CHRIS R. INOCENCIOJD-101PL 110 Philosophy of Law

38. PRESENTAITON OF CONFLICTING OR OVERLAPPING INTERESTS

Conflict of Interest or Overlapping Interest- is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests (financial, emotional, or otherwise), one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation of individual or organization.

A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgment or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.

Primary interest- refers to the principal goals of the profession or activity, such as the protection of clients, the health of patients, the integrity of research, and the duties of public office.

Secondary interest- includes not only financial gain but also such motives as the desire for professional advancement and the wish to do favors for family and friends, but conflict of interest rules usually focus on financial relationships because they are relatively more objective, fungible, and quantifiable.

ANALYSIS:

There are pitfalls which the organs of government must guard against at all times in the process of weighing or valuing conflicting or overlapping interests. If these dangers are not addressed, the legal ordering will suffer. Once a conflicting interest exists, it always affects the decision of a court. In cases where an uneven presentation of the competing interests in made, courts have the responsibility of freeing themselves from such bias. Recusal is one of the ways in protecting the decision of a case in one court. It refers to an act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a court case or legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court or administrative officer.

39. RELATIVE WEIGHT OF COMPETING INTERESTS

Weighing or Balancing- is a process used by the courts in deciding between the competing interests presented in a case.

Balancing involves weighing competing rights against each other and analyzing the relative strengths of many factors. A balancing decision is dependent upon the circumstances of each case. Therefore, the outcome is difficult to predict. By contrast, categorization is a classification and labeling process. It involves identifying a right and how it was infringed upon and analogizing these findings to a previously decided case or precedent. Hence, the outcome is more predictable.

ANALYSIS:

In weighing or balancing of competing interests,

40. SOCIAL INTERESTS AND NATIONAL POLICIES

Social interest-