GLOSSARY Flashcards
Act of parliment
a law that has passed through all stages in Parliament and becomes part of the law of the land.
Actus reus
Advocacy
the art of speaking in court on behalf of another; conducting a case in court as the legal representative of another person.
assualt
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm
an assault which causes V actual bodily harm and D intends or is subjectively reckless as to whether the victim fears unlawful force or is actually subjected to unlawful force.
Battery
he application of unlawful force to another person intending either to apply unlawful physical force to another or recklessness as to whether unlawful force is applied.
Bill
the name for a draft law going through Parliament before it passes all the parliamentary stages to become an Act of Parliament.
Binding precedent
a decision in an earlier case which must be followed in later cases.
Causation
a link between the defendant’s act or omission and the injury, loss or damage caused to the claimant.
Challenge to the array
a challenge to the whole jury on the basis it has been chosen in an unrepresentative way.
Civil claims
claims made in the civil courts when an individual or a business believes that their rights have been infringed in some way.
Civil law
the law concerned with the relationship between individuals.
Civil law system
this is based on a written code and aims to cover all possibilities with broad principles. Decisions of judges can be considered but are not binding.
Claimant
the legal term for a person who has suffered loss or damage and is bringing a civil claim for compensation.
Codification
bringing together all the law on one topic into one complete code of law.
Common law system
this is largely unwritten and relies on decisions of the judges. All lower courts are bound by decisions of judges in the higher courts.
Consolidation
combining the law from several Acts of Parliament into one Act of Parliament.
Contempt of court
disobeying a court’s order; for example, where a juror uses a mobile phone in the court room when he has been told that he is not allowed to
Corrective justice
the idea that liability rectifies the injustice inflicted by one person on another. This is also a major part of the theory of the law of tort.
Damage
the legal test of a loss to the claimant from a breach of duty
Damages
the payment of money by way of compensation. The aim of damages in tort is to put the claimant back in the position he was in before the tort, so far as money can do so.
Defendant
the person who has caused the loss or damage.
Delegated legislation
law made by some person or body other than Parliament, but with the authority of Parliament.
Denunciation
expressing society’s disapproval of an offender’s behaviour.
Deterrence
giving a punishment aimed at putting off the defendant from reoffending because of fear of punishment or preventing other potential offenders from committing similar crimes.
Direct applicability
EU law that automatically becomes part of UK law. There is no need for the UK to pass any act of Parliament to bring it into force in the UK. Treaties are directly applicable.
Direct effect
allows a UK individual to can rely on EU law in UK courts.
Directed acquittal
where a judge decides there is insufficient prosecution evidence to allow the case to continue, the jury is directed to find the defendant not guilty.
Dissenting judgment
a judgment given by a judge who disagrees with the reasoning of the majority of judges in the case.
Distinguishing
a method by which a judge avoids having to follow what would otherwise be a binding precedent.
Doctrine of precedent
following the decisions of previous cases. Due diligence - where the defendant has done all that was within his power not to commit an offence.
EU Directives
these are issued by the EU and direct all Member States to bring in the same laws throughout all the countries.
EU Regulations
laws issued by the EU which are binding on Member States and automatically apply in each member country.
Golden rule
a rule of statutory interpretation. It is a modification of the literal rule and avoids an interpretation that is absurd.
Green Paper
a consultative document issued by the government putting forward proposals for reform of the law.
Horizontal direct effect
a concept under which individuals can rely on EU Directives to bring a claim against their Member State even though the Directive has not been implemented by that State.
Indictable offence
an offence that has to be tried at the Crown Court.
Injunction
an order of the court to stop doing something, e.g. to stop making noise after 10 p.m. Failure to follow the court order can lead to further sanctions, including possibly imprisonment. An injunction can order a positive action, e.g. to move a muck heap to avoid causing a smell nuisance.
Lay magistrates
these are unpaid, part-time judges who have no legal qualifications.
Legal aid
government help in funding a case.
Liable
the judge’s decision that the case against the defendant is proved and that the defendant should pay compensation.
Literal rule
a rule of statutory interpretation that gives the words their plain ordinary or literal meaning.
Mediation
using a neutral person in a dispute to help the parties come to a compromise solution.
Mens rea
this is the mental element (guilty mind) or the fault element in an offence.
Negligence
an act or a failure to act which causes injury or damage to another person or his property.
Negotiation
the process of trying to come to an agreement.
Neighbour principle
the person who is owed a duty of care by the defendant. It is not the person living next door. According to Lord Atkin, it is anyone you ought to have in mind who might potentially be injured by your act or omission.
Non-pecuniary loss
loss that is not wholly money-based. This can include pain and suffering as a result of the accident, loss of amenity or a change in lifestyle, such as not being able to play a sport.
Novus actus interveniens
an intervening act to break the chain of causation. It applies to causation in both negligence and criminal law.
Obiter dicta
this means ‘other things said’. So it is all the rest of the judgment apart from the ratio decidendi. Judges in future cases do not have to follow it
Original precedent
a decision on a point of law that has never been decided before.
Pecuniary loss
a loss that can be easily calculated in money terms, for example the cost of hiring a car while the claimant’s own car is being repaired.
Persuasive precedent
a decision which does not have to be followed by later cases, but which a judge may decide to follow.
Prosecutor
the legal term for the person or organisation bringing a criminal charge against a defendant.
Purposive approach
an approach to statutory interpretation in which the courts look to see what is the purpose of the law.
Ratio decidendi
this is the reason for the decision. This forms a precedent for future cases.
Reasonable person
this used to be said to be ‘the man on the Clapham omnibus’. Now it is considered to be the ordinary person in the street or doing a task
Reasonably foreseeable
a danger which a reasonable person should predict or expect from his actions.
Reformation
trying to reform the offender’s behaviour so that he will not offend in future.
Remedy
the way in which a court will enforce or satisfy a claim when injury or damage has been suffered and proved. In tort law the remedy will usually be damages or occasionally an injunction.
Remoteness of damage
the defendant is liable for the injury or damage that is reasonably foreseeable.
Reparation
where an offender compensates the victim or society for the offending behaviour.
Repeal of an Act of Parliament
this means that the Act ceases to be law. Only Parliament can repeal an Act of Parliament.
Res ipsa loquitur
the thing speaks for itself. The burden of proof shifts from the claimant to the defendant.
Retribution
imposing a punishment because the offender deserves punishment.
Retributive justice
a system of criminal justice based on the punishment of offenders rather than on rehabilitation.
Rights of audience
the right to present a case in court on behalf of another person.
Sectional pressure group
a pressure group that represents the interests of a particular group of people.
Stare decisis
this means ‘stand by what has been decided and do not unsettle the established’. It is the foundation of judicial precedent.
Statutory instruments
rules and regulations made by government ministers under the authority of an enabling Act.
Strict liability
a civil action where fault of the defendant does not need to be proved.
Summary offence
an offence that can only be tried in the Magistrates’ Court.
Three-part test
an update of the neighbour principle to show who is owed a duty of care in negligence. All three parts have to be satisfied in order that this test is satisfied.
Tort
a tort is a civil wrong, and tort law compensates a person who has been injured or whose property is damaged. The word ‘tort’ comes from the French word for ‘wrong’.
Trespasser
a person who has no permission or authority to be on the occupier’s premises or a visitor who has gone beyond their permission to be on the premises.
Triable-either-way offence
an offence that can be tried in either the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court.
Tribunals
forums used instead of a court for deciding certain types of disputes. They are less formal than courts.
Ultra vires
this means that it goes beyond the powers that Parliament granted in the enabling Act. Where any delegated legislation is ultra vires, then it is not valid law.
Vertical direct effect
an individual can claim against the Member State even when a directive has not been implemented by that state.
Visitor
in legal terms, lawful adult visitors are invitees, licensees, those with contractual permission and those with statutory right of entry.
White Paper
a document issued by the government stating its decisions as to how it is going to reform the law.
