The Legal System of England and Wales and Sources of Law Flashcards
What is the structure of the courts?
Supreme Court (superior court)
Court of Appeal – Criminal Division / Civil Division (superior court)
High Court – King’s Bench Division / Chancery Division / Family Division (superior court)
Crown Court (superior court)
Magistrates’ Court / County Court / Family Court (inferior court)
Who sits in the county court?
Circuit judges
District judges
Who sits in the High Court?
High Court judges
What is a Justice of the Peace?
Another term for a magistrate
What is the role of a recorder?
The most junior level of circuit judge and can preside on a part-time basis in the Crown Court
What types of claims go to the High Court?
Claims over £100,000 (£50,000 for PI)
o Kings Bench: contract/ tort claims; PI; negligence; JR; also has specialised courts e.g. Technology and Construction Court
o Chancery Division: disputes over wills and administration of estates; trusts; land and mortgage actions; company law; bankruptcy; family division; IP
Who sits in the Court of Appeal and how many?
Lord Justices of Appeal - usually 3 sitting at once
Who sits in the Supreme Court and how many?
Justices of the Supreme Court - usually 5 at once
What is the route of appeal for summary trials in magistrates court?
Appeal can go to Supreme Court either directly through High Court, or through Crown Court then High Court then Supreme Court (i.e. not Crown Court direct to Supreme Court)
What is the route of appeal for indictment trials in Crown Court?
Crown court - Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) - Supreme Court (appeal on points of law only; Court of Appeal must certify point of law of general public importance; AND Court of Appeal or Supreme Court must grant leave to appeal; either side may appeal
What constitutes a point of law?
E.g. evidence being deemed inadmissible
If a decision is not binding, what are the other ways that courts can deal with other judgments?
(a) Affirming – a higher court confirms it agrees with the appeal before it from a lower court
(b) Applying – a court adopts statements or reasoning from other decisions
(c) Departing – a court of one level disagrees with a previous decision, in another matter, by an equal court
(d) Overruling – a higher court comments on a previous UNRELATED decision by a lower court and declares it to be wrong
(e) Reversing – a higher court disagrees with the earlier decision, in the same proceedings, of a lower court
In statutory interpretation, what is the literal rule?
Words are given their plain and ordinary meaning
In statutory interpretation, what is the golden rule?
Narrow = if a word is capable of more than one meaning, you can choose that meaning which does not produce an absurd result
Wide = even where a word only has one meaning, interpret it in a way that avoids a result that is obnoxious to public policy
In statutory interpretation, what is the mischief rule?
Court considers what mischief or defect in the existing law the statute was intended to remedy - i.e. considers intention behind statute
In statutory interpretation, what is the purposive approach?
Court considers the reasons why the statute was passed and its purpose – and will interpret the statute on that basis
What is Noscitur a Sociis?
Recognition by associated words - i.e. words are interpreted according to the meaning of the words that surround them and their context
What is an example of using an extrinsic aid?
A judge referring to a dictionary to determine the meaning of words and how they should be interpreted
What are the presumptions for interpreting statutes?
- Against alteration of the common law
- Against the retrospective operation of statutes
- Against criminal liability without guilty intention
- Against deprivation of the liberty of the individual
- Against deprivation of property or interference with private rights
- Against binding the Crown
- Against ousting the jurisdiction of the courts
What is the Parliament Acts?
Allows a Bill to progress through Parliament even without the support of the Lords
What are the three exceptions from Young v Bristol Aeroplane?
When sitting as an appellate court
- The court can choose which of two conflicting decisions of its own it will follow
- The court is bound to refuse to follow a decision of its own which, though not expressly overruled, cannot, in its opinion, stand with a decision of the House of Lords
- The court is not bound to follow a decision of its own if it is satisfied that the decision was given per incuriam, e.g., where a statute or a rule having statutory effect which would have affected the decision was not brought to the attention of the earlier court
What is a codifying statute?
An statute that brings together the whole of the existing law (i.e. was contained across a number of different statutes)
What is a consolidating statute?
A statute which merely re-enacts law previously contained in several different statutes and there is a rebuttable presumption that such a statute does not materially alter the previous law
What is a hybrid statute?
A statute which contains provisions some of which affect the general public and some of which affect only particular individuals or a particular locality
