topic 2

Question 1

what are the 2 main types of law

Answer 1

statutory
case law

Question 2

how is statutory law passed

Answer 2

Statutory law is passed by Parliament when a Bill is proposed in the House of Commons, approved by the House of Lords, and sanctioned by the Crown (the King) as an Act – the Royal Assent

Question 3

how many seats are in the HOC

Answer 3

650

Question 4

how many peers are in the HOL

Answer 4

around 800

Question 5

what are the 7 stages used to create statutory law

Answer 5

the first hearing
the second hearing
the committee stage
the report stage
the third hearing
the other house
Royal assent

Question 6

what is a green paper

Answer 6

a preliminary report designed to create a discussion and consultation on an issue from interested parties/organisations both inside and outside of government

Question 7

what is a white paper

Answer 7

where they detail their proposed changes to the law/legislation this will include a draft of the Bill

Question 8

what is case law

Answer 8

when a member of the judiciary makes a ruling (or overruling) on a case which sets a precedent for all other courts. These cases are published in law reports which provide consistency for future cases – this can apply for both a court of first instance case, or an appeal court

Question 10

2 ways of creating case law

Answer 10

judicial precedent
statutory interpretation

Question 11

what is judicial precedent (core)

Answer 11

When a judge makes a ruling in a certain case – particularly one in which the case deals with a grey area in the law – it sets a precedent for future cases. In other words it creates a ‘law’, that all judges in other similar cases in the future must follow

Question 12

what is statutory interpretation (core)

Answer 12

Judges may be required to interpret a statute in a particular way, if the wording is not straightforward, or it is not clear precisely how the law can be applied in a certain case.
Judges, or other prosecuting bodies, are required to interpret these laws and apply them appropriately when prosecuting or making a ruling in a case

Question 13

judicial precedent (expanded)

Answer 13

They can modify the literal words of the statute to create a new law to ensure that an absurd result does not happen (the golden rule).
They can come away from the words of the statute completely as long as the ruling is in line with what the statute intended to achieve (the mischief rule)

Question 14

example of overruling judicial precedent

Answer 14

R V R

Question 15

golden rule case example

Answer 15

R V Sigsworth

Question 16

Mischief rule case example

Answer 16

Smith V Hughes