Sources of Law

Question 1

What are the stages of creation of an Act of Parliament?

Answer 1

First reading – Bill drafted and read out in HC

Second reading – detailed debate on the various sections of the bill

• Government minister responsible for the bill with open the debate, listen to contributions and oversee bill’s passage through various stages

Committee stage – detailed scrutiny clause by clause

Report stage – HC votes on amendments suggested in committee stage

Third reading – final version approved by HC

House of Lords – bill passes, and same stages repeated (scrutinise, vote and agree on final version)

Back to Commons if amendments made

• If HL rejects a bill twice, HC can bypass HL using Parliament Act provisions

Royal Assent

Question 2

To what areas of the UK does an Act of Parliament apply?

Answer 2

Statutes apply to all UK, unless a specific statement in the Act says otherwise

Question 3

There are various sources of law, aside from statute.

What are case law and common law?

Answer 3

• Case law – decisions made by courts
• Common law – original and traditional mode of decision-making by judges

Question 4

What are equitable principles?

Answer 4

Equity means arriving at a resolution that is fair to all parties

These principles enforce this concept in different ways

• Equity will enforce the intention of the parties
• ‘He who comes to equity must come with clean hands’ - an equitable remedy will not be granted to a claimant who has not acted fairly
• Delay defeats equity, so a claimant cannot wait too long before making a claim

Equitable remedies:

• Injunction – requirement that something be done or not done
• Specific performance – carrying out of an obligation
• Rectification – correcting a wrong
• Account of profit – allows an innocent party an appropriate share of a wrongdoer’s gains

All civil courts can grant common law and equitable remedies in same proceedings

Question 5

What are some of the other sources of UK law?

Answer 5

Civil law – code-based systems, countries with codified constitutions include France and Germany

The crown – Monarch gives Royal Assent to Bills for them to become Acts

The nobility – has a presence in the House of Lords (contains hereditary and life peers)

Judges and Parliament

The military

Religion – Church of England’s governing body passes laws of three kinds in relation to things like births, weddings and death

• Measures – equivalent of Acts of Parliament
• Canons – of more limited scope
• Subordinate legislation – in form of statutory instruments

EU law

Question 6

Who are some key legal academics?

Answer 6

• Sir Edward Coke
• John Locke
• Montesquieu
• Jeremy Bentham
• A V Dicey

They have a belief in common that a legal system needs to respect a combination of individual freedoms