Part 1: Classifications of Law

It is not uncommon for legal systems throughout the world to have some similarities and some differences. To successfully do business in another country, it is essential to get familiar with the legal system of that country beforehand. Legal systems and concepts in the United Kingdom are the major focus of this brief.

Define laws and identify the respective legal systems in the UK

Even though England and Wales, and Northern Ireland, are part of the United Kingdom, their legal systems are separate. Additionally, each country has its own history and foundations that are distinct from those of the other countries legal systems.

It is impossible for the English legal tradition to exist without emphasising the primacy of the civil and criminal courts in England and Wales. Laws in England are founded on common law concepts (Kelly, 2020). Since 1189, English and civil law have been distinct (Duxbury, 2017). A judge’s job is not to write down the law, but rather to interpret it based on the facts of each individual case. Recording these decisions is only natural since they will be legally binding in the future (stare decisis).

The common law system underpins the legal system of Northern Ireland (NI). All civil and criminal cases may be brought before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Following its colonisation by England, Northern Ireland’s laws are almost identical to those of England (Dickson, 2018). There are, however, important differences between the two. ‘People in Northern Ireland follow both the common law and the law made by the Irish government. It is possible to find legislation enacted by the Irish and British parliaments, along with the statutes enacted by the devolved Assembly

Explanation with examples the following as means of classification of laws in the English Legal system

Civil law’s primary goals are to protect people from one other and from the state. Individuals might well be held accountable for their actions in accordance with civil law (court rulings). If someone pledges to offer items or services at a given price yet the products or services are of poor quality, a consumer rights complaint may be made.

Oftentimes, both criminal and civil law enforcement are involved in the same incident. It is the responsibility of every motorist to keep other road users safe (InBrief, 2021). If they create an accident that results in the death or injury of another person, the victim may sue them for negligent compensation.

UK Legal Systems

Every citizen in the United Kingdom is made aware of the legal and illegal differences. Parliamentary statutes like the Theft Act and the Offences Against Persons Act comprise a large range of criminal laws.

When an act of violence is perpetrated against a large group of people, it is typically referred to as a crime against society (InBrief, 2021). In the event of a conviction, violators of the law face mandatory life imprisonment if they are brought to justice. Criminal offences often result in fines, imprisonment, or community service as the most prevalent punishments.

Explanation of the role of the following Courts in the English Legal system

Courts in England and Wales are referred to as Her Majesty’s HCJ if they include the High Court of Justice and Court of Appeal in London. The legal profession uses the abbreviation EWHC. Chancery, Queen’s Bench, and Family HC are the three main sections of the HC. An administrative court, this one also handles a range of common law issues (Legislation, 2021).

Besides being the last appeals court, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has a significant role in shaping British law. Before the Supreme Court may consider an appeal, a lower court must first rule on the issue at hand.

Appeals in civil and criminal cases are handled by the Court of Appeal for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In addition, the court considers appeals regarding highly disputed legal matters that have a significant impact on the lives of the general population (The Supreme Court, 2021). The Supreme Court concentrates its efforts on matters that have the greatest impact on the general public and the rule of law.

The term “sources of law” refers to a nation’s legal sources as well as the concepts that allow it to exercise authority over its area of jurisdiction.

Judicial precedent, the body of law created by judges, is based on the English common law principle of stare decisis. However, civil law jurisdictions have also accepted the concept (Robertson, 2012). In legal terms, precedent pertains to a court judgement that serves as a reference point for future cases containing comparable facts, and similar legal difficulties. The theory of stare decisis, which incorporates precedent, mandates that courts apply the law consistently across instances with the same circumstances.

The proposed legislation is known as “bill” in legal terminology. Both the Houses of Parliament must approve a bill before it may become law, and the Queen must then ratify it.

England and Wales

The bill is presented for the first time in the House of Representatives. As a notification and outline of the proposed legislation, this just informs the public that this has been presented. Because of this, MPs have a little more time to study and discuss the legislation. After that, there will be a Second Reading. On the House floor, members of Congress debate legislation’s fundamentals (Projectbritain, 2021). A panel of MPs then reviews and debates the issue before it is put to a vote. The bill’s third reading is when it will be put to a vote. The Bill must have the approval of a majority of HoLs members before it can be sent to the Commons for consideration. A bill is sent to the Queen for her signature once it has been approved by both Houses of Parliament. After receiving Royal Assent, the House of Commons refers to it as an Act of Parliament. In the United Kingdom, it is lawful to participate in this kind of conduct. A record number of laws have been approved by the Queen since 1952.

Legislation passed by a body other than Parliament is known as ‘delegated legislation,’ or ‘secondary legislation.’ A Parliamentary Act of Parliament gives the authority to create laws for another person or entity. The goal of an Act of Parliament is to provide the groundwork for a specific piece of legislation. Delegating legislative power from Parliament allows for further detail in an Act of Parliament to be provided by other individuals or organisations. As a result of primary legislation, Parliament grants others the authority to enact laws on its behalf. Legislation enacted by delegated legislation should meet the stated objectives of the Act. Because of delegated legislation, the government does not need a new Parliament act to make changes in the law. In addition, delegated legislation may be used to make minor modifications to the law, such as changing penalties under a certain statute. Local authorities are granted the right to create delegated legislation and to establish laws that are tailored to their region under specific statutes (Chae, 2021). More Acts of Parliament are passed each year under the authority of delegation than under the authority of direct legislation. As a result, delegated law has the same legal status as the original legislation that it was derived from.

The importance of delegated legislation cannot be overstated. Because delegated legislation may be altered and/or produced without having to pass an Act via Parliament, it avoids overcrowding Parliament’s restricted calendar with legislation. Therefore, the law may be changed without the need for a new Act of Parliament, which further prevents Parliament from having to spend a lot of time on technical topics, such as the clarification of a particular element of the laws. The second benefit of delegated legislation is that it empowers persons with specialised expertise to prepare laws. To illustrate, rather than enacting a single rule that applies to all areas, a local government may craft laws that are tailored to the requirements of the region in question. It is possible for a local authority to develop legislation to meet the requirements of the area rather than Parliament, which has no understanding of what is best for the area. Delegated legislation, on the other hand, is able to deal with an emergency issue without having to wait for an Act to be enacted via Parliament. Finally, the flexibility and usefulness of delegated legislation are enhanced by the fact that it may be utilised to address situations that Parliament had not foreseen when the legislation was adopted. As a result, delegated law may adapt to the changing demands of society as well as scenarios that Parliament did not foresee when it passed the Act of Parliament (Carr, 2016).

Northern Ireland

There is a common-law duty of care that all employers have for their workers. In addition, every employer is required under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA) to safeguard the health, safety, and well-being of their workers to the greatest extent possible. Risk assessments must be performed to determine the corrective actions that are needed in order to adhere to this Act and other requirements (Worksmart, 2021).

Discrimination on the basis of any of the protected qualities is illegal under the Equality Act of 2010. These are:

• Gender reassignment.
• Race,
• Sexual orientation (Croner Group, 2020).

Wages and protection of pay are the subject matter of the Employment Rights Act 1996. You should also supply a payslip that shows the exact amounts paid and deducted, as well as a:

• Statutory payments.
• Holiday pay
• Payment in Lieu.
• Guarantee pay (Croner Group, 2020).

In determining whether or not to award damages in a wrongful dismissal case, a court or tribunal will look only at the employer’s contractual responsibilities. In the case of a contract breach litigation, there is no time restriction. The suit may be filed in either the county or High Courts, or in an employment tribunal if the claim arises out of or is still open after the employee’s employment has been terminated. In general, wrongful dismissal happens when an employee is dismissed without providing enough warning or without providing appropriate notice. If an employee’s contract had been terminated legitimately, the courts will assess how much money they would have received in salary and benefits during their notice period, in order to determine if they are entitled to compensation. In contrast, the right not to be wrongfully fired is a contractual rather than a legislative right (Xperthr, 2020). The explanation given by the employer for the dismissal has a significant bearing on whether or not the dismissal is deemed fair (s.98 ERA 1996).

Two years of continuous employment and proof that the ‘two limb’ criteria were not met when an employee was fired are required for an unjust dismissal claim to be successful.

The ERA 1996 specifies five legitimate grounds for dismissal, the first of which is addressed in this section. Competence, behaviour, redundantness, illegality, and some other serious cause’ are all examples of these characteristics (a catch-all criterion). An employee’s discharge will be ruled unjust if they were not fired for one of these reasons. It’s also important to look at whether or not the employer acted fairly and reasonably in dismissing the employee in light of the circumstances (Myhrtoolkit, 2020).        

Explanation with examples the following as means of classification of laws in the English Legal system

Conclusion

A brief outline of the legal system of the United Kingdom has been given in previous parts of this article. Many different perspectives were offered about how this new law would affect the country’s various commercial enterprises. A corporation planning to establish a business in the United Kingdom may find this study useful. 

Carr, C., 2016. Delegated legislation. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press.

Chae, M., 2021. Parliamentary Control of Delegated Legislation. European Journal of Law Reform, 23(1), pp.95-114.

Croner Group, 2020. Employer Rights And Responsibilities in The UK | Croner. [online] Croner. Available at: <https://croner.co.uk/resources/business-advice/hr-responsibilities-employer-and-employee-rights/> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

Dickson, B., 2018. Law in Northern Ireland. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Duxbury, N., 2017. Custom as law in English law. The Cambridge Law Journal, 76(2), pp.337-359.

Gowland, D., 2016. Britain and the European Union. Routledge.

InBrief, 2021. Murder: What does the law say about unlawful killings? – InBrief.co.uk. [online] InBrief.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.inbrief.co.uk/offences/murder-unlawful-killing/> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

InBrief, 2021. What is the difference between Criminal and Civil Law? – InBrief.co.uk. [online] InBrief.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.inbrief.co.uk/legal-system/difference-between-civil-criminal-law/> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

Kelly, D., 2015. The English Legal System: 2015-2016. Routledge.

Kelly, D., 2020. Slapper and Kelly’s the English Legal System. Routledge.

Legislation, 2021. Interpretation Act 1978. [online] Legislation.gov.uk. Available at: <https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/30/schedule/1> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

McKendrick, E., 2014. Contract law: text, cases, and materials. Oxford University Press (UK).

Myhrtoolkit, 2020. Wrongful dismissal: differences from unfair dismissal. [online] Myhrtoolkit.com. Available at: <https://www.myhrtoolkit.com/blog/wrongful-dismissal-difference-unfair-dismissal#:~:text=The%20key%20difference%20when%20it,right%20(one%20that%20is%20set> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

Newburn, T., Williamson, T. and Wright, A. eds., 2012. Handbook of criminal investigation. Routledge.

Nolan, D., 2013. Deconstructing the Duty of Care. The Law Quarterly Review, 129, pp.559-588.

Projectbritain, 2021. How are laws made in the UK?. [online] Projectbritain.com. Available at: <https://projectbritain.com/government/laws.htm> [Accessed 02 March 2022].

Robertson, C., 2012. EU legal English: common law, civil law, or a new genre. Eur. Rev. Private L., 20, p.1215.

Scott, R.E. and Kraus, J.S., 2013. Contract Law and Theory. LexisNexis.

Smits, J.M. ed., 2017. Contract law: a comparative introduction. Edward Elgar Publishing.

The Supreme Court, 2021. Role of The Supreme Court – The Supreme Court. [online] Supremecourt.uk. Available at: <https://www.supremecourt.uk/about/role-of-the-supreme-court.html> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

UK Parliament, 2021. Delegated legislation. [online] Parliament.uk. Available at: <https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/delegated-or-secondary-legislation/> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

Watson, A., 2016. III. Reception and Partial Reception: Italy, France, and Scotland. In Sources of Law, Legal Change, and Ambiguity (pp. 51-76). University of Pennsylvania Press.

Williams, J., 2014. Law Making in a Devolved Wales: Work in Progress. Legal Information Management, 14(4), pp.266-276.

Worksmart, 2021. What are the legal duties on my employer to ensure my health, safety and welfare at work? | WorkSmart: The career coach that works for everyone. [online] Worksmart.org.uk. Available at: <https://worksmart.org.uk/work-rights/health-and-safety/rights-and-responsibilities/what-are-legal-duties-my-employer-ensure> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

Xperthr, 2020. What is the difference between wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal? | FAQs | Tools | XpertHR.co.uk. [online] Xperthr.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.xperthr.co.uk/faq/what-is-the-difference-between-wrongful-dismissal-and-unfair-dismissal/58377/> [Accessed 18 March 2022].