1. The English Legal System

Question 1

What is the Rule of Law

Answer 1

all persons and authorities within the state, whether public or private, should be
bound by and entitled to the benefit of laws publicly and prospectively promulgated
and publicly administered in the courts.

Question 2

Significance of the Magna Carta 1215?

Answer 2

Specific clauses are informative: Clause 38 states that no official shall put a defendant on
trial on the basis of an unsupported self- incriminatory statement alone. Clause 39 states that there shall be punishment only within the law of the land. Clause 40 says that justice shall not be sold, delayed or denied.

Question 3

Significance of the Bill of Rights 1688

Answer 3

an Act ‘declaring the rights and liberties of the
subject’. It includes references to freedom of speech, the existence of juries, the undesirability
of cruel and unusual punishment, and the requirement for free elections to Parliament. It also
stated, crucially, That the pretended Power of Suspending of Laws or the Execution of Laws by Regall Authority without Consent of Parlyament is illegall.

Question 4

Civil Law Definition

Answer 4

Civil law deals with contracts, disputes and differences where the outcome is measured in
remedies or the payment of monies. In the event of the courts having to make a decision,
a matter must be proved on the balance of probabilities.

Question 5

Criminal Law Definition

Answer 5

Criminal law imposes restrictions and obligations on the population, where the outcome
is measured in punishment for transgressions, with the public taking an interest in both
the offence and the punishment. The ultimate penalty is the loss of one’s freedom through
imprisonment.

Question 6

What is the UK Constitution?

Answer 6

The constitution is uncodified in that it is located across different sources, only some of which
are written. The levers of constitutionality are then operated through a combination of the monarch,
Parliament and the courts. Often constitutional steps involve not just the written word but
also precedent, custom, prerogative and convention.

Question 7

What are the vital influencing factors of the UK Legal System?

Answer 7

The monarchy, the nobility and the judiciary, but not the trades unions before 1800. (no trade unions before the end of the 19th century)

Question 8

A Government wants to deal with an unexpected event. There is no law allowing the
necessary steps to be taken. Newspapers, social media and the majority of the population
appear to support immediate imposition of a decree, ie an executive measure, even if there
is no legal basis for it.
Should the Government issue the relevant decree?

Answer 8

Chief Justice Coke made the statement in 1610 that the Crown, and thus
Government, is bound by the law and cannot act outside it. It would not therefore be possible
for a Government to take action, or pass a law, without the necessary legal basis. This is a
good example of how judicial statements can be an important source of law

Question 9

What is a justice of the peace?

Answer 9

A magistrate

Question 10

Does a solicitor have the right to represent their client in the Crown Court?

Answer 10

Generally no (not without higher advocacy certificate) but they can if its on an appeal from the MC where the solicitor / firm represented the individual in the original trial

Question 11

If a Crown Court sentence Appears too lenient, can anyone take action against it?

Answer 11

Under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, where the Attorney-General considers that the trial judge in the Crown Court has imposed a sentence which is unduly lenient, he may refer the case to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal may replace the sentence with one which it considers to be more appropriate.

Question 12

Does a district judge ever hear small claims?

Answer 12

Yes

Question 13

What is a recorder

Answer 13

A recorder is the most junior level of circuit judge and can preside on a part-time basis in the Crown Court.

Question 14

DEF: Overrulling

Answer 14

a higher court comments on a previous unrelated decision by a lower court and declares it to be wrong.

Question 15

Is the Supreme Court bound to follow earlier decisions?

Answer 15

The Supreme Court normally follow its own earlier decisions (or those of the House of Lords), but may depart from its previous decisions when it appears right to do so.

Question 16

If a party believes a jury was incorrectly directed in a CC trial (but defendant was acquitted)- what should they do?

Answer 16

The Attorney general can make a reference to the Court of Appeal as to what the jury direction should be, but this has no effect on the man’s acquittal as he has been found not guilty in a Crown Court trial. The Court of Appeal can declare the wording to be correct or they can rectify it as a matter of precedent for future trials.

Question 17

Effect of the 1996 Practice Statement on Supreme Court Decisions

Answer 17

The Supreme Court would usually follow its own previous case law to ensure that like cases have like outcomes. However, the 1966 Practice Statement was a practical solution to the problem as to how the court should behave if technology, society or morality had changed with time. There must be an exception which allows the Supreme Court to develop old law to operate in new circumstances.

Question 18

To what extent in ECHR case law considered by domestic courts in the UK?

Answer 18

The Human Rights Act 1998 gives UK courts the discretion to ‘take into account’ European Court of Human Rights case law, which means it is strictly correct for the Employment Tribunal to apply the Supreme Court judgment in favour of the employee’s cases.

Question 19

What is found in the schedules of acts?

Answer 19

Material such as codes / additional documents which are too bulky to be in the act itself

Question 20

Who oversees the County Court

Answer 20

The full jurisdiction of the County Court is generally overseen by Circuit Judges or Recorders (part-time judges). District Judges and Deputy District Judges (also part-time) handle interim matters and hear trials that do not exceed £25,000 in value.

Question 21

When would a district judge / deputy district judge hear a matter in the County Court

Answer 21

1. Interim Matters
2. Trials which do not exceed 25 000 in value

Question 22

Exception to the Enrolled Act Rule

Answer 22

Generally: the courts would not be able to consider whether an Act was passed correctly BUT a court can do so when the question of the case related to the legitimacy of parliamentary process

Question 23

Can the government use prerogative powers to authorise expenditure

Answer 23

No
- So they need parliament to do it

Question 24

Function of the Legal Advisor in MC

Answer 24

A legal adviser will be present in court with a bench of lay magistrates to provide advice on any matters of law and/or procedure arising during the trial, BUT it is not the legal adviser’s function to decide the innocence or guilt of the defendant.

Question 25

When can hansard be used as an aid to statutory interpretation

Answer 25

Hansard can only be used where there is ambiguity in the Act and the statement was made by a Minister or promotor of the Bill.

Question 26

If a defendant is appealing from MC to HC on a Point of Law - do they require permission / from whom?

Answer 26

Yes - from the MC

Question 27

Def: Consolidating Statute

Answer 27

A consolidating statute is one which merely re-enacts law previously contained in several different statutes and there is a rebuttable presumption that such a statute does not materially alter the previous law.

Question 28

Do all acts require a Green Paper?

Answer 28

NO