Sources of English Law - Coursework Example

Sources of English Law Number Department Table of Contents I. Introduction...........................................................................................2 II. Sources of English Law..........................................................................5 i. Acts of Parliament......................................................................5 ii. Judicial Precedents.....................................................................6 iii. European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)..........................6 iv. EU Law.......................................................................................6 III. Classification of UK Law.......................................................................6 i. Public Law..................................................................................7 ii. Private Law.................................................................................7 IV. Enforcement of UK Law........................................................................7 i. Civil Law.....................................................................................7 ii. Criminal Law...............................................................................8 V. Court Hierarchy.....................................................................................8 i. County Court...................................................................................9 ii. Magistrate Court..............................................................................9 iii. High Court.......................................................................................9 iv. Appellate Court................................................................................9 v. Supreme Court................................................................................10 VI. Conclusion..........................................................................................11 Introduction United Kingdom Law is a legal mechanism that is enforced in both England and Wales. The legal system is also referred to as English Law. English Law has primarily been built by judges, who through their legal experience and educational background have determined laws which are binding in both countries. The English legal system of courts dictates that the highest of all courts in the land is the Supreme Court. This comprises of a High Court of Justice, which handles all civil cases and a Crown Court for high profile criminal litigations. The court that occupies the lowest level is the Magistrate Courts for criminal litigations and the County Courts for civil suits. The law recognizes the finality and binding nature of all decisions made by the Supreme Court. This means every court with lower jurisdictions must respect the verdict. England lacks one written constitution. Luck and Chumbley (2012) indicated that any piece of legislation passed by the English Parliament is accepted as law and not subject to review by the judiciary. Therefore, it behoves Parliament to create new laws and repeal existing legislation without any external interference. England regards Parliament in high esteem because the society believes it is composed of hundreds of experts, who have got the public nod to work in such capacity. The legislature is believed to dictate the direction of the country by making important decisions for public good. Background of English Law English Law is basically premised upon Common Law. Scheibal (1986) suggested that the Common Law is a legal structure that advances the concept of unfairness in treating similar facts differently. In other words, the concept of precedent is the propelling force of the Common Law. This implies that future decisions should be based on past verdicts on similar cases. English Law is the foundation of what is implemented in most of former British colonies across the world (Lee, 1997). On the same note, societies that were directly administered by English Law like Australia have continued to uphold the legal tradition. They usually cite relevant examples from English Law to reinforce legal submissions in courts (Lee, 1997). Countries like Hong Kong, whose legal tradition can be traced to English Law, still conform to the Common Law in their legal structures and systems. Owing to the close ties between England and Wales under the United Kingdom banner, and the United Kingdom as part of the bigger European Union (EU), EU Law has a direct impact on English Law. Most of the states under European Union employ civil law mechanisms. In light of this, England and Wales have a double affiliation to international law. This implies that international regulations must be formally domesticated and interpreted as part of English Law (Barclay, 2011). UK courts are, therefore, required to apply international law only after they have been domesticated. Owing to the important role played by the British society in international trading, it is highly influenced by international economic laws such as Public International Law. In light of this cooperation, consistency in the application of laws and decision making is imperative to permit such mutually beneficial economic activities to go on without any hitches. Sources of English Law  The four major sources of English Law are; Acts of parliament, the European Convention on Human Rights, common law, and EU Law (Barclay, 2011). UK law is made up of legal statutes instead on one inclusive constitution. Parliamentary Acts Parliamentary Acts are a creation of a legislature (Barclay, 2011). The main lawmaking body is the London-based English Parliament. UK parliament is the only legislative organization that has the authority to ratify pieces of legislation, which are enforceable in all the four constituent countries. The Parliament is comprised of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, with memberships totalling to 650 and 800 respectively. Apart from the London Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, and Northern Ireland Assembly can exercise devolved legislative power (Luck, & Chumbley, 2012). The lower lawmaking bodies can pass laws, which are enforceable with the jurisdiction of the particular countries. Judicial Precedents The legal tradition of England and Wales is premised upon common law. Therefore, courts of law play a pivotal role in ensuring that justice is delivered (Luck, & Chumbley, 2012). In light of this, court verdicts at the senior appellate hierarchies are incorporated in the law. EU Law The United Kingdom is a recognized by the European Union (EU) as a Member State. By virtue of being an EU member, English domestic law takes a lower priority. The European Convention on Human Rights As an official member of the Council of Europe, Britain is bound by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Moreover, the Human Rights Act 1998, which is formally in force since its implementation in October 2000, requires all the UK juries to safeguard the rights stated in the ECHR.  Classification of the UK Law The UK Law makes a distinction between public law, and private law (Luck, & Chumbley, 2012). Whereas, public law governs the connection between common man and the government, private law governs the association between the public and private entities. Practically, the most important difference lies between criminal law and civil law. On the one hand, areas where civil law is applicable are contracts, family issues, negligence, employment, land law and probate law (Scheibal, 1986). On the other hand, criminal law, as part of public law, provides the parameters for interpreting acceptable conduct. An individual who violates the criminal law is believed to have committed a felony against the general public. Enforcement UK Laws Civil Law In England and Wales, an individual who thinks that another person or party has violated civil law can fill a claim form and take it to the relevant court of law for action (Scheibal, 1986). For instance, the County Court, through its more than 200 branches, handles most claims with a maximum of value of £25,000 and claims whose value are twice the amount, which involve damages to a victim. The High Court based in London, arbitrates on most claims of higher value. Owing to the simplicity of the cases, the County and High Courts, deploy a single judge to hear the petitions and give a verdict. A claimant in a civil case is required by the law to bear the burden of proof. He or she must convince the court that the defendant more probably than not, violated the Civil Law. In case of a successful litigation, the court usually orders remedy inform of damages for the victim (Scheibal, 1986). Other remedies like a court order that debars an individual from acting in a particular manner, are also available for enforcement in some situations such as broken employment contracts. Once the decisions have been made, either the claimant or the defendant is allowed by law to initiate a legal proceeding in an appellate court in an effort to reverse the court’s decision. Criminal Law In England and Wales, an individual who believes that criminal law has been violated by a party, should contact the law enforcement agency, as it is the only body that is mandated by law to initiate investigations (Scheibal, 1986). If, after apprehending and interrogating an individual, the custodians of law believe that he or she engaged in a criminal act, that person is charged. A copy of the case is then presented to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Lee (1997) averred that if the CPS is convinced that the charges can yield a successful trial, and that it is indeed in the public interest to go ahead with the trial, the CPS will begin legal proceedings against the criminal suspect, who automatically assumes the defendant role in the suit. In court, it is incumbent upon the CPS to bear the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt, in order to secure a successful prosecution. Court Hierarchy Minor crimes such as breaking traffic rules are taken up by Magistrates’ Courts. Zhou (2009) averred that many urban centres in England and Wales have set up their respective Magistrates’ Court, where magistrates hear cases involving minor offenses. Magistrates do not necessarily have legal knowledge, because they receive worthy advice from a lawyer Clerk. In view of this, magistrates are not bound to state reasons behind their verdicts. The Crown Court based in more than 90 centres across England and Wales is mandated by law to hear cases involving grave crimes such as sexual violence or rape, and murder (McGrath, 1994). A jury comprising of a dozen people, randomly picked from among the local residents will decide, without providing any elaboration, whether the defendant is culpable of the charges levelled against him or her. In most cases, the decision of a jury will all rule in favour of or against the defendant, but the arbitrator may decide that a 9:3 or 10:2 or 11:1 majority is adequate. The jury receives legal advice from the judge, whose responsibility also encompasses effecting a punishment in the event that defendant does not exonerate himself or herself from the charges. Stealing and fencing crimes are some of the intermediate crimes, which can be heard and determined by a Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court (Thomas, 2006). The sentences enforceable for criminal offences encompass fines payable to the government, imprisonment and unpaid community punishments such as cleaning the pavements or weeding flowers in a public park. Appellate courts The UK’s Senior Appellate Courts are responsible for hearing appeals from courts of lower jurisdiction. The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court are the two highest appellate courts in the UK. The Court of Appeal, whose jurisdiction runs across England and Wales, is made up of two divisions: one for criminal proceedings and the other for civil litigations (Zhou, 2009). The Civil Division is mandated to sieve through the appeals for legal compliance, whereas the Criminal Division seeks to uphold or reverse decisions made by the Crown and Magistrates’ Courts. Three Lords Justices of Appeal are mandated by law to hear and make individual verdicts supported by elaborate legal arguments upholding or refusing the charges. The Court’s verdict may be supported by a 3:3 or a 2:1 majority vote. Appeals against the decisions adopted by Court of Appeal are reviewed by the Supreme Court, which is the UK’s court of last resort. It has a jurisdiction to determine civil and criminal appeals from across the four countries, making up the United Kingdom (McGrath, 1994). Permission to file an appeal at the Supreme Court will be allowed only if it is in the public interest that the case should be heard at that level. The Supreme Court is duly constituted if it has five, seven or nine of the dozen Justices. Each of the justices draws an individual verdict that may be in form of an elaborate speech. The Court’s verdict may be arrived at either unanimously or by a simple majority. Decisions of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court are binding precedents that have to be referred to by courts handling similar litigations in future. This ensures fairness. Fairness is highly regarded by the society as a fundamental canon of justice. Conclusion Generally, England lacks one common constitution to which courts may refer. English Law is premised upon different sources, which enable various courts in the land to execute their mandate. The two main sources of domestic English law are Parliamentary Acts and Judicial Precedent. The other two sources of law are the international European Union Law, and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). UK operates under internal legal systems while dealing with civil and criminal cases. But when the EU Law is in conflict with the UK’s Acts of Parliament, the latter takes precedence. Various courts of law in the UK, from the lowest level County Courts, Magistrate Courts, High Courts, Appellate Courts, and to the Supreme Court interpret law at different levels. Supreme Court verdicts are regarded as precedents for future decisions. References Barclay, L. 2011. UK Law and Your Rights for Dummies. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Birds, J. 2010. Insurance Law in the United Kingdom. London: Kluwer Law International. Davies, C.R., & Cheng, T. 2011. Intellectual Property Law in the United Kingdom. London: Kluwer Law International. Hill et al. 2011. Religion and Law in the United Kingdom. London: Kluwer Law International. Lee, P. 1997. US firms embrace English law capability. International Financial Law Review, 16(4), pp.30-36. Luck, D.L., & Chumbley, D.J. 2012. A Legal Guessing Game: Does U.S. Common Law Require Manufacturers and Suppliers of Consumer Products to Warn in Languages Other Than English? Defence Counsel Journal, 79(2), pp.192-204. McGrath, J. 1994. Global law and the English lawyer. International Financial Law Review, 13(8), p.23. Scheibal, W.J. 1986. The Effectiveness of Plain English Laws: A Legal Perspective. Journal of Business Communication, 23(3), pp.57-63. Thomas, K.R. 2006. The Changing Status of International Law In English Domestic Law. Netherlands International Law Review, 53(3), pp.371-398. Zhou, Q. 2009. Economic analysis of the legal standard for deceit in English Tort Law. European Journal of Law and Economics, 28(1), pp. 83-102. Read More