1. The English Legal System Flashcards
What is the Rule of Law
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.
Significance of the Magna Carta 1215?
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.
Significance of the Bill of Rights 1688
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.
Civil Law Definition
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.
Criminal Law Definition
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.
What is the UK Constitution?
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.
What are the vital influencing factors of the UK Legal System?
The monarchy, the nobility and the judiciary, but not the trades unions before 1800. (no trade unions before the end of the 19th century)
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?
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
