Characteristics Of English Law

Societies need the help of rules to keep order and respect among its population. With the passing of years, the law, which was and is an indispensable tool to regulate peaceful coexistence within any country, has been changing for the purpose of adapting to the evolution of moral rules in the society. This fact enables all citizens of the same country to feel protected by same rules, most commonly known as laws. That is the reason why all people should be aware and understand how our society is regulated and what the rights and duties of ordinary citizens are. In this country, we find three principal sources of law: Statutes, which is legislation from the UK Parliament and devolved parliaments; common law, which is a law made based on the doctrine of judicial precedents and is the base of our legal system; and the European Union law. This latter one has the supremacy if it conflicts with the national law according to The European Communities Act, passed by Parliament in 1972. We will focus on Statutes and common law and will try to explain how common

The fundamental source of English law is, therefore, a jurisprudential system based on the precedent that differs substantially from Western European law, where laws have been systematically codified, forming a single body of legal doctrine.

The English legal system is centralized through a hierarchical system of courts, common to the whole country, where the higher courts exercise their authority over the inferior ones.

The role of judges in the system is central, as they not only exercise jurisprudence but also establish the meaning of the laws passed by Parliament. They are independent of government in their discretionary