LEGAL PROBLEM SOLVING Flashcards
What are primary and secondary sources?
Primary sources are the law itself, and secondary sources summarise and comment upon that law.
What does the phrase ‘handed down’ refer to?
The practice of judges approving judgements before they are released i.e they approve the transcript.
What are law reports?
Commercial publications. They reproduce the judgement and a review of the facts and reasoning behind the decision. This includes catchwords that summarise the main legal aspects of the case.
Should Law Reports be cited?
Yes, and in student essays.
Explain citing a case.
Presenting an authority to the court to establish a certain legal proposition. They identify cases by notation.
When finding a law report of a case, if only a neutral citation of a case is available, what does this mean?
Your case will not be reported in any of the law reports series. Instead, you can use the citation to find a transcript of the judgement.
What are the different types of citations?
Case citations and neutral citations.
Why were neutral citations introduced?
In order for courts to publish transcripts on the internet with a consistent numbering process. They look a lot like law report citations though, confusingly.
What does affirmed mean?
The court agrees with the decision of a lower court on the same case.
What does applied mean?
The court regards itself bound by a decision in an earlier, different case, and has used the same legal reasoning in the present case.
What does approved mean?
A higher court states that a different case was correctly decided by a lower court.
What does considered mean?
The court discussed a different case, often one decided by a court of equal status.
What does distinguished mean?
Where a court has no power or wish to overrule an earlier different case or apply it. They have found a compelling difference meaning it doesn’t need to follow it as precedent.
What does overruled mean?
Where the court overturns a decision in a different case of a court of lower, sometimes equal, status.
What does reversing mean?
Where a higher court of appeal overturns the decision of a lower court on the same case.
What does semble mean?
‘appears’, where a court gives its opinion on a point that is not directly before it.
What are senior councel called?
QCs, queen’s councel.
When reading a statutory act, what should you do?
Refer back to the parent act, for statutory acts are secondary legislation.
What does the court of justice of the European Union refer collectively to?
The court of justice and the general court.
How does EU law differ from UK law?
Before judgements are reached in the court of justice, the advocate general usually delivers an ‘opinion’, and the way the laws are cited differ.
What is EU primary legislation and secondary?
Primary= made up of the founding Treaties which established the EU Community, plus later amending treaties.
Secondary= regulates how the objectives stated in the Treaties are to be implemented.
Where is EU legislation printed?
Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) on a daily basis.
What are the two most common types of secondary EU legislation?
Regulations and directives.
What is truncation?
A symbol that you use after a word, allowing you to search variations of that word e.g penalty! on some databases would search for penalty and penalties.
