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The English Legal System
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A clear summary of the English Legal System needed to give you a good understanding of the court structure, sources of law, functions of law, and key principles
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The English Legal System:‘Law is a system of rules laid down by a body or person with the power and authority to make law.’
‘Law is what legislators, judges and lawyers ‘do’.’
‘Law is a tool of oppression used by the ruling class to advance its own interests.’
‘Law is a system of rules grounded on fundamental principles of morality.’
Functions of the law:
Maintenance of public order and safety
The protection of individual rights and liberties
The organisation and control of the political sphere
The regulation of economic activity
The regulation of human relationships
The preservation of a moral order
The regulation of international relations
Regulation:
Laws tend to perform the important regulatory functions that often could not be performed by
other kinds of rules
Law may be particularly important because of its formal character and the specialist sanctions or
remedies that are not available to other forms of regulation
The choice of formal or less formal mechanisms employed may well reflect different priorities, or
different social values, regarding the behaviour in question
The use of law and legal sanction is also symbolic; it sends out a powerful message about what
society does value.
Institutional sources of law:
Parliament – originator of statute law, which may be the most important modern source, has the
ability to give law-making powers to other bodies in the form of subordinate/delegated legislation.
Makes SOVEREIGN law; either through passing Bills through both Houses of Parliament to create
ACTS OF PARLIAMENT, or by delegating this responsibility to government ministers, public agencies,
or private organisations.
o Importance of Legislation – statutes are constitutionally the highest form of law in the UK.
The growth in legislation reflects the extent to which social life has become more complex,
the government has extended its control, and social security law are almost exclusively the
result of statutes. The law has a tendency to accumulate over time, as old laws aren’t often
removed as quickly as new ones are made, and also Parliament is far more active than ever
before.
Miers (1989) has shown that volume of primary legislation grew from an average of
745 pages per session in the 1950’s, to an average of 3,224 by the end of the 2000’s.
o Statute law/Acts of Parliament – a document which contains laws made by Parliament.
Found in virtually all fields of law and govern all kinds of activities. A statute becomes law
only after it has been introduced into Parliament as a ‘Bill’, been approved by both houses
of Parliament, and has obtained royal assent. Generally, the courts cannot challenge the
validity of an act nor can they reject it is it is unconstitutional due to Parliamentary
Sovereignty.
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