The English Legal System

Question 1

Codified Legal System

Answer 1

Whereby a country’s rules and laws are written down in codes or code

Question 2

Country with a codified Legal System

Answer 2

Has a written constitution and a constitutional court as the highest court of appeal

Question 3

Codified legal system Amendments

Answer 3

Difficult to change laws within the codified legal system as it requires the majority of the legislature to agree to an amendment

Question 4

Constitutional Court of Appeal

Answer 4

Can not make amendments to the codified legal system but merely analyses thoroughly and interprets the laws in the final rulings of the appeal cases

Question 5

Common Law

Answer 5

Developed when judges returned to Westminster and came to common and best laws to to applied in cases throughout England and Wales, based on their individual past verdicts across the country

Question 6

Common Law

Answer 6

Is the unwritten law that has developed from past judgements and verdicts(precedents)

Question 7

Customary Law

Answer 7

A set of behavior that developed from customs and social norms(Edgerton v Herding)

Question 8

Religious Law

Answer 8

Law that evolved from sacred transcripts

Question 9

Religious Law

Answer 9

Likely to be applied in countries with a common or codified legal jurisdiction

Question 10

Adversarial System

Answer 10

Used in countries with common law jurisdiction

Question 11

Adversarial System Process

Answer 11

• Both parties(claimant and defendant) gather evidences to present their case in a trial
• Prosecution(claimant) opens the case by accusing the defendant alongside the presentation of strong evidences; defendant can argue and try to mitigate guilt by presenting their evidence
• Final verdict is taken by an unbiased judge or jury

Question 12

Adversarial System Drawbacks

Answer 12

• A defendant can be acquitted despite having strong evidence of guilt against them
• A defendant may be handicapped by an unskilled lawyer or may not have the financial capability to afford an experienced lawyer

Question 13

Inquisitorial System

Answer 13

Used in a country with codified legal jurisdiction

Question 14

Inquisitorial System Process

Answer 14

• An initial thorough investigation is conducted by an examining magistrate
• The result of the investigation is presented in a trial court
• Advocates do not take sides but rather help the judge to interpret the evidences
• Judges have a more active role as they question the witnesses themselves

Question 15

Inquisitorial System Advantages

Answer 15

• Ensures fairness and unbiases in hearings
• Removes the factor of a defendant being handicapped by a lawyer as all questions are asked by the judge

Question 16

Inquisitorial System Drawbacks

Answer 16

• Cases may be more lengthy due to the thorough investigation
• Defendants don’t have the right to represent themselves in trials

Question 17

Rule of Law

Answer 17

Implies that every individual is subject and accountable to law that is fairly applied and enforced

Question 18

Literal Rule(Fisher v Bell)

Answer 18

Words in an act of parliament are interpreted the same way as the literal or dictionary meaning

Question 19

Literal Rule Advantages

Answer 19

• Lawyers and general public already know what to expect before going trial
• Ensures parliamentary supremacy as the exact words of the parliament is followed

Question 20

Literal Rule Drawbacks

Answer 20

Words can have several different meanings

Question 21

Golden Rule(Adler v George)(Narrow Application)

Answer 21

A modification of the literal rule, whereby judges are allowed to slightly modify words in an act of parliament in order to avoid the occurrence of an absurd situation

Question 22

Golden rule Advantages

Answer 22

• ## Avoid the occurrence of a repugnant situation(Coates v CPS)(Wider Application)

Question 23

Golden Rule Drawbacks

Answer 23

• It is merely a ‘feeble parachute’ to the use of the literal rule and acts only as an esscpe route
• Leads to uncertainty in the law