English legal system
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Transcript of English legal system
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English legal system
Joy WingfieldShort residential courseSession 1 May 15th 2006
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Learning Outcomes
• At the end of this session, you will be able to– Distinguish between the types of UK law– Describe the English courts system– Describe the hierarchy of law and how it is
created– Explore how politics drives law– Identify the key features of primary and
secondary legislation– Decode legal citations
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What is Law?
• A law is an obligatory rule of conduct• Public law deals with relationships
between individuals and “artificial persons” (e g companies) and the state
• Private law deals with relationships (common law) and obligations (civil law) between individuals or local concerns such as notice of street processions
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Classification of Law
• Statute law is made under the authority of the monarch, but created by Parliament– Criminal– Professional– Administrative
• Civil law covers obligations between citizens– Contracts– Torts
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The court system
• For the administration of justice– Apprehension and punishment of
wrongdoing• For the settlement of disputes
– Restitution, compensation, punishment?
• Includes a range of tribunals and professional “courts”
• Variable jurisdictions
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House of LordsAppeals from the Court of Appeal and in exceptional circumstances from the High Court
(also Scotland and Northern Ireland)
Court of AppealCriminal Division
Appeals from the Crown CourtCivil Division
Appeals from the High Court, tribunals and certain cases from the county courts
Chancery DivisionEquity and trusts, contentious
probate, tax partnerships, bankruptcy
Consumer CourtPatents Court
High Court
Family Division Matrimnonial proceedings
Proceedings relating to childrenProbate
Queen’s Bench DivisionContract and tort etc.
Commercial CourtAdmiralty Court
Administrative CourtSupervisory and appellate
jurisdiction overseeing the legality of decisions and actions of inferior courts, tribunals, local authorities, Ministers of the Crown and other
public bodies and officials
Divisional CourtAppeals from the
magistrates’ courts
Divisional CourtAppeals from county courts,
on bankruptcy and land
Crown Court78 centres
Trials of indictiable offences, appeals from magistrates’ courts, cases for sentence
County Courts218 courts
Majority of civil litigation, subject to nature of the claim
Magistrates’ CourtTrials of summary offences, committals to the Crown Court, family proceedings
courts and youth courts
TribunalsHear appeals from decisions on immigration, social security, child support, pensions, tax and lands
From web tutorial, Kent university library
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Sources of law
• International conventions• European Union• Primary legislation – an Act
– Health fully devolved in Scotland– Partially in Wales
• Secondary legislation – an SI• Directions - public service
administration
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European Union• Post WWII, UK joined “common market” in
1973, now 25 “member states” in a political “European Union”
• Free movement of people, goods, services and capital (money) – political “bloc”
• Regulations - binding in every respect• Directives - binding as to objectives• Decisions - internal structures• Recommendations (persuasive force)
and opinions (case law)
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European Institutions
1 Council Appointed politicians :decision making, national presidency changes every six months, can impose majority decision
2. Commission Civil servants: draft proposals, amend, discuss, repeat, prepare cases for enforcement, Commissioners head Directorates eg internal market, agriculture
3 Assembly Elected politicians: provide rapporteurs, consultative/advisory. 15 standing committees.Meet once a month for a week in Strasbourg and Brussels
4 ECOSOC Experts: provide expertise
5 European Court
Judges and lawyers : enforce and interpret law
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EU Legislative Machinery
• Council Regulation 93/2309/EEC Compulsory central process for new
actives
• Council Directive 2001/83/EEC Control production and distribution of
medicines
• Council Decision 75/320/EEC Set up Pharmaceutical Committee
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Pharmacists
• 85/432/EEC covers education and training• Five year course includes in-service training• 36/2005/EEC From 2007: may be part time• 85/433/EEC: covers right to practise in EU• An EU national• Cannot be in personal control of a pharmacy
open for less than three years
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European Convention on Human Rights
• See later!• Don’t mix up European court of
Justice – enforcing EU “commercial” law and European Court of Human Rights – enforcing the European Convention on Human rights
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How UK law is made
• Green papers– Policy, problems and solutions
• White papers (“Command” papers)– Proposals for new law; need an Act to
amend an Act (usually!)• Public bills have government
support• Private members bills – but not usually
private law
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Parliamentary Process
• Bill introduced in Queen’s speech• Readings in both houses• Committee scrutiny• Passing an Act (Primary legislation)• Powers to make Statutory
Instruments (Secondary legislation)– Regulations – Orders
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The geography of law
ExerciseWorking in small groups identify
the nature and status of the documents in your pack and describe their nature, status,
organisation and layout
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The geography of lawInformation for exercise
• Documents include:– A green paper and a white paper– A Bill, explanatory notes and an Act– A new SI consultation and regulatory
impact assessment– Several Statutory Instruments– Public services directions; best practice
guidance
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Politics and law
A class exercise
Trace the progress of the concept of clinical governance from ministerial proposal to
implementation at NHS contract level
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Legal citations
• European law• “Command” papers • Bills• Parliamentary debates • UK statutes • Statutory Instruments• Cases
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Case law• Over 200,000 cases per year in E and W• Only about 2,500 of these are reported
– New or modified principle, new rule, settle questions, new interpretations or applications
– All House Lords, some appeals, high court, tribunals
• “Official” Bar council reports from 1865– Approved by judge– Contain counsel arguments– Four classes House Lords (HL), Chancery (CH),
Queens Bench (QB) and Family (Fam)
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Interpreting a legal citation Citations consist of
The names of the partiesDate
Page no.
Volume number
Abbreviation
Hunter v Canary Wharf [1997] 3 WLR 684
Derry v Peek (1889) 14 App Cas 337 HL
From web tutorial Kent University library
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Other law reports
• General Series of reports– Weekly Law Reports - WLR– All England Law reports - All ER
• Specialised law reports– Criminal Appeal Reports – CLR– Statutory Committee Reports (not
official)• Newspapers and Journals
– Times law report - TLR
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Legal citations
ExerciseWorking in small groups and using
the printed material available, “decode” the examples of legal
citations to provide full information on where the information is to be found and under what jurisdiction
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Questions so far?