Week 1 Intro to English Legal System (1).pptx PDF

Introduction to the English Legal System  Contemporary issues – medical law and ethics, human rights issues, crime, family, environmental and company law Learning to analyse, criticise and debate legal and ethical issues Welcome We will discuss...

Introduction to the English Legal System  Contemporary issues – medical law and ethics, human rights issues, crime, family, environmental and company law Learning to analyse, criticise and debate legal and ethical issues Welcome We will discuss assessments in seminars ! Check SurreyLearn every day Check your personal timetable – rooms may vary week to week Structure English Legal System and how our laws are created Statutory interpretation The Court Structure (online) Aims Understand the foundation of the English Legal System, including the distinction between public and private law, and the roles of Parliament and the Court. Differentiate between civil and criminal law, including their respective courts and remedies. Comprehend statutory interpretation and the roles of different courts in the justice system. English Legal System and how our laws are created Royal Courts of Justice (houses High Court and Court of Appeal) Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey - criminal cases with judge/ jury and houses the Crown Court) Supreme Court (final Court of Appeal in UK for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) Houses of Parliament (where laws are created) The English Legal System Exists to determine the institutions and bodies that create and administer a just system of law It incorporates principles such as equality Laws are accessible (ignorance no defence) Applied by independent judiciary - fairness and not biased Provides checks and balances (parliament, courts, civil service, media and society) All of this is fundamental to a fair society English law is separated into public and private jurisdictions Public Law Governs how public bodies, such as the government, interact with individuals and ensure that they are treated fairly. Also shapes how public bodies operate and are structured. E.g. criminal law Private Law Deals with disputes between individuals and private entities Remedy provides the victim with compensation, not punishment of the offender. E.g. family or property law The separate branches of law - Criminal v Civil Law Separate branches of the law which have different purposes Criminal seeks to punish, civil seeks a remedy e.g. compensation Different procedures e.g. standard of proof But sometimes both criminal and civil actions can be brought at the same time Examples – Criminal and Civil law How is it created? Statutes – a law made by the UK Parliament. All Acts start as bills introduced in either the Commons or the Lords. When a bill has been agreed by both Houses of Parliament and has been given Royal Assent, it becomes an Act. Common Law - based on court decisions, rather than statutes. Also known as case law or judge-made law. Equity – supplements common law by providing legal remedies in cases where common law is inflexible or cannot fairly resolve a dispute. How our laws are created  Parliamentary sovereignty Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK which can create or end any law How our laws are created Separation of powers The legislature: Parliament, which includes the House of Commons and the House of Lords, makes the laws. The executive: The Crown and the Government, including the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers, create policy and put laws into effect. The judiciary: Judges in the courts of law, tribunals, and magistrates' courts decide whether laws are being followed or if they have been made properly.  No-one is above the law, and the law applies equally to everyone, unless objective differences mean people should be treated differently The The law must be accessible and understandable. Everyone should be able to find elements of out what the law is. The law should be certain and predictable. Individuals should be able to plan their actions based on the law the Rule of Ministers and public officials must exercise their powers reasonably and in good faith. They must only use their powers for the purpose for Law – Lord which they were conferred, and must not exceed the limits of their powers Bingham, The state must provide accessible ways for people to resolve legal disputes between them. Justice should not be excessively delayed, or 2010 inordinately costly. Individuals are entitled to a fair trial in the determination of their legal rights and responsibilities. This includes the principle that judges be independent and impartial. The law must provide adequate protection of fundamental human rights. Checks and balances – an example https://www.supremecourt.uk/ watch/uksc-2019-0192/judgme nt.html Checks and balances Crime bill: Lords defeats for government's protest clamp-down plans - BBC News How our laws are created The European Union (UK left on 31 January 2020) How our laws are created: (1) Statute  1. Public - Government ministers propose the majority of Public Bills, those put forward by other MPs or Lords are known as Private Members' Bills. Statutes 2. Private - usually promoted by organisations, like local authorities or private companies, to give themselves powers beyond, or in conflict start as a Bill with, the general law. Private bills only change the law as it applies to specific individuals or organisations, rather than the public. 3. Hybrid Bills - mix the characteristics of public and private bills. The changes to the law proposed by a hybrid bill would affect the public but would also have a more significant impact on specific individuals or groups. How does a Bill become law?  Before an effective government existed, laws were created by How our judges. laws are Common Law (case law) still exists and Parliament will not legislate created: unless necessary to do so (2) E.g. Tort Law – the law of negligence Common Law Benefit – adapts to reflect changes in society The birth of common law of negligence – the case of the snail and the ginger beer Donoghue v Stevenson AC 562  Cases decided by This is how the common law Judges from develops higher Creates consistency in law courts will But it also evolves to meeting changing practices and reflects bind the changing values in society lower courts (precedent) Common Law For precedent to be established, the judge's rule must form the ratio decidendi (reason for the decision) and refer to a point of law, not just the case facts. Statements made obiter dicta (something said by the way) are not binding but can be persuasive in future cases. Example of ratio decidendi and obiter dicta How our laws are created: (3) Equity Supplements common law Common law had limited remedies, mainly damages (money paid out to the person making the claim). Courts recognised the need for other remedies, like injunctions and specific performance. Judicature Acts 1873 and 1875 allowed all courts to provide both equity and common law. Part 2 – Statutory interpretation The Tribunal considered the following when making their decision… Ingredients Texture Marketing - are they found with biscuits or cakes in the supermarket? Packaging How do you eat a Jaffa? Does it go stale - what happens to the Jaffa Cake? Size - Jaffa cakes were more like biscuits than cakes A cake! Statutory interpretation ‘The duty of the Courts is to ascertain and give effect to the will of Parliament….In performance of this duty the Judges do not act as computers into which are fed the statutes …..and from whom issue forth the mathematically correct answer. The interpretation of statutes is a craft as much as a science and the judges, as craftsmen select and apply the appropriate rules as the tools of their trade. They are not legislators, but finishers, refiners and polishers of legislation which comes to them in a state requiring varying degrees of further processing.’ Per Donaldson J in Corocraft Ltd v Pan American Airways Inc 3 W.L.R. 714 at page 732  Three The Literal Rule – literal approaches definition which help the courts The Golden Rule – wider definition (Adler v George, interpret 1964) legislation by The Mischief Rule - look at rationale to interpret ambiguity (Heydon's Case, Parliament 1584) Work for seminar 2… Read Chapter 4.2 of Legal Skills book - SurreyLearn/ Course Materials/ Digital Textbook Bookshelf Watch short presentation on The Court Structure – SurreyLearn/ Panopto Useful https://www.parliament.uk/ https://justice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/ informati 2015/09/Law-for-Lawmakers-FINAL.pdf on