The recent judgement of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dealing with the problem of sex discrimination as it related to actuarial risk calculations in insurance contracts (1) was a Belgian case where the ECJ had to interpret Article 5 of Directive 2004/113 (2). The Dire ctive itself emanated from the Council of the European Union. Article 5 states that: "1. Member States shall ensure that in all new contracts concluded after 21 December 2007 at the latest, the use of sex as a factor in the calculation of premiums and benefits for the purposes of insurance and related financial services shall not result in differences in individuals’ premiums and benefits." but then goes on to say that: "2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Member States may decide before 21 December 2007 to permit proportionate differences in individuals' premiums and benefits where the use of sex is a determining factor in the assessment of risk based on relevant and accurate actuarial
The recent judgement of the High Court in R (Miller) vSecretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2016] EWHC 2768 (3 November 2016, Admin) seems clear enough. The issue is one of law. Is there, as a matter of law, power in the executive to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union? The consequences of this decision fall into the political domain. But the decision itself is not political. It is not about what is the right thing to do, it is about who has the power to that thing. The conclusion of the judges, after hearing full argument, is that there is no power in the Executive (which draws its power from the Crown) to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union . So, the Executive/ Crown cannot change the rights of UK citizens without the consent of Parliament. A deep and very important cornerstone of UK civil liberties. The judges are right to guard it even in the face of miscomprehending public hysteria whipped up by cynical and misl
The Herengracht Index was a very long study (1628 - 1973) of house prices of a particular property development in Amsterdam where the buildings have persistently remained of constant high quality over time. The study compared: a real terms price index linked to the use value of the property; with the nominal value of the property (i.e. cash value). The study demonstrated that in the very long run house prices generally rise with inflation. There are market cycles but this is the very long term trend. Data points: 1628 - 1973 - biennial logarithmic price changes in the Herengracht index Nominal index: mean 1.83 standard deviation 17.65 Real index: mean: 0.45 standard deviation 18.50 Note the wide standard deviations reflecting price volatility. Another key observation is that there was a jump in nominal price in the face of an essentially flat real index after the Second World War. This jump arose (and continues) because the reserve currency of
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