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THE LAW

Explore the common law, civil law, and Roman law systems in the United Kingdom. Learn about the legal jurisdictions, law enforcement, and types of courts in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

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THE LAW

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  1. THE LAW Geografía y Cultura Inglesa I Cultura y Civilización Inglesa Prof. Juan Pablo Duboué Iuvaro

  2. A few concepts to better understand the system of justice in the UK • Common Law (Derecho Anglosajón): named “common” because it was common to all the king’s courts across England. It originated in the practices of the courts of the English kings in the centuries following the Norman Conquest in 1066. The defining characteristic of “common law” is that it arises as precedent. In cases where the parties disagree on what the law is, a common law court looks to past precedential decisions of relevant courts, and synthesizes the principles of those past cases as applicable to the current facts. If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is usually bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision (a principle known as stare decisis).

  3. Civil Law is a legal system originating in Europe, intellectualized within the framework of Roman law, the main feature of which is that its core principles are codified into a referable system which serves as the primary source of law. This can be contrasted with common law systems, the intellectual framework of which comes from judge-made decisional law, and gives precedential authority to prior court decisions, on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different occasions (doctrine of judicial precedent, or stare decisis).

  4. Roman Law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the Corpus Juris Civilis (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. Roman law forms the basic framework for civil law, the most widely used legal system today, and the terms are sometimes used synonymously. The historical importance of Roman law is reflected by the continued use of Latin legal terminology in many legal systems influenced by it, including common law.

  5. There are three distinct legal jurisdictions in the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Each has its own legal system, distinct history and origins.

  6. LAW ENFORCEMENT • The Legal system The law is one of the most traditional areas of national life and the legal profession has jealously protected its position against outside attack. - Its main virtue is its independence from the system of government and as such, a safeguard of civil liberties. - its main vice lies in its resistance to reform, and the maintenance of its own privileges which may be contrary to public interest.

  7. England and Wales the legal system for England and Wales does not have a criminal or civil code, but is founded upon two basic elements: - Acts of Parliament or statute law - Common law (which is the outcome of past decisions and practices based upon custom and reason) Common law has slowly built up since Anglo-Saxon times 1000 years ago, while Parliament has been enacting statutes since the 13th century All criminal law is set out in Acts of Parliament, while the greater part of civil law depends upon common law.

  8. TYPES OF COURT

  9. 2. Scotland The Scottish legal system is similar to the English one, but is more influenced by Roman law, like other systems in Europe. Its main courts are • the Sheriff’s Courts (like Crown Courts) for civil and criminal cases, • The Court of Session for civil cases.

  10. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases. • The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law. • Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known as sheriff solemn court, or with a sheriff and no jury, known as sheriff summary court.

  11. The Scots legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts for a criminal trial: "guilty", "not guilty" and "not proven". Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an acquittal with no possibility of retrial. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice is the member of the Scottish Government responsible for the Police of Scotland, the courts and criminal justice, and the Scottish Prison Service, which manages the prisons in Scotland.

  12. Northern Ireland • The law of Northern Ireland is a common law system. It is administered by the courts of Northern Ireland, with ultimate appeal to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in both civil and criminal matters. The law of Northern Ireland is closely similar to English law, the rules of common law having been imported into the Kingdom of Ireland under English rule. However, there are important differences.

  13. The sources of the law of Northern Ireland are Irish common law, and statute law. Of the latter, statutes of the Parliaments of Ireland, of the United Kingdom and of Northern Ireland are in force, and latterly statutes of the devolved Assembly. The courts of Northern Ireland are headed by the Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland, consisting of the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, the Northern Ireland High Court of Justice and the Northern Ireland Crown Court. Below that are county courts and magistrates' courts.

  14. The Crime and the Police 1. The crime The initial decision to bring a criminal charge normally lies with the police, but since 1986 a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has examined the evidence on which the police have charged a suspect to decide whether the case should go to Court. A Court normally consists of 3 lay magistrates who are advised on points of law by a legally qualified clerk.

  15. A Crown Court is presided over by a judge, but a verdict is reached by a jury of 12 citizens, randomly selected from the local electoral rolls. The judge must make sure that the trial is properly conducted, that the ‘counsels’ (barristers) for the prosecution and defence comply with the rules regarding the evidence that they produce and the examination of witnesses, and that the jury are helped to reach their decision by the judge’s summary of the evidence in a way which indicates the relevant points of law and the critical issues on which they must decide in order to reach a verdict.

  16. The highest court in the land is the House of Lords, which will consider a case referred from the Court of Appeal where a point of general public importance seems to be at stake. In practice the Lords are represented by five or more of the nine Law Lords.

  17. 2. The Police The British police force was a source of great pride (30 years ago). Scandals: It referred to the frequency of scandals during the 1980s involving the police, concerning the excessive use of violence to maintain public order (Brixton riots 1981, the miners’ strike 1984-85, the Wapping strike 1986, the anti-poll tax riots 1990); violence in the questioning of suspects (particularly, but not exclusively, in connection with Northern Ireland); etc.

  18. Unlike the Police in almost every other countries, the British police officers enjoyed a trusted, respected, and friendly relationship with the public. The ‘bobbies on the beat’ made it their business to learn about their neighbourhood. This was probably a rosy, idealized view of the police, but it was a genuine source of pride that almost alone in the police world, the British bobby was unarmed.

  19. At the end of 1980s it was reported that one in 5 people believed the Police used unnecessary force on arrest, falsified statements, planted evidence and used violence in police stations. Until 1987 the police investigated alleged police malpractice within themselves. And many people believed that police malfeasance is more widespread than the statistics would suggest.

  20. As the challenges of modern society became more complex, the response of the Conservative government was to give the police more manpower and more money. • However, there is no indication these extra resources had any effect at all on recorded offences which rose in England and Wales.

  21. LEGAL PROFESSION • Traditionally the legal profession has been divided into two distinct practices, each with entrenched rights: - only solicitors may deal directly with the public, and - only barristers (professional advocates) may fight a case in the higher courts (Crown Courts and the High Court). Both have maintained their own self-regulating bodies, the Law Society for solicitors and the Bar for barristers.

  22. Exercises List all the Courts you remember. Which is the final court of appeal? List all the words to refer to “lawyer” we’ve seen. What type of law does the UK follow? How many legal jurisdictions are there in the UK? What’s the name used to refer to the London police? How many lay magistrates does a court usually consist of?

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