week 1 - intro to commercial law Flashcards
(26 cards)
what is a law?
rules and regulations which govern the activities of persons within a country.
what are the objectives of laws?
protecting right to certain freedoms (but absolute freedoms may violate the freedom of others), maintain order + resolve disputes.
what are the types of law and examples of those types of law
public law: criminal law, constitutional law, administrative law.
private law: civil law, contract law, law of torts, property law.
what is public law?
the relationship between the individual and the state. this is why criminal law is under public law as a crime is being committed against the state.
what is constitutional law?
issues relating to the british constitution.
what is the british constitution?
rules by which the uk is governed.
what is administrative law?
civil law issues between the individual and the state.
what is private law?
the rights and duties between 2 individuals, this could mean companies.
what are the differences that occur when splitting laws into criminal and civil?
what court a case is heard in and the burden of proof required.
what is criminal law?
a crime against the state involving a defendant and a prosecutor.
what is civil law?
this focuses on disputes between individuals, companies or the state.
how does criminal law work?
the prosecutor must prove the facts of a case beyond a reasonable doubt, resulting in a guilty or not guilty verdict.
how does civil law work?
the claimant (upset person) commences court action. the claimant must prove their case on the balance of probabilities. compensation is then provided if they win.
can events be both criminal and civil law? if so, what is an example of an action that is both?
yes some events can be both criminal and civil action. an example is a car accident caused through careless driving.
what is the origin of english law?
comes from multiple sources. the predominant method of law making is through legislation. other sources are case law, eu law and custom law.
what are the types of legislation?
primary legislation (acts of parliament): consists of house of commons, house of lords and the monarch (king charles iii)
secondary legislation (delegated legislation): laws made by persons to whom parliament has given law making powers to.
what is parliamentary sovereignty?
parliament is sovereign and has the power to change any laws because the uk has an uncodified (unwritten) constitution unlike the us or india.
what is primary legislation?
creating new laws or changing old laws. an act needs to progress through parliament before coming into law. during this period the act will be called a bill. most bills will start in the house of commons.
what is the house of commons?
it is made up of 650 elected mp’s, general elections take place at least once every 5 years.
what is the house of lords?
made up of roughly 800 unelected peers and 26 bishops, they don’t need to have party affiliation. they will study and inspect bills from the house of commons.
what is delegated legislation?
this delegates power (via acts) to create detailed law to gov departments or local authorities when parliament does not have time to pass all laws. these include by laws. roughly 3000 legislations are passed each year.
what is eu law?
when we were in the eu we accepted the uk would be bound by eu law, when there was a conflict between the uk and the eu the eu law took priority. the uk is no longer bound by this but the european convention of human rights is still applicable though.
advantages of delegated legislation
saves parliament time, easier to amend, more time efficient than parliament process and experts can be used where technical detail is required.
disadvantages of delegated legislation
insufficient time given to consider issues, excessive legislation may be passed, parliament is no longer in direct control which means it also might not be publicised well without the involvement of parliament.
