964] ECR 585 (6/64)). It is worth noting that this principle applies even in instances where the domestic law in question is penal in nature (as pe r Publico Ministero v Ratti [1979] ECR 1629, C-148/78). Secondly, the other main way the sources of European Union law affect the British legal framework is the way in which the fundamental rights are applied in the domestic context, attempting to undo all forms of discrimination faced by women at the workplace. A case-in-point is that Union law demands that male and female workers are treated equally at workplaces (as per Equal Treatment Directive 76/207/EEC). On this point, the House of Lords held that provisions of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 were deemed to be incompatible with this tenet of Union law (R v Secretary of State for Employment ex parte Equal Opportunities Commission [2000] UKHL 12). This is because the Act accorded less rights to part-time workers as compared to full-time workers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the problem being that most part-time workers were bound to be women. Hence, owing to the sources of European Union law, these provisions were st ruck down. It is therefore clear that another way in which the sources of European Union law affects the domestic legal framework is that it accords special rights to its citizens, whereby the Union law deems that all Union citizens ought to enjoy such rights. This has the effect of disengaging from the personal direction of the domestic law and inculcating the rights nevertheless the prevailing culture in the country. Conclusion In summary, this paper has established that there are seven main sources of European Union law, whereby these could be classified as primary law, secondary law and supplementary law. Moreover, the paper has evidenced that there are two main changes effected by these sources on the legal framework of the United Kingdom they have superseded parliamentary supremacy and inculcated fundamental rights to citizens despite their domestic legal framework. Bibliography Table of Cases Costa v ENEL [1964] ECR 585 (6/64) Publico Ministero v Ratti [ 1979] ECR 1629, C-148/78 R v Secretary of State for Employment ex parte Equal Opportunities Commission [2000] UKHL 12 R v Secretary of State for Transport ex parte Factortame [1990] UKHL 7 Table of Legislation and Treaties Equal Treatment Directive 76/207/EEC Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 European Communities Act 1972 Merchant Shipping Act 1988 Treaty of Lisbon 2009 Treaty of Paris 1951 Treaty of Rome 1957. Other Sources Alter, K. J. 1998. Who are the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Masters of the Treatyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ? European Governments and European Court of Justice. International Organization, 52(1), pp. 121-147 Aziz, M. 2004. Mainstreaming the duty of clarity and transparency as part of good administrative practice in the EU. European Law Journal, 10(3), pp. 282-295 Borchardt, K.D. 2010. The ABC of European Union Law. Europa.eu, [online] available at: lt; https://europa.eu/documentation/legislation/pdf/oa8107147_en.pdfgt; [Accessed: 2 3 June 2015] Dinan, D. 2005. Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration. 3rd ed. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Eleftheriadis, P. 2009. Parliamentary Sovereignty and the Constitution. Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, 2, pp. 1-24 Europa.eu. N.d. How the EU works. [online] Available from: lt; https://europa.eu/about-eu/index_en.htmgt; [Accessed: 23 June 2015] Garrett, G., Kelemen, R. D. and Schulz, Heiner. 1998. The European Court of Justice, National Governments, and Legal Integration in the European Union. International Organization, 52(1), pp. 149-176 Horspool, M. and Humphreys, M. 2014. European Union Law. 8th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Loveland, I. 1996. Parliamentary Sovereignty and the European Community. The Unfinished Revolution? Parliamentary Affairs, 68(3), pp. 517-535 Mayer, F. C. 2005. Supremacy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Lost? Comment on Roman Kwiecien. German Law Journal, 6(11), pp. 1497-1506 Reich, N. 2005. The Constitutional Relevance of Citizenship and Free Movement in an Enlarged Union. European Law Journal, 11(6), pp. 675-698 Rose, V. and Bailey, D. 2013. Bellamy and Child: European Union Law of Competition. 7th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press Snyder, F. 2000. The Europeanisation of Law: The Legal Effects of European Integration. Oxford: Hart Publishing Thompson, B. and Gordon, M. 2014. Cases and Materials on Constitutional and Administrative Law. 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Challenges of Youths in Our Contemporary World free essay sample

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Above all learn from Jesus Christ, who from childhood went about doing the father’ business, â€Å"I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other citizens also, for I was sent for this purpose? Make yourself available for noble use. Challenges Facing the Youth Today The general state of youth reveals spirituals, social and psychological crises and confusion. They are being affected by the effects and influence of the society, peer groups, parental neglect and the evil one. Many of our youths blindly follow the dictates of the secularization of Western culture. The effects of secularism on most people have even made them argue that churches should accepts the society’s new directions. To them, if the society accept the society’s new directions. To them, if the society accepts pre-marital sex, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, sex education, use of condoms, lesbianism etc. hey cannot see why the church has to keep calling them sins. The youth sees the youth state as a period of fun and freedom. However, they forget to recognize that this stage is important and transitory – a stage between childhood and adulthood. Mistakes youth make at his stage in life could be detrimental bearing with it a lifetime consequences. For example, Youths who take to armed robbery, prostitution, drug trafficking, political thruggery, and a ll manner of violent practices carry over such nefarious activities from their youthful stage into adulthood. At adulthood they become a problem to themselves, the society and invariably their children who may take after them. What a wasted life! In fact, they are unable to build a worthwhile foundation on which to rest their future. Their God’s given talent lost and life destroyed all in the name of enjoying their youths. In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he admonished Timothy in these words: Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue Righteous, faith, love and peace, Along with those who call on the Lord Out of a pure heart† 2Tim:22 The youthful stage when properly managed can lead to disaster. All youths should heed to Paul’s admonition to timothy. Flee from all evil desires and run after righteous. Many of our youths are compromising with worldly ideals. Compromise with the world brings corruption. It destroys the child of God’s testimony and makes his light grow dim. Learn from David and Joseph, the way to upright living. The youth is being influenced and challenged today in the following areas: 1. INFLUENCE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY Modern technology had led to the invention of personal computer, the satellite, Digital television, the internet, mobile phone (GSM). These devices had in no small measure made the world a global village. However, the challenges facing our youths (Christian youth) is how to use them without abusing them. The truth is that these devices rather then being used for the advancement of knowledge which is capable of making the world a better place have become powerful tools in the hands of Satan for the perversion of morals. For example, the computer has both simplified and speeded up the operation in many fields of human endeavor – data storage, medicine, architecture, music and broadcasting industry. These are interactive computer software for learning of virtually any subject. The mobile telephone has made communication easy. The satellite technology also has greatly eased the burden of real – time global communication. The internet is a great source of information, Books; encyclopedias on any subject, theses, revise, online news, libraries are now available on the internet. Various school activities which were manually carried out in the past, such as purchasing of admission forms, payment of school fees, access to course outlines, result etc are now done online. Sources of information and different educational operations are now available on the internet. However, one must not lose sight of the evil associated with these devices (internet, GSM and computer). Many (including children, youth and even older people) are introduced to do world of deceit, indecency, immorality crime, sexual perversions, violence and many other vices through the use of these inventions of modern technology. The computer and the internet have more damaging influence on the youth. Youths spend long hours watching digital videos (DVD) or playing violent, even bloody and demonic computer games. Some youths spend hours or the whole night browsing forbidden site on the internet thereby getting exposed to inappropriate materials, such as pornographic and erotica because some youth get initiated into Satanism, Spiritism and other esoteric region. The TV and internet have taking over the place of the bible and prayers in a good number of homes. Youth treasure their wide exploration of the internet in place of reading their books and other intellectual activities. This a leading to a dramatic decline in the academic performance of the youth and a high rate of unproductively of the youth in all spheres of life. Wise parents should rise up to this challenge, and set up corrective measures to arrest this trend of self destruction of the youth. 2. THE FILM INDUSTRY Many youths spend long hours watching the television denying themselves of meaningful activities that will promote heathy living and advancement in life. The danger of the film industry today is that it present a distorted African culture which negages godly virtues. For example, pre-marital sex is against God an abominable thing in African culture, but the film industry today presents it as the norm and what must follow or be part of a relationship. Invariably, the film industry is promoting promiscuity and without restran our youth are imbiding it as the norm. Similarly, traditional idol worship and allegiance to the devil which have been overtaken by Christainity is gradually being brought to light and encourage by the film producers. What about movies dominated with violent operations?. This negates God peaceful co-existence among men. Parents must therefore rise up to control what their children watch on the television. 3. NEGLECING OF HARD WORK Many youths want to go the easy way of life. No work but wants to be rich. They wish for success in life without paying the price of diligence. You need to see the coutless number of youths at the cyber cafe, browsing the internet looking for innocent preys to devour of thir hard earn money. Some Pentecostal pastors are not left out in the craze for prosperity through miracle galore at the expense of diligent labour. 4. SEARCH FOR GREENER PASTURE Many youths run the risk of searching for illegal means to go out of this country for better life. Experiences of those who attempted leaving this country reveal the agony many had to go though traveling through waste land to cross over to their â€Å"promised land†. In the process many had lost their lives and their sense of value of life. Those who made it to their dreamed land are out their doing menial jobs and worst still are out into crimes of various degrees. 5. Domestic Problems Many youth are confronted with Domestic problems ranging from hostility from parents, strife between their fathers and mothers, parents inability to provide the basic necessities of life. Youths from such homes run away from home, get involved in all forms of crimes such as 419, armed robbery, thuggery, prostitution or hired assassions. Parents should wake up to their responsibilities and make sustainable plans for their children. 6. INDECENT DRESSING AMONG YOUTHS We have been wonderfully made by God. Praise the Lord! Let us trace our dressing to the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they realized that they are naked. They sewed fig leaves together to make themselves aprons (Gen3:7). This covered only a part of their bodies. This is fact was not proper clothing and so the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them. This implies that the lord God covered their nakedness. Therefore, any clothing that does not cover the body fully is an indecent cloth. Let us also consider the demoniac in St. Luke’s gospel Chapter 8 ;26-35). The demon possessed man was naked. The bible described him as â€Å"a man from the city who had demon; for a long time he had worn no clothes, and lived not in a house but among tombs’. With encounter with Christ Jesus, he was delivered from the legion of evil spirit, he was clothed and he was in his right mind† (Luke 8:35). This implies that only people who are not in their right mind would go about without clothes not big enough to cover their nakedness. The modern day christains especially youths are without estrain imbiding and embracing worldly principles, values, culture and customs without making refence to the word of God. The bible says: â€Å"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is inworld, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father, but is of the world†. I John2:15. Unholy attitudes or worldliness has become the culture of the church. Some church members tell you what you wear does not matte, after all religion is in the heart. However, they forget that there is a link between the state of man’s heart and the outward appearance. In fact, one’s outlook is greatly influenced by the condition of the heart. It is not uncommon today to find different kinds of immodest and indecent dressed worn by the majority of young people and some older people in the society, even in the church of God. These ladies wear transparent and body hugged clothes under the guise of fashion and civilization. In fact, you see girls of cheap and easy virtue wearing provocative or seductive apparels that partially expose sensitive reas of their bodies such as breast, navels, abdomen and thighs, such youth are not left out in their heavy make-ups. Their make-ups are so excessive and outrageous that the girls are not less than masquerades and cannot but be mistaken for prostitutes. Why would a Christain woman or lady imitate Jezbel? â€Å"When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it and she painted her eyes, and adorned he r head and looked out of the window† 2King9:30. Some ladies dress in such way that they stimulate lustful desires in men. The harlot dresses shamefully only to advertise, comete and seduce the opposite sex. They wear revealing clothes which create in men some immoral desires. Mini-skirts are symbolic of those ladies who want to seduce men. Every mini-skirt is a fuel that sets the mind of a man to imagine the most debased thoughts. On the other hand, ladies who are seductively dressed are more likely to be harassed by men. In the actual sense, a lady who is immodestly dressed is simply adverstising herself, telling the male folk that she is available. No wonder, today that the rate at which women are raped is exceedingly alarming. The men folk are not left out of this craze for fashion. They fry their hair (jerry curls or perm0, weave their hair, wear earring, leave their shirits unbuttoned, exposing their beareded chest, have funny styles of hair cut, apply make up just to prove themselves as â€Å"senior guys†. 7. Sexual Immorality/ Fornication Many youths do not see sextual immorality/formation as sin. They see it as a way of expressing their love to a person of the opposite sex. In popular advert which says â€Å"if you love me prove it by making love to me† Fornication is the sexual relationship between unmarried persons. God condemns fornication; Do you not know that your body is a temple of he Holy spirit, who is in you whom you have received from god? You are not your own, you were received with a price. Therefore, honour god with your body (1cor 6:19-20) Anyone who destroy the temple of the Holy spirit which you are will face wrath of God. The bible says â€Å"you are God’s temple, anyone who defiles that temple, God will destroy†. Some youth who engage in fornication (pre-marital sex) tell you they are in search of happiness, pre-marital sex has brought shame, disgrace and to many, unfulfilled destiny and untimely death. According to Ibid: Pre-marital sex has many adverse effects surrounding it. By so doing expose themselves to many risks such as: pregnancy, abortion, death, death, veneral disease, fear, shame, disrespect, sterility, uncompleted career are grievous sins against God, your creator. These are what we risk ourselves for, Just a mere pleasure which does not last. Similarly, punch Newspaper had on one of its publication pointed out that †Pregnancy is just one of the ways one can reap on unpleasant harvest from fornication†¦ It is better to avoid pre-marital sex†. 8. Wild Ambition Youths, no doubt are very ambitious. Being ambitious itself should be commended. But when the ambition becomes obnoxious, wrong signals are elayed. It is not uncommon today to find youhs engage in all manner of nefarious activities that are opposed to Christain virtues in a bid to acquire great wealth, fame and success. They are usually recruited as political thugs, fake drug peddlers, armed robbers, hostage takers, murderers, assassins while others become cultists, prostitutes and so on. Some become involved in dubious and undefiled business. The bible tells us to flee from all appearance of evil. Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any paise, think on these thing (1 Cor10:31. Phil 4:8) Do not get involved in any activity that is contrary to the tenents of God. Anything contrary leads to hellfire. 9. Peer Group Influence Many Youth have been led astray by those they regard as friends. The influences of peers can bring about a positive or a negative change in one’s life. But today, such influences have been found to destroy the lives of those who keep had company. Thomas Martin as reported by Stan Ilo had this to say â€Å"What can be more dangerous to youth than bad company; what more fatal to all moral rectitude and feeling than influence of bad example. Bad company ruins good moral. It will be highly recommended youths can be involved in authentic friendship. John Chidi once classified friendship into 3: 1. Friendship based on unity 2. Friendship based on Sexual pleasure 3. Good griendship Youth should be encouraged to get involved in good friendship I =n which a man and a woman can be close friends without any sexual intercourse whatsoever. 0 Foul Language, noisy Music, Obscene Dance, pornography Music is an ancient means with which God’s people adored, exalted His Holy name and praised his majesty. This is still God’s expectation from us today. However, Christain music of today has assumed a new dimension from what obtains in the bible. Most Christain music today are emotional, sensual and noisy. The musical instrument soun d than the wordings as obtained in worldly music. Such songs do not give any inspiration, and it lacks modesty and moderation. So also is the obscene dance that accompanies the music. Flee from such music and from every apprearance of evil. 11. UNEMPLOYMENT There is a high rate of employment in this country. Many youths who had managed to go through thick and thin to obtain a university degree or other degrees are out there on the streets roaming about in search of anything to do for living. His has been the concern of both youths and their parents. Many parents have lost inetrest in investing into education of their children. This has increased the number of youths without any formal education or vovational training. One sees them in high dense areas/cities milling around motor parks, marj=ket places, in hide outs, practically doing nothing meaningful. Their daily existence depend on how much they can steal, extort from people or just waste away. Some engage in menial jobs that can hardly take care of them, while others become preys in the hand of evil men who take advantage of them by providing debase jpbs such as drug trafficking, prostitution. The self employed are faced with problems of generating power for tjose whose jobs require electricity. The question is, for how long then can we watch the leaders of tomorrow waste away. We all must rise up to this challenge and fight corruption, injustice that have premeated into the whims and caprices of this nation. 12. Marriage Many youths today are faced with the problem of getting a wife or a husband. This could be attributed to a number of factors such as parental influence or control, self, sin and the devil. Youths becomes so obsessed with their inability to be married that they now abadom God. To every man there is a wife and to every woman there is a man. Therefore wait on the Lord, and He will provide. THE WAY FORWARD In handling the problem of our youth and the difficulties confronting them in this perverse generation, parents, churches, society and the youth themselves have specific roles they must perform to bring sanity to our world. Let us reflet on the role of the youth themselves. The youth who desires life and the fruits of happy life must desire God and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Seek first the kingdom of God and all its righteous and all other things will be added unto you (Matt. 6:33). To the youth who had turn away from the Lord, I say â€Å"come back with a repentant heart and the Lord will receive and have you back as his own. Repentance involves: a) Admitting your weakness, being sorry for your weakness b) Renouncing your weakness The Lord tell us in Issaiah, â€Å"come now let us reason together, says the Lord through your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall become loke wool† (Is. 1:18) Go for sacramental reconciliation. Having regained your relationship with God, He wants you to live a spotless life even in this era of godlessness. You are to stay unpolluted and unperturbed in the constantly changing world where you dwell. The unchanging God will substain you, for he has said. :For I am the Lord, I change not† (Malachi 3:6). This implies that God’s children have no excuse to allow themselves to be swayed by the rapidly changing world around them. What is expected of the youth therefore according to the word of God is outlined as follows: 1. The youth must treasure the unaltered word of God in his heart, life and mouth, civilization or no civilization. 2. He must constantly and diligently with prayer guard his soul so that he is not overtaken bythe whirlwind of globalization and modernization. . Must be resolved to live a holy life. This involves daring to be different with a resolution not to look back. 4. Depend on the grace of God. Paul tells the Ephesians, â€Å"for it is by Grace you have been saved through Faith and this is not from your selves, it is a gift of God (Eph 2:8) In the sane vein, Jesus tells us in Jn15:16 not to rely on our own strength but yo abide on the Vine 5. Invite the Holy spirit, the sanctifying power of God into your life. It is the spirit that gives life. In all thid fullness, live in the spirit. So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires swhich is contrary to the spirit and the spirit which is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that do not do what you want† (Gal5:16-17) 6. Associate with thos who love and fear God. Meditate on the passage â€Å"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and Idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will live with them and walk amongthem, and I will be their God, and they will be my people† 7. Plunge into unlimited opportunities: The Lord urges us to plunge ourselves into unlimited opportunities that he has set us. Like Joshua, He was to be strong, courageous and to observe the word of God. Joshua did as God commanded and he prospered. Today God is saying to us that he has given us great opportunities to succeed in life and have all our needs met. However, many go through life dejected, defeated, defrauded, dominated and at the end doomed. you are a child of God. For success to come your way, start now. Do not be idle. You can still go back to school and get education; you can re-write your papers and improve on them. Are you unemployed, apply to place no matter how little, or you can create a job yourself. You need not suffer, the sky is the limit. Finally, do not stay away from sacraments (Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation). Heaven is real. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and suffer the loss of soul.