Unlocking the English Legal System

585 Pages·2017·14.574 MB·English

by  Rebecca Huxley-Binns, Jacqueline Martin, Tom Frost

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UNLOCKING THE LAW
UNLOCKING
THE ENGLISH
LEGAL SYSTEM
5th edition Rebecca Huxley-Binns,
Jacqueline Martin and
Tom Frost

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Fifth edition published 2017
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Rebecca Huxley-Binns, Jacqueline Martin and Tom Frost
The right of Rebecca Huxley-Binns, Jacqueline Martin and Tom Frost to be identified as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Hodder Education 2005
Fourth edition published by Routledge 2014
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Huxley-Binns, Rebecca, author. | Martin, Jacqueline, 1945- author. | Frost, Tom
(Lecturer in Law) author.
Title: Unlocking the English legal system/Rebecca Huxley-Binns, Jacqueline Martin, Tom
Frost.
Description: Fifth edition. | New York, NY: Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016052444| ISBN 9781138228405 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138228412
(pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Law–England.
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Classification: LCC KD661 .H89 2017 | DDC 349.42–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016052444
ISBN: 978-1-138-22840-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-22841-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-39266-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Palatino
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Visit the companion website at: www.routledge.com/cw/huxley-binns
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Contents

Acknowledgements
Guide to the book
Preface
List of figures
List of abbreviations
Table of cases
Tables of statutes and other instruments
1 THE SOURCES OF LAW
1.1 The English legal system
1.2 The sources of law
1.3 The courts
1.3.1 The Supreme Court of the UK
1.4 The common law
1.4.1 Problems of the common law
1.4.2 Development of equity
1.5 Parliament
1.5.1 Legislation
1.5.2 The enactment process
1.6 Delegated legislation
1.6.1 Statutory instruments
1.6.2 By-laws
1.6.3 Orders of the Legislative Committee of the Privy Council
1.6.4 Parliamentary control of secondary legislation
1.6.5 Judicial control of secondary legislation
1.7 The European Union
1.7.1 A brief history of the European Union
1.7.2 UK membership of the EU
1.7.3 The role of the Court of Justice of the European Union
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1.7.4 Effect on parliamentary sovereignty
1.8 European Convention on Human Right
1.8.1 The Human Rights Act 1998
1.9 Law reform
1.9.1 Judges
1.9.2 Parliament
1.9.3 The law reform agencies
1.9.4 Royal Commissions
1.9.5 Academics
1.9.6 Pressure groups
1.9.7 Media pressure
1.9.8 Europe
Sample essay question
Further reading
2 THE DOCTRINE OF JUDICIAL PRECEDENT
2.1 What is the doctrine of precedent?
2.2 How does the doctrine of precedent operate?
2.2.1 The court hierarchy
2.2.2 Ratio decidendi and obiter dicta
2.2.3 Persuasive precedent
2.3 The doctrine as applied in individual courts
2.3.1 The Supreme Court
2.3.2 The Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
2.3.3 The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
2.3.4 The Divisional Court of the High Court
2.3.5 The High Court
2.3.6 The Crown Court
2.3.7 County Courts and Magistrates’ Courts
2.3.8 The Court of Justice of the European Union
2.3.9 The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
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2.4 The Human Rights Act 1998
2.5 The declaratory theory
2.6 Avoiding precedents
2.6.1 Distinguishing
2.6.2 Reversing
2.6.3 Overruling
2.7 Pros and cons of precedent
Sample essay question
Further reading
3 STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
3.1 Introduction
3.1.1 The need for statutory interpretation
3.1.2 Applying the law
3.1.3 Judicial law-making
3.1.4 Interpretation or construction?
3.1.5 Parliamentary definitions
3.2 The three ‘rules’
3.2.1 The literal rule
3.2.2 The golden rule
3.2.3 The mischief rule
3.3 The purposive approach
3.3.1 European influence
3.4 Literal approach versus purposive approach
3.5 Rules of language
3.5.1 The ejusdem generis rule
3.5.2 Expressio unius est exclusio alterius (the express mention of one thing excludes
others)
3.5.3 Noscitur a sociis (a word is known by the company it keeps)
3.6 Presumptions
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3.7 Intrinsic and extrinsic aids
3.7.1 Intrinsic aids
3.7.2 Extrinsic aids
3.7.3 The use of Hansard
3.7.4 Law reform reports
3.7.5 International conventions
3.8 The effect of the Human Rights Act 1998
Sample essay question
Further reading
4 CIVIL COURTS
4.1 Introduction to the courts system
4.1.1 Civil and criminal cases
4.1.2 Superior courts and inferior courts
4.1.3 Appellate courts and trial courts
4.1.4 Courts and tribunals
4.2 Civil courts of trial
4.2.1 Queen’s Bench Division
4.2.2 Chancery Division
4.2.3 Family Division
4.2.4 County Court
4.2.5 Small claims
4.2.6 The track system
4.2.7 Transfer of cases between the County Court and the High Court
4.3 Problems in the civil justice system
4.3.1 The Civil Justice Review
4.3.2 The Heilbron–Hodge Committee
4.4 The Woolf Report
4.4.1 The track system
4.4.2 Civil procedure
4.4.3 Case management
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4.4.4 Pre-action protocols
4.4.5 Encouraging alternative dispute resolution
4.4.6 Strict timetables
4.4.7 Judgment in default and summary judgment
4.4.8 Part 36 offers to settle
4.4.9 Are the Woolf reforms a success?
4.5 Enforcement of judgment
4.6 Tribunals
4.6.1 Administrative tribunals
4.6.2 Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
4.6.3 Composition and procedure
4.6.4 Advantages and disadvantages of tribunals
4.6.5 Domestic tribunals
4.7 Alternative dispute resolution
4.7.1 Negotiation
4.7.2 Mediation
4.7.3 Conciliation
4.7.4 Online Dispute Resolution
4.7.5 Dispute resolution services
4.7.6 Arbitration
4.7.7 Encouraging the use of alternative dispute resolution
Sample essay question
Further reading
5 CRIMINAL COURTS AND PROCEDURE
5.1 Introduction
5.2 The Criminal Procedure Rules
5.3 The Crown Prosecution Service
5.3.1 Code for Crown Prosecutors
5.3.2 The Glidewell Report
5.3.3 Victims’ Right to Review
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