Week 2 Flashcards
What is a statutory instrument?
secondary or delegated legislation, made under the authority of a primary act. Primary confers validity.
What are the two main kinds of EU law?
- Regulations
2. Directives
What is a regulation?
Directly enforced in UK. No other act required UK to be bound
What’s the difference with Directives?
They require a second stage of implementation in the UK before it becomes part of law
How can a judge make a rule of law?
When he makes a decision on a disputed point of law, not fact.
How does the civil court system work?
Hierarchical - start at court of first instance then onto appellate courts. Higher the court, more authoritative the decision is.
How is a case report built up?
- Names of parties
- Index terms for the subject matter
- Headnote, summary of facts and result
- Summary of arguments presented. Who won, who lost and what was pleaded
- Judges give their opinion, using all three to get the ratio of the case
What is the one primary distinction of citation?
Reported and unreported decisions, however blurry this has become.
What does it mean if cases are reported?
They are physically printed somewhere in law reports. Online doesn’t mean reported.
For the citation [2013] UKSC 55; 2014 SC (UKSC) 1; 2013 SLT 799; [2014] 1 CMLR 17
What is the neutral citation and what does it mean?
The first part ([2013] UKSC 55) is the neutral citation and is the unique identifier of the case. Means it was the 55th decision handed down by the UKSC in 2013.
For the citation [2013] UKSC 55; 2014 SC (UKSC) 1; 2013 SLT 799; [2014] 1 CMLR 17
What does the 2014 SC (UKSC) 1 mean? Why would you use this?
Means it was reported on the first page of the 2014 volume of the Session Cases. Session Cases are most likely to be cited because they are checked by judges before publication so are the most authoritative law reports.
For the citation [2013] UKSC 55; 2014 SC (UKSC) 1; 2013 SLT 799; [2014] 1 CMLR 17
What is the third and forth part?
- Means it was reported on page 799 of the Scots Law Times in the 2013 edition.
- Means it was reported in the first volume of Common market law reports on page 17 in 2014.
Why use Session cases in preference when citing?
They are published by the Scottish Council for law reporting and are a quasi-official body and is sanctioned by the judiciary.
How are session cases organised?
With different sections:
- Supreme Court decisions
- High court of Justiciary
- Court of session
All start at 1 and follow through till next section.
How were cases cited pre-1907?
You had:
- The parties involved
- The year of decision
- The volume
- The publisher ( R for rettie or D for Dunlop)
- The judicial body (HL, CSIH so on)
- The page number
Which reports should be cited with English cases?
AC, appeal cases, which is House of Lords and Supreme Court, QB which is queens bench, CH which is Chancery or FAM which is family. These are approved by the judiciary.
Who has law making competence in the UK?
The UK parliament and the Scottish Parliament. Subject to Law making competence of the EU.
What is the difference between the UK government and Parliament?
Parliament is the legislative branch of the the UK, it passes legislation.
Government is the executive branch of the UK, made up of political parties that can dominate the will of Parliament if one has a majority.
Two distinct branches.
What is special about having a combined Parliament and different countries?
Different countries can retain distinct legal systems, like England and Scotland.
When was Parliament formed?
By the 1707 Acts of Union
What is sovereignty and why is it applied to states?
There are no topics outside a states legislative competence which is known as full sovereignty of a state. Issue with EU having ability to control some, no full sovereignty.
Can a Parliament bind it’s successors?
No, simple majority can overturn any prior act of Parliament
What did s.28 of the EU Communities Act 1972 do?
Take away some of the legislative power of the UK Parliament.
What happens on exit day?
EU Communities Act 1972 is repealed as per EU withdrawal Act . EU stops being a direct source of law in the UK.