the English legal system

Question 1

what are the 6 sources of law

Answer 1

1. statutory interpretation
2. judicial precedent
3. acts of parliament
4. delegated legislation
5. european law
6. european convention on human rights

Question 2

what is parliament made up of?

Answer 2

• House of Commons
• House of Lords
• monarch

Question 3

what is a green paper?

Answer 3

an intention to change the law and outlines the format this change could take. its is published for the public to comment on and copies are also distributed to interested parties.

Question 4

what are white papers?

Answer 4

a positive proposal on the format the new law will take

Question 5

what are public bills? with an example

Answer 5

involves matters of the public policy that will affect the whole country or a large section of it. children and social work act 2017

Question 6

what are private bills? with an example

Answer 6

designed to affect only individual people or corporations. university college London act 1996

Question 7

what are private members’ bills? with an example

Answer 7

sponsored by individual MPs. tend to cover issues that the individual MP is interested in. abortion act 1967

Question 8

what are the 7 steps of the legislative process

Answer 8

1- first reading: title of bill is read to the HoC
2- second reading: 1st opportunity for MPs to debate the main principles of the bill
3- committee stage: detailed examination of the bill where every clause is agreed to, changed or removed.
4- report stage: the committee will report back to the HoC, any proposed amendments are debated and voted on
5- third reading: final chance for the HoC to debate the contents of the bill
6- HoL: goes through the 3 readings again in the HoL. if any amendments are proposed it goes back to the HoC; “ping pong stage”
7- royal assent

Question 9

the UK has an unwritten constitution; it has no single legal document which sets out the fundamental laws outlining how the state works. what are the 3 principles it relies on?

Answer 9

1- parliamentary sovereignty
2- the rule of law
3- separation of powers

Question 10

what is parliamentary sovereignty?

Answer 10

sovereignty is the principle of absolute and unlimited power. an act of parliament can completely overrule any custom, judicial precedent, delegated legislation or previous act of parliament.

Question 11

what is dicey’s theory on parliamentary sovereignty? what are its threats?

Answer 11

1. parliament is sovereign and can make and unmake any law on any subject without legal constraints - membership to the EU took away for PS
2. no parliament can bind another - human rights act 1998takes aways from absolute power
3. no act can be challenged - devolution (the transference of power from central gov to regional or local gov)

Question 12

what is dicey’s theory of the rule of law?

Answer 12

recognised in the constitutional reform act 2005
1. no sanctions without breach - no one should be punished unless they have broken a law
2. one law should govern everyone - in the eyes of the law everybody (including the government) is equal
3. rights of individuals are secured by decisions of judges

Question 13

state problems, and examples of the rule of law being upheld.

Answer 13

• dicey’s theory conflicts with the principle of parliamentary supremacy - problem
• John hemming MP disclosed the name of a famous footballer - breach
• prisoner’s vote and Abu qatada - breach
• the constitutional reform act 2005, S1 and S17(1) - upholding

Question 14

what is the separation of powers?

Answer 14

montesquieu
- legislature: UK parliament - makes the law
- judiciary: judges - interpret and apply the law
- executive: government - enforces the law

Question 15

what are the 7 methods of law reform?

Answer 15

1- judicial change
2- parliament
3- law commission
4- pressure groups
5- royal commission
6- private members’ bills
7- public enquiries

Question 16

what is a case example where judges have changed the law? (judicial precedent)

Answer 16

R v R 1991 - the sexual offences act was amended

Question 17

why is judicial law making rare?

Answer 17

1. courts can only deal with cases brought to them - unable to enter into wide-ranging law reform
2. parties involved in the case often don’t have the money or interest to pursue the reform
3. judges are usually unable to speak with experts
4. undemocratic - unelected

Question 18

what are pressure groups?

Answer 18

organisations that seek to influence the direction of law and policy. can put pressure on parliament and is sometimes consulted by parliament. their role is to letter write; protest march; lobby MPs; organise petitions; gain public and media attention.

Question 19

what are the 2 types of pressure groups ad how do they differ? examples

Answer 19

1. interest groups represent a particular section of society such as workers, consumers, religious groups..etc. national union of teachers (NUT). they are concerned with the interest of members; membership is limited; can be motivated by self interest; often consulted by parliament.
2. cause groups: based on shared attitudes of their members. seek to advance causes such as poverty reduction, education…etc. worldwide fund for nature (WWF). members are motivated by moral issues and membership is open to all.

Question 20

what are the 4 ways parliament can reform laws?

Answer 20

1. repeal - old and absolute laws are removed
2. creation - completely new laws are created
3. consolidation - problems may arise with new statutes, and new legislation may be enacted to amend it.
4. codification - brings together all the rules into one statute increasing certainty

Question 21

What are other things that can influence parliamentary change?

Answer 21

1. events: unexpected events can lead to an urgent need for law reform. the attacks of 9/11 led to tightening of UK terrorist laws and the anti-terrorism, crime and security act 2001.
2. the budget: each year the chancellor of the exchequer presents a budget statement to MPs in the HoC
3. media: issues of public concern can be highlighted in the media. one example of this is Sarah’s and Clare’s law
4. law reform agencies: these put pressure on parliament to change the law. the law commission.
5. public opinion: dangerous dogs act
6. the European convention on human rights

Question 22

what is a judicial precedent?

Answer 22

refers tot the source of the law where past decisions of the judges create law for the future judges to follow - case law

Question 23

the basis of the system of precedent is the principle of stare decisis. what is stare decisis?

Answer 23

stare decisis = stand by what has been decided
like cases are decided alike
higher courts bind lower courts

Question 24

what are the 4 elements of judicial precedent?

Answer 24

1. the court hierarchy: this establishes which decisions are binding on which courts. decisions of the higher courts are binding on lower courts.
2. accurate law reporting: process of publishing the decisions of superior courts that set a precedent or change existing law. this allows for legal principles to be identified, collated and accessed.
3. the binding precedent: statement of material facts; statement of legal principles relevant to the decision (ratio decendi = reasons for the decision); discussion of legal principles raised in argument but not relevant to the decision (obiter dicta = things said by the way); the decision or verdict.
4. flexibility and certainty: the system of binding precedent creates the certainty needed to allow people to plan and lawyers to advise. precedent enabled common law to develop.

Question 25

what is a persuasive precedent?

Answer 25

a judgement which do not have to be followed but could provide good law for judges to follow.