Legal System Flashcards
What does having a common law system mean?
Law is made up of both statute and court judgements
What does the legal system being adversarial mean?
Opposing parties offer legal arguments and judge makes final decision, ensuring each party follows the procedural rules
What type of law best describes the body of law relating to the functioning of the state and individuals’ relationships with it?
Public law
What type of law best describes the body of law governing relationships between individuals, for example, contract and tort?
Private law
What type of law best describes the body of law that intervenes in the actions of individuals which the state (the Crown) deems harmful to the state or the people in it?
Criminal law
What type of law best describes the body of law that intervenes in relationships between individuals when they go awry e.g. breach of contract?
Civil law
What is substantive law?
The law as it is which governs adjudication e.g the statute itself
What is procedural law?
Governs how the adjudication of disputes operates e.g time limits, required paperwork as found in the Civil Procedure Rules
What are the main sources of law in England and Wales?
Statute, Statutory Instruments, International Treaty, Case Law, Works of Authority, Conventions
What makes up the structure of an Act of Parliament?
The short title, citation, long title, date of royal assent, preamble, part, section, subsection, marginal notes, extent provisions, enabling provisions
When is a bill referred to as an Act of Parliament?
After it has received the Royal Assent
What is known as secondary legislation?
When an Act allows for/makes provision for another body to provide regulations to give practical effect to the Act
If words of a statue have a clear meaning, how do the courts have to apply the words? Which rule is this?
They must apply them literally, using the literal rule, even if this would create an absurd or undesirable result
If using the meaning of a word would give an absurd result, what rule can the courts follow to avoid this, if there is some ambiguity
The golden rule
What is the Mischief Rule?
A way of interpreting legislation - in which the courts tool at what problem the statute was designed to remedy and interprets the words of the statue to achieve this result
Which Rule of interpretation allows the court to look at why the status exists and what it hoped to achieve, as well as looking at extraneous things other than the legislation?
The Purposive Rule
Which rule of language means ‘expression of one thing is the exclusion of another’
Expressio Unius est Exclusio Alterius
What does Noscitur a Sociis mean?
A word is interpreted by the company it keeps i.e. word is considered within the context in which it is used, using words in the same section of the statute to interpret the word
Which Rule of language means ‘upon the same matter or subject’, whereby other statutes may assist with interpreting an ambiguity in another?
In Pari Materia
What does Ejusdem Generis mean?
Of the same type - if a general word follows two or more specific words, the general world will only apply to items that are like the specific word used
What type of aids are the short title, long title, preamble, marginal notes and schedules
Intrinsic Aids
What are some common Extrinsic aids
Dictionaries, explanatory notes, Hansard
Which two courts lie within the civil court structure?
County Court and High Court
What are the three tracks within County Court cases?
Small Claims Track, Fast Track, Multi-Track
