Business Law: English Legal System, Sources of Law, Contract Law

This report provides an overview of business law, focusing on the English legal system, sources of law, and contract law. It explains the hierarchy of courts in the United Kingdom and the different types of laws. The report also discusses the process of making legislation and the meaning of delegated legislation. In addition, it explores the elements of a valid contract and the rules of consideration. Finally, the report introduces the postal rule in contract law.

Business Law

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART ONE......................................................................................................................................3
English Legal System..................................................................................................................3
Classification of Laws.................................................................................................................4
PART TWO.....................................................................................................................................5
Sources of Law............................................................................................................................5
Process of Making Legislation....................................................................................................6
Meaning of Delegated Legislation and Examples.......................................................................6
PART THREE.................................................................................................................................7
Contract Law...............................................................................................................................7
Consideration and its Rules.........................................................................................................8
Postal Rule...................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The legal system of a country is crucial to its overall governance. The government enacts a range
of laws to administer and regulate the country, as well as to ensure that all of the country's
operations are supervised. Different legislation handle various areas of a country. Commercial
enterprise regulation and business activity administration are two separate topics of business law.
It's also known as commercial law or business law. Contract law, corporate law, employment
law, and a variety of other laws are all included in business law (Wilson, 2021).
The major goal of this report is to have a deeper understanding of the United Kingdom's
legal system. It also seeks to identify distinct legal sources. Its goal is to figure out how the
legislative process affects the various types of organisations that have been established. It also
seeks to comprehend contract law and its implications for prospective business.
PART ONE
English Legal System
In the United Kingdom, there are separate legal systems for England, Wales, Scotland, and
Northern Ireland. The British constitution is not codified and is based on a number of different
sources. Some are statutory laws, which are stated in the constitution, while others are unwritten,
such as constitutional conventions such as ministerial code, and so on. The English legal system
is structured in such a way that the rulings of the higher courts bind the lower courts. The
Supreme Court, commonly known as the House of Lords, is the highest court in the legal
system's hierarchical. Until the Lord Chancellor issues a statement, the rulings of the higher
courts causes binding effect on the decisions of the lower courts. According to the statement,
higher court judgements can be overturned if it appears to be in the public interest. Although the
Supreme Court is the highest decision-making authority in the United Kingdom, the European
Court of Justice's judgements are binding on all courts in the country. Furthermore, there are
several courts, such as the European Court of Human Rights and other bodies, whose decisions
are influential but do not bind British court system (Hobsbawm, 2021)
According to the hierarchy, the Court of Appeal is below the Supreme Court. In addition,
the court is divided into two sections: civil and criminal. The rulings of both courts have binding
effect on the courts below them. Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd [1944] states that there is an
exemption to the binding effect of civil division. In the Criminal Division, however, if the court

determines that the previous precedent or decision was made due to the absence of knowledge or
ignorance, the court is not compelled to follow that decision, as in the case R v Greater
Manchester Cororner ex p tal [1983]. In addition, the Divisional Courts are part of the three
divisions of the High Court Division, to which the jurisdiction is appealable. The superior courts,
including the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, are bound by these judicial bodies' rulings
under the doctrine of stare decisis.
Crown Courts deal with indictable offences (severe criminal offences such as rapes,
manslaughter, and homicide), offences that are assigned or appealed from Magistrate Courts, and
offences that require punishment orders that are transferred from Magistrate Courts. The rulings
of the superior courts are binding on the Crown Courts as well. Furthermore, the Crown Courts'
judgements are persuasive but do not have a binding impact. Because the judgements of the
Magistrate Courts and County Courts are often based on the evidence presented, they are utilised
for legal reasoning but do not have binding force. As a result, the court has the authority to
overturn previous judgements. The landmark case R v R [1992], in which the legal system was
altered and the court altered its decision to recognise rape within marriage as vital to retain
people's trust and confidence in the legal system.
Classification of Laws
BASIS CIVIL LAW CRIMINAL LAW
Definition The civil law or private law aims to
regulate healthy relations and good
course of conduct among
individuals in the society and in
business capacities. The law deals
with the rights of an individuals
against others (Matthews, 2021).
Criminal law, on the other hand, is a
suit brought by the Crown on behalf
of the state against an individual in
response to a conduct that the state
considers to be a crime and requires
punishment in the form of a fine,
imprisonment, or both.
Filling of suit The suit is filed by Plaintiff The suit is filed by government

Objectives The law focus on to provide
remedies such by imposing
damages on wrongdoer, order of
injunction and so forth rather than
punishment.
The law focus to maintain peace and
harmony in the society and ensure
punishment to the wrongdoer as a
message in response of committing
crime.
Involvement Where there is violation of
individuals’ rights or any harm
Act which is considered as crime or
contrary to law
PART TWO
Sources of Law
Journals, books, and court websites are examples of secondary sources in the United
Kingdom, while legislation, common law, and European Union law are examples of primary
sources (Davies and Wyatt, 2021). The following is a quick review of the most important
sources:-
Primary Sources
 Legislation: Parliament is regarded as the ultimate and legislative power for enacting
legislation. In order to keep harmony and unity in society, the authority enacts laws in
accordance with its requirements. The legislations are Parliamentary acts that cannot be
overturned in court. As a result, no one has the authority to repeal or change the laws, and
no one has the right to dispute it.
 Common Law: Judges' rulings are known as common law, and it encompasses both
substantive and procedural principles. The courts have the authority to make law based
on how the statute is understood. They are a significant source of law that is based on
judicial decisions. Congress makes these laws at the federal level, and state legislative
bodies make them at the state level. The court's primary function is to clarify the text and
wording of legislation passed by the legislature. As a result, they assist the court in
reaching decisions and verdicts in cases where the outcomes cannot be accurately
predicted (Panayi, 2021).
 European Union Law: Because the United Kingdom is a member of the European
Union, EU law prevails over UK law. When there is a dispute between EU law and the

laws of member states, the EU legislation takes precedence, and the national laws are
ignored. Furthermore, the UK courts are bound by the rulings of the European Court of
Justice (ECJ). These are treaties, an agreement signed by members’ states; regulations;
decisions and directives.
Process of Making Legislation
Government faces a difficult problem in introducing legislation, which requires them to go
through several processes before receiving Royal Queen's approval (Prado and Trebilcock,
2021). The stages that follow are outlined below:-
 First Reading: The House of Commons examines the proposed bill's language and
provisions.
 Second Reading: Members of Parliament examine the draught legislation and discuss it.
 House of Commons Committee Stage: he bill is then scrutinised by the House of
Commons to see if it can be improved.
 Report Stage: Members of the House of Commons discuss any necessary
countermeasures at this stage.
 Third Reading: At this point, the bill has been completed and must be voted on.
 Lords (House of Lords): The bill is sent to the House of Lords after receiving a majority
of votes. Each of the preceding procedures is followed by the House of Lord.
 Ascension of the Crown: Regardless of whether both houses agree with the proposed
law, it must be brought to the Monarch, i.e. the Queen, for her approval and Royal assent.
Meaning of Delegated Legislation and Examples
The term delegated means entrusting responsibility to another person whereas, legislation
means law and thus, it is the process in which the executive authority who has been delegated the
powers by primary legislation to make laws or implement and administer the requirements of the
delegating authority. Some of delegated legislation are discussed below:-
 Order in Council: The privy Council as well as the Monarch i.e. Queen have been
granted the authority to make orders in the council. This type of delegated legislation
allows the government to make laws without going through the parliament. Example.
Drugs Act 1971 (Keating, 2021).
 Statutory Instruments: In this the rules and regulations are made by the government
ministers. For instance the transport minister has power to deal with traffic regulations,

Section 27 of Crime and Police Act 2005 delegates’ power to Secretary of State to make
regulations.
 Bylaws: These are the laws devised by the local authorities with an aim to cover matter in
their own regions. District or Town Council can make laws for its own district or town.
Further, the corporations can also make bylaws for matters within their jurisdiction and
which involves public.
PART THREE
Contract Law
Contract law is an important part of business law since it regulates the terms of a legally
enforceable contract. This legislation is concerned with the legal obligations of the parties to a
contractual agreement. The Contract Law is a piece of legislation that governs contracts in
England and Wales (Hufnagel, 2021). In general, for an agreement to become a valid and legal
contract, it requires to have necessary elements,
 Offer: it is considered as an expression to do or provide something if desired. It is made
by one party in respect to other party.
 Acceptance: It refers to the final consent offered by the person to whom the offer the
made. In simple words, the acceptance is evolved when offeree agrees for the offer made
by offeror.
 Consideration: It means something in exchange of fulfilling promise. Some agreements
can be valid without consideration such as gift deed.
 Capacity: The parties to contract must be competent to enter into contract.
 Legal Intention: It refers to the intent of parties to create legal relations between them.
A contract becomes void or voidable if it lacks above elements. It is illegal when parties
agreed to enter into contract due to coercion or undue influence or incompetent. The contract law
differentiate between offer and invitation to treat (Kuntner, 2021).
OFFER INVITATION TO TREAT
 An advertisement offering reward on
accepting challenge such as in case
Carlill v Carbonic Smoke Ball
Company [1893].
 Where the advertisement is provided
with any reward
 Goods display on shops or company’s
websites.

 Goods which are displayed on the
vending machines
 The auctions without the reserve price
available.
 Auction wit reserve price.
The defendant in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1893] was a company that made and
sold smoke balls to treat common cold and influenza. The advertisement promised that anyone
who used the smoke balls three times a day for at least two weeks would not contract the disease,
and that if they did, they would earn a reward of £100 if they did. The claimant accepted the
offer offered in the advertisements after eight weeks of regular use of the drug and fell infected
with the common cold. Mrs Carlill went to the defendant for the amount specified in the
advertisement, but the defendant denied to pay the money, claiming that there had never been a
contract, and so the defendant was not compelled to make a payment. The case went to the Court
of Appeal, where the defendant claimed there was no legal reason to enter into a contract and
that the advertisement was merely an invitation to treat rather than an offer. The court found in
the claimant's favour, demonstrating how contract law aims to protect contracting parties.
Consideration and its Rules
It means in exchange of something which is offered or promise. The law does not implement
free promises unless specified in the agreement. The rules are:-
1. It must not be in past
2. It must of something of value which is offered
3. Partial payment of debt is not consideration (Pinnel Case 1602)
4. Person other than promisee provide the consideration, then promise cannot enforce
agreement.
5. Public duty is not effective and valid consideration, Collins v Godfrey [1831]
6. Existing contractual duty is not consideration
Postal Rule
This rule is applicable when the acceptance for an offer made via post, it is require to be
considered by both parties (Nikonov, 2021). In Adams v Lindsell [1818], the defendant
made offer letter to the claimant and requested for acceptance. The letter reached to the
offeree later the normal period but he promptly posted his acceptance letter. The defendant

sold to third party after the posting of the letter of claimant which was not received. Later it
was held that offer was accepted and defendant led to breach on contract.
CONCLUSION
The report concluded in brief the English legal system with various sources of law.
Furthermore, the report examined the process of legislation making accompanied by the meaning
of delegated legislation with illustrations. Lastly, the report discussed the impact of contract law
on potential business.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Davies, P. and Wyatt, T., 2021. Race and Ethnicity. In Crime and Power (pp. 85-106). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Hobsbawm, E., 2021. On Nationalism. Hachette UK.
Hufnagel, S., 2021. Policing Global Regions: The Legal Context of Transnational Law
Enforcement Cooperation. Routledge.
Keating, M., 2021. State and nation in the United Kingdom: The fractured union. Oxford
University Press.
Kuntner, S., 2021. Legal Personality. In China’s Foreign-Invested Limited Partnership
Enterprise (pp. 201-230). Springer, Cham.
Matthews, R.A., 2021. The Victimology of State Crime. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of
Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Nikonov, V., 2021. The Code of Civilization. Glagoslav Publications.
Panayi, C.H., 2021. European Union corporate tax law. Cambridge University Press.
Prado, M.M. and Trebilcock, M.J., 2021. Advanced introduction to law and development.
Edward Elgar Publishing.
Wilson, P., 2021. Sovereignty, Law, and International Society: The Contribution of CAW
Manning. In International Society (pp. 15-29). Palgrave Pivot, Cham.