Judges and the law

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	Time: 20 hours Level: Introductory

	Introduction Introduction Resource This unit considers the way that judges make law, how the common law system works and the advantages and disadvantages of a system like the British one that relies heavily on such rules and rule making....

	The role of the courts and the judiciary The role of the courts and the judiciary Resource This unit will explore the role of the courts and the judiciary in England and Wales. The English legal system is often referred to as a ‘common law’ legal system. Before medieval times the law in what...

	Part A Historical development of the common law The history of the common law Resource Prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, there was no unitary, national legal system. Before 1066 the English legal system involved a mass of oral customary rules, which varied according to region.... Use of language Resource Use of language is extremely important in law. As a law student it is important that you use language in an accurate way. The rest of Part A of this unit will therefore consider the importance of language... Summary of Part A Resource In Part A you have learned:

	Part B Precedent Introduction Resource Precedent is the basis of the common law. The doctrine of binding precedent is known as the doctrine of stare decisis, which is Latin meaning ‘to stand by/adhere to decided cases’, i.e. to follow precedent.... The hierarchy of the courts Resource A court hierarchy establishes which decisions are binding on which courts. There are some exceptions and complications to what follows but, in general and for most purposes, the higher up a court is in... Structure of the court system in England and Wales Resource House of Lords' decisions are binding on all other courts in the legal system, except the House of Lords itself. The House of Lords used to be bound by its own previous decisions until it changed this... Binding precedent Resource Not everything in a court case sets a precedent. The contents of a case report can be divided into two categories: Summary of Part B Resource In Part B you have learned that:

	Part C Accurate law reporting Introduction Resource You cannot cite precedents to a judge and ask him or her to follow them if you don't have a good record of all the earlier cases and how they were decided. The operation of binding precedent, therefore,... Tyes of reports Resource The earliest reports of particular cases appeared between 1275 and 1535 in what are known as the Year Books. These reports are really of historical interest as they were originally written in a language... Summary of accurate law reporting Resource This section stressed the importance of accurate law reporting which allows for legal principles to be collated, identified and accessed. I examined where you might locate case reports on particular areas... Summary of Part C Resource In Part C you have learnt that:

	Part D The need for statutory interpretation Reasons for unclear meaning Resource The meaning of law in a statute should be clear and explicit, but this is not always achieved. Thus, many of the cases which come before the courts concern a dispute over the meaning of a word or phrase... Summary of Part D Resource Part D explored several of the reasons which may result in a word or phrase in an Act of Parliament having an unclear meaning. This was illustrated by a number of examples. Interpretation of those words...

	Part E The rules of statutory interpretation Introduction Resource In this part we will explore the number of rules developed by the courts to assist with the interpretation of a statute. These are: The literal rule Resource Under this rule the judge considers what the statute actually says, rather than what it might mean. In order to achieve this, the judge will give the words in the statute a literal meaning, that is, their... The golden rule Resource This rule is a modification of the literal rule. It states that if the literal rule produces an absurdity, then the court should look for another meaning of the words to avoid that absurd result. The rule... The mischief rule Resource This third rule gives a judge more discretion than either the literal or the golden rule. This rule requires the court to look to what the law was before the statute was passed in order to discover what... The purposive approach Resource This approach has emerged in more recent times. Here the court is not just looking to see what the gap was in the old law, it is making a decision as to what they felt Parliament meant to achieve. Lord... Rules of language Resource The courts may also choose to look at other words in the statute to ascertain the meaning of specific words. To enable them to do this they have developed a number of rules of language to help make the... Intrinsic aids Resource Intrinsic aids are matters within an Act itself which may help make the meaning clearer. The court may consider the long title, the short title and any preamble. Other useful internal aids may include... Extrinsic aids Resource Extrinsic aids are matters which may help put an Act into context. Sources include previous Acts of Parliament on the same topic, earlier case law, dictionaries of the time, and the historical setting.... Summary of Part E Resource

	Part F Common law, equity and statute law Equity Resource This term refers to a particular division within the English legal system. As the common law progressed, there developed a formality among judges, typified by a reluctance to deal with matters that were... Statute law and common law Resource The ‘common law’ means the substantive law and procedural rules that have been created by the judges through the decisions in the cases they have heard. I have here lumped together two types of common... Summary of Part F Resource In Part F, we have compared and contrasted:

	Part G Common law and civil law systems The differences between common law and civil law systems Resource Having explored the origins and development of the common law and its characteristics, the final part of this unit will compare and contrast the common law with civil legal systems. Summary of Part G Resource In Part G you have explored the difference between common law and civil law systems.

	Part H Consolidation Part H Consolidation Resource The purpose of this part is to bring together your knowledge of law making in the English legal system. Through a series of activities you will be provided with the opportunity to review and consolidate...

	Review of the learning outcomes Review of the learning outcomes Resource After studying this unit you should be able to:

	References and Acknowledgements References Resource Acknowledgements Resource

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Topic outline

Introduction

The role of the courts and the judiciary

Part A Historical development of the common law

Part B Precedent

Part C Accurate law reporting

Part D The need for statutory interpretation

Part E The rules of statutory interpretation

Part F Common law, equity and statute law

Part G Common law and civil law systems

Part H Consolidation

Review of the learning outcomes

References and Acknowledgements

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