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Sources of English law
Importances Of Common Law
Development of common law
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What are the sources of Law? United Kingdom is a country with a distinctive set of legal system. It is fairly different from other countries having civil law based legal systems. The legal system in the United Kingdom consists of various sources of law, where other civil law based countries rely only on a written set of law. European influences on the English Legal System came much later in near decades. This essay will aim to examine the development of the English Legal System by reviewing applications of various sources of law in the English Legal System furthermore to discuss the recent European influences on the law of England. Introduction: English Legal System The English Legal System is used in the United Kingdom and it plays a significant role in keeping orders within the country; it has the influential ability towards the United States and other commonwealth countries. Many decisions from England are in many jurisdictions are considered as persuasive. The meaning of English Legal System is stated out by Cownie and Bradley in the English Legal System book . There are many sources that build up the English Law as it is today. The main sources of English Law consist of Common Law, parliamentary legislation and delegated legislation. As stated in Gary Slapper & David Kelly’s English Legal System book , there are many different interpretations of the phrase ‘source of law’ where in this book the law is made up of three main sources; where in Martin Hunt’s “A” Level Law , though there are different sources that make up the English law, these sources are differentiated in two main categories with various minor sources. History of Common Law Before 1066, all laws were local and enforced in manorial, shire, hundred court... ... middle of paper ... ... Supreme Court of Justice (formerly known as the House of Lords). Courts that are considered as higher courts in the hierarchy of courts would be the Court of Appeal and the High Court. Based on Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875 , the High Court is divided into few specialist divisions which are the King’s Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer and Admiralty Division. Where the Magistrates Court, Crown Court and the County Court are considered as inferior courts; both civil and criminal divisions of courts have little difference. The court hearing first instance of a criminal case is the Magistrates Court. However, when there is a case concerning on a more serious criminal offence, the case would be first heard in the Crown Court instead. First instance of civil cases are usually tried in the Magistrates Court and rarely in the County Court. Court Hierarchy: Disadvantages
...er to adjudicate a case, or hear about a case and then decide on it. These types of cases do not involve as many parties to reach decision. Criminal cases for example, typically involve a plaintiff, defendant, a lawyer for each party, a judge, and a jury. Administrative law cases do not have a jury. A judge will then make a decision after all evidence is reviewed. If the party is not pleased with that decision may appeal the case. From there, it is heard by an appellate board. If the party is still displeased, they can request that it be appealed a second time and it is then moved to federal court (Beatty, Samuelson, Bredeson 68).
The hierarchal structure of the federal court system consists of the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, Bankruptcy Appellate Panels, District Courts, Bankruptcy Courts, and Article I Courts (Hogan, 2010). The Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation. Its primary role is to review decisions made by lower courts of appeals, where the case involves the federal law or Constitutional law. The Court of Appeals primary role is to hear cases involving challenges to the judgment made in District Courts, as well as appeals from federal administrative agencies decisions. Bankruptcy Appellate Panels primary role is to hear decisions made in bankruptcy court and determine if they follow the law. District Courts primary role is to determine all facts and evidence in a case while applying the law to decide who is right. Bankruptcy
The high court makes judgments on constitutional question and disputes, the high court also resolves conflicts between states and federal government. Its also the final court of appeal.
Whenever a law case is issued, Trial Courts are always the first court people would have to go through. The U.S. District Courts are the Federal Trial Courts. As the lowest level of the Federal Court System, The U.S. District Courts take care of most of the Federal cases. The State of California courts is called the Superior Courts. Similar to the U.S. District Courts, Superior Courts heard most of the State cases (Superior Court of California).
Judiciary.gov.uk. 2014. Judges, Tribunals and Magistrates | Introduction to the justice system | Traditions of the courts. [online] Available at: http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/introduction-to-justice-system/court-traditions [Accessed: 2 Apr 2014].
First, according to justice.gov, “The federal court system has three main levels: district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court of the United States.” The courts all have a different role to play in the judicial system. Court systems exist to provide justice for all. Now, the district court system is the beginning of the judicial system. A good amount of the cases handled by the district court system are either criminal or civil trial cases.
In terms of civil law tradition countries, most judges have limited roles and court processes are driven by the legal code. Common law legal systems are rarer, and are adversarial; decisions tend to be based on precedent.
The formal and substantive theories of rule of law have been enormously influencing the UK’s Law system. Rule of Law is ‘a treaty or doctrine that describes the extent to which certain features as present within a country.’ Formal theory is that the concept will not be finding the details of law by using the previous judgements. It mainly focuses on how it is presented and the way on how to apply in daily life. The procedure is the major thing that formal theories is considering about. And the formal theories basically do not take the law’s content as consideration. Whereas substantive theory is to show to the general public how the law will be exercised, it is more concerning about the details inside the law and it is the procedures of the
The Australian Court Hierarchy is structured through five different types of courts that suit different needs. The Hierarchy categorises the importance of cases by the level of offence or reason. This is then forwarded into the court it categorises under. The employees of the Australian judicial position have roles that vary to the courts they serve in.
The justice system exists to enforce the rule of law and protect rights of the people, with great importance placed on upholding fairness. Courts are the final arbiter between the citizen and the state, and are therefore a fundamental pillar of the constitution, this quote shows that the courts and the whole of the justice system is important to maintain law and order in today’s society. With the supreme court itself being a form of check and balance for the executive power, but still maintaining the importance of parliament sovereignty. They exist, as can be seen in the quote by lady hale, that it should serve the needs of the UK justice system.
The English legal system is ostensibly embedded on a foundation of a ‘high degree of certainty with adaptability’ based on a steady ‘mode’ of legal reasoning. This rests on four propositions
Each province and territory has a provincial court. All cases involving either federal or provincial laws take place here. These courts don’t particularly have similar names, but they follow the same rules. Provincial courts deal with the most cases, most of which include: provincial regulatory offences most criminal offences, traffic violations, family law, young offenders. Private disputes involving money can also be dealt with at this level in Small Claims courts. As well, all preliminary inquiries take place before the provincial courts. Some provinces and territories have domestic violence court programs. These programs provide services to victims. There are specific courts set up for certain offences. The object is to address the needs of non-violent offenders who are charged with criminal offences. Youth courts handle cases that have someone with the age of 12-17 is charged with an offence. Depending on the age of the youth, different precautions are taken, for example privacy protection. Courts at either the provincial or superior court level can be designated youth courts. These courts are often referred to as inferior, but are only called that to show the difference in power between the other courts, and it’s ranking with them.
Every nation has their own set of legal strategies they use to guide them in making important decisions. Each nation has its traditions and policies they follow. Through the world, there are two main types of legal systems that are used; most nations follow either common or civil law. Both the common law system and the civil law system share similarities in having courts, judges, and comparing cases to laws. While both systems share similarities, they also contain many differences, making them two very divergent legal systems.
Judicial Precedent "Within the present system of precedent in the English legal system, judges have very little discretion in their decision making." Judges have always been relied upon to interpret and apply the law. Therefore, their decisions should be fair and consistent so as the individuals seeking legal remedies would have more faith in the judicial system of the state. AS the UK has not a very complete and/or codified constitution, this doctrine is very much relied on as contrasted with other countries which seemed to have provisions for virtually any kind of offence, like France or the US where judges had only to refer to legislation.
In the mouth of a British constitutional lawyer, the term the rule of law seems to mean primarily a corpus of basic principles and values, which together lend some stability and coherence to the legal order.