Chapter 1- The English legal system Flashcards
What are the types of Public law
1)Constitutional
2)Administration
3)Criminal
What is another name for private law
Civil law
3 examples of civil law
-contract law
-Family law
-Tort
-Employment law
-Company
etc
What is common law
Unwritten laws that were developed from customs and judicial customs
5 differences between civil and criminal cases
-Criminal maintain law and order and protection while civil upholds an individual’s rights
-Civil use a judge while criminal is jury or magistrates
-Civil punishments can be injunctions
Criminal punishments are mostly prison/fines
-Civil takes place in the high court
Criminal takes place in the magistrates court
-Liable or not liable(civil)
Guilty or not guilty(Criminal)
Describe the 3 elements of the rule of law
*mention Dicey’s view
-Absence of arbitrary power from government
-Equality before the law
-supremacy of ordinary law
Weaknesses of Dicey’s views
-an Act of parliament can overrule any law, this means arbitrary powers can still be granted (parliament supremacy)
-Equality is still an issue as case taken to court can be very expensive which can be a disadvantage to the poor in the community
-In some countries, laws that are passed by parliament do not have to have a judicial review
The eight principles made by Lord Bingham were. The role of law in society
- both domestic and international laws must be abided to
- Punishments are given to crimes by the law
- application of law should apply to infringements of rights
- the law should be clear, accessible, precise, open to public scrutiny
- all equal
- respect for human rights
- courts should be affordable and shouldn’t be delayed
- Cases should be resolved without excessive delay
Weakness of the rule of law, what were Joseph Raz views
-He saw the rule of law as a negative value as discretion was controlled in an arbitrary manner
what exactly is the importance of fault in civil and criminal law
this is in order for the court to determine remedies and damages as well as the defendants degree of fault so as to award appropriate remedies
what were the roles of law in society
-protect people from harm
-to ensure a common good
-to settle arguments and disputes
How is the rule of law important in the civil justice system
- allows ordinary people to settle their disputes
- accessible & affordable
- fair trials heard by a jury
- should be free from discrimination
what does the adversarial system show
It displays the strengths of both parties with competitive processes and are used in common law countries.
advantages and disadvantages of the inquisitorial system
advantages-
- it shows no favour to the wealthy
- it has no bias/emotions
- the judge is involved and questions the witnesses
- emphasises on truth
Disadvantages -
- Lengthy
- can be difficult for untrained defendant to defend for themselves
- not fully dependent as the judge’s mind and decision could be predetermined.
advantages of the adversarial system
- protects the rights of individuals
- can allow both parties to consider the strength
- use of ADR can be used here
