Business Law: An Analysis of the English Legal System and its Impact on Organizations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the English legal system, exploring its sources, structure, and impact on organizations. It examines the constitution, legislative process, court hierarchy, and key areas of law such as company law, employment law, and contract law. The report also delves into the role of the judiciary, the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and the implications of legal solutions for business problems. Through a comparative analysis with the Chinese legal system, the report highlights the unique characteristics of the English legal system and its relevance to businesses operating within its jurisdiction.

Business Law

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
LO1 & LO2................................................................................................................................4
P1............................................................................................................................................4
P2............................................................................................................................................6
M1..........................................................................................................................................7
P3............................................................................................................................................8
M2........................................................................................................................................10
D1.........................................................................................................................................11
LO 3 & LO 4............................................................................................................................12
P4..........................................................................................................................................12
P5..........................................................................................................................................14
M3........................................................................................................................................15
P6..........................................................................................................................................16
M4........................................................................................................................................17
D2.........................................................................................................................................18
Conclusion................................................................................................................................19
References................................................................................................................................20

Introduction
This report contains a deep analysis of the English legal system and sources and factors from
which such system is formulated. This legal system is a wide legal system which is controlled
by the Supreme Court. The laws or norms applicable under such legal system are developed
by considering various sources and the main source of which is common law. There are
various under this legal system which an organisation is liable to comply with, otherwise,
such organisation have to face legal consequences. For explaining the effect of the law on the
organisation, Gilpin Hotel & Lake House is selected this report defines the role of the
personnel related to the legal system.

LO1 & LO2
P1
a. What form does your constitution take?
The most of the countries have written constitution but when taken the constitution of the UK
then it is in unwritten form. Herein in the case of UK system the laws and the principles laid
are not codified. The unwritten form of the constitution consists of the royal sanctions,
treaties, common law and various other conventions which are forced by the Parliament. The
form of the constitution is also unitary and which comprises of the Wales, England, Scotland
and Northern Ireland (Partington, 2016).
Herein the constitution which is followed in the Gilpin Hotel & Lake House is also in a
unitary manner.
b. What system of governance is provided for?
The parliamentary form of the governance is followed in the working of the UK constitution.
It basically consists of the Head of State and the Structure. The head of the state in the UK
functioning is the monarch. Its certain powers are provided by the Royal Preogative.
The structure is also followed in is governance process which covers the House of Commons
and House of Lords. The functioning of these houses involves the system which consists of
the parliamentary readings before the approval of the bill.
c. Does the constitution provide for a separation of powers?
In the United Kingdom, the constitution basically consists of the separation of the powers in
three forms which are executive, legislature and judiciary. The functioning performed by the
executive is related to the formulation and the implementation of the policies. The structuring
of the legislature consists of the bodies such as both the House of Commons, House of Lords.
The same process is followed in the functioning of the Gilpin Hotel & Lake House (Wilson,
et. al., 2014).
d. What is the general legislative process?
The legislative process consists of a certain process which is required to be followed in the
formulation of the laws. The first reading is involved wherein the bill is read and published.
In the second reading discussion regarding the general principles are used in the formulation.
The committee stage consists of the variations which are required to be followed. The third
reading is considered as a final stage. After this, the bill is approved by the House of Lords
and the Royal Assent.
e. Is there a doctrine by which the judiciary can review legislative and executive
actions?

The judiciary has the powers to review the legislative and the executive actions in certain
cases. The grounds used in the judicial review covers factors such as illegality,
unreasonableness, procedural impropriety, legitimate actions. In the case of CCSU v Minister
of Civil Services [1983], it was held by the court that the exercise of prerogative powers is
under the scope of judicial review.

P2
a) To what extent do international sources of law apply?
The international sources of the laws help the company to formulate their legal proceedings
effectively. The international sources of the law consist of the conventions or the treaties.
These are the written instruments wherein the participants agree to bind to the certain
terminologies or the procedures. The treaties may take the form of both the bilateral and
multilateral form.
b) What is the general court structure and hierarchy?
The structure and the specific hierarchy are followed in the functioning of the UK. In this, the
Supreme Court is considered to be the highest authority which is responsible for the solution
of the cases. The Court of Appeal is involved in the hierarchy which provides the discussion
on both the criminal and the civil cases. The High court involved in the hierarchy basically
operates with its three divisions. The Crown and Magistrate Court is also involved to
formulate the solution of the cases of the related nature (Hierarchy, 2018).
In the case of Gilpin Hotel & Lake House if there are involved the cases related to the
disputes then the parties can avail the option to solve the cases with this form of hierarchy.
c) To what extent are lower courts bound by the decisions of higher courts?
The decisions which are provided in the higher courts are used by the lower court involved in
the hierarchy when the cases and its facts are of similar nature. If the same facts and the
problems are involved then this leads to formulate the same process. But if the lower courts
have the reasons which justify that the decision provided in the higher court is not correct
then in such cases such decisions can be overruled. It is also used in such matters wherein the
decision is overruled by the other party involved in the resolution of the dispute.
d) Are there specialist courts for certain legal areas?
Specialist courts are the one which is specialised in the certain other areas. The Coroners
Court is considered to be the one which is responsible to solve the cases which are solved on
the urgent basis. The investigations in these cases are of such nature which is required to be
formulated instantly.
e) Are other quasi-legal authorities commonly used?
The quasi-legal authorities help in the Gilpin Hotel & Lake House to solve in the cases which
generally involve some kind of the dispute. These are related to the tribunals and the
ombudsmen. The tribunals are such body which helps in the effective administration of the
justice and the law formulation. The solution of the cases with this form of the body consists
of the cases which involve fewer complications and the issues. In this form, the cases are
easily resolved (Parisi, 2017).

M1
There have been many reforms in the legal system since the ancient times. The reforms took
place in two phases in which structural changes and changes in the legal fees and charges of
the legal system. Through this, the system has become more centralised and under the control
of Supreme Court whereas the changes in the legal fees have allowed the general public to
reach the court for solving the dispute. This has affected the legal practitioners as their fees
have also been reduced (Partington, 2015).
In the recent times, the adoption of digital technology has made the processing of the
litigation system more easy and effective. The advocate or the practitioners doesn’t have to
carry the piles of the file as their files will be available in the operating system of the legal
system. Setting up of virtual courts has lessened a load of work of the court as issues can be
resolved through this court also. Application of various programmes like stop delaying justice
has contributed in serving the rightful justice (The judicial office international team, 2016).

P3
Company Law: Company Law came into existence in 2006 in the United Kingdom.
Company Law plays a vital role in governing the company at a higher level. The role of
Company Law starts from the establishment of the company and it continues to play its role
until the company is dissolved. Company needs to work according to the law prescribed by
the government under the head of Company Law (Deloitte, 2017).
Employment Law: Employment Law is one of the important laws which play a vital role for
the employee working in the United Kingdom. This law defines the safety of the employee in
the organisation; the application of employment law starts from the day of recruitment of the
employee in the organisation and continues until the time an employee works. Everything
which is related to employment of an employee is dealt with the employment law.
Contract Law: Contract Law is the law which is used in person’s day to day life. If an
employer is giving a job to an employee there is a contract between them which is governed
with the help of contract law. Whenever contract comes in the picture then it is regulated with
the help of contract law. If any of the party to contract breaches the contract then the steps are
taken against the person in accordance with contract law.
f. Are certain emergency powers reserved for the executive?
Yes, there is emergency power reserved for the executive and they are defined under the Civil
Contingencies Act 2004 and they are further divided into two parts:
 Emergency Power: This part of the act deals with the emergency powers and also
focuses on the steps which can be taken whenever there is a situation of emergency.
 Local Arrangements for civil protection: According to this, the arrangements are
being done at local level to protect the civilians. Different arrangements are being
done for the safety of civilians. The duties and responsibilities of regional responders
are also being defined in this part.
g. Are human rights constitutionally protected?
Human rights are not fully protected under the constitution because before the introduction of
Human Rights Act in 1998, people were not allowed to lodge complaint in accordance with
human rights violation. After the introduction of Human Rights in 1998 people got right to
lodge a complaint if they face any kind of violation of their rights.
h. By what means can the constitution be amended?
If amendments are required to be done in the constitution then the permission is to be taken
from the authorities for such amendments to make them legal. The procedure for amending is
not complicated it is just a bit lengthy because permission from authorities is required which
might take longer time than expected.
i. What form does your legal system take?
The legal system of the United Kingdom is based upon the common law and is governed by
the help of few other laws which are being followed from a long time in the country. UK’s
legal system is also supported by the laws made by European Union.

j. What are the main domestic sources of law?
Domestic sources of law in the United Kingdom are case laws as well as the acts which are
enacted by the parliament.

M2
Legislations These are the laws and norms which are made and enacted by the
legislature. Laws made by the legislation cannot be questioned. These
are the norms which are applicable to whole nations unless otherwise
specified. For proper implementation of the laws, these are supported by
the rules and regulations.
Regulations These are the principle guidelines which are established for monitoring
and examining the law developed by the legislature. For its effective
implementation, they are supported by the rules and standards.
Standards Standards are the benchmarks which are set by the authorities to
scrutinise the functioning of the regulations. It is essential to develop
some standards related to the particular law. Standards ensure that the
regulations are working constantly with it (Singer, 2018).

D1
A comparison is made between the English Legal System and Chinese Legal System. As it is
discussed above that the legal system of the UK based on the common law and the follows
the principles of the stare decisis. However, it is a bit different in the legal system of China as
it is based on the common law but doesn’t follow the principle of stare decisis.
As the major sources of the legal system of the UK are common law, precedents, legislation,
etc. whereas the legal system of China is common law, People’s Republic of China. The
Chinese legal system doesn’t adopt the precedence of the case laws. Moreover, the lower
courts are liable to follow the decisions of the Supreme Court whereas there no such
provision in the legal system of China. However, the lower courts follow the interpretation of
the law made by the Supreme Court and accordingly (LOC.GOV, 2016).

LO 3 & LO 4
P4
When the employee fails to meet the set standard of the employer and due to this the business
has to face the losses. The employer has the option to terminate the contract of employment
by giving the notice of specified period stating the reason for the termination. Such reason
must not be based on the personal issues between the employer and employees. If the
termination is not done as per the provisions of the Employment Rights Act, then such
termination will be considered as invalid. The same is adopted in the Gilpin Hotel & Lake
House and all the applicable laws and norms are compiled by the organisation. This also
gives the organisation an option to terminate the employment contract in case of continuous
non-performance.
Resolving the cash flow issues can rescue the organisation from insolvency and liquidation.
Such issues are required to be resolved otherwise the company will not be able to function
and operate properly.
a. Does the constitution provide for an independent judiciary?
The constitution of the UK provides for the judicial independence and separation of the
power. The purpose behind this independence is that the working of the pillars of the
government remains impassive by the other pillar (Judicial Independence, 2018).
It can be understood from the evidence given below:
 It is the duty of the Judicial Appointment Commission to appoint the judges without
any influence of the politics.
 Security is provided to the judges of other superior courts under the Senior Courts
Act, 1981 and the security is provided to the judges of the Supreme Courts under the
Constitutional Reforms Act, 2005.
 As per the concept of the sub judice, if there is any legal case pending in some court,
then Parliament cannot argue about such case.
Therefore, Gilpin Hotel & Lake House is facing any dispute or legal consequences; it can be
solved by reaching to the court.
b. How are members of the judiciary typically appointed?
On the recommendation and the suggestions made by Lord Chancellor and Monarch, the
judges are appointed in the UK but with an exception i.e. Local Advisory Committee is liable
to appoint the judges of Justice of Peace.
On the suggestion of Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, the judges of the Court of the
Appeal are appointed by the Monarch. Recommendation related to such appointment can be
made by the selection panel governed by the Lord Chief Justice.
The appointment of judges is also done by a commission established to short-list the
candidates for the position of the judges (Tushnet, 2017).
c. Do the courts use an adversarial, non-adversarial or another system?

In the UK, the parties to the issues are liable to investigate their own cases and produce the
evidence which can be presented before the court at the time of the proceedings and this is
known as adversarial whereas in non-adversarial, the parties cannot investigate the case and
produce the evidence before the court. This is to be done by the police (Amelung, et. al.,
2017).
It is the duty of the respondent to prove in the court that no breach of legal duty is done
against the claimant. This was changed in 1999 by the introduction of the Civil Procedure
which gave the judges right to interfere in the public cases. In cases of criminal activities, the
attorney of defendant requires proving the innocence of the defendant and the prosecutor tries
to prove him guilty.
d. Who is responsible for gathering evidence?
It is the obligation of the parties to the issues to produce and find the evidence which can be
presented before the court under civil cases. Their representative informs them to present
such evidence in the court at the time of the proceedings.
Under criminal cases, police are responsible to find the evidence related to the cases. They
have the authority to take the suspect in custody, investigate and question the person.
Evidence is to be shown in the court by the police at the time of the litigation proceedings.
It may be noted that if the Gilpin Hotel & Lake House is involved in any civil or criminal
cases, these provisions will be applicable to the organisation and evidence will be produced
as per these provisions.
e. Is evidence independently examined before a trial?
Under the criminal cases, it is on the court to examine the evidence collected by the police.
This provides information about the authenticity of the evidence.
Under the civil cases, there is no examination done for the testing the authenticity of the
evidence.
f. Are trials/hearings open to the public?
Trial/ hearings of the court are conducted in the public whether be it criminal or civil case.
However, the court has options to conduct some part or whole trial in private and it is to be
accepted by the parties under civil cases.
Under criminal cases, the parties to the dispute have the option to apply to the court for
conducting the hearing of the cases privately. Such application is to be filed 5 days before the
commencement of the trial.

P5
For incorporating a company, the provisions and sections of the Company Law are to be
followed. There are series of steps/stages which are to be followed while incorporating a
company. The capital of the companies is raised by issuing shares of the company in the
market; the investment is made by the shareholders for commencing the operation. Company
Law and the other supported rules and regulations are also applicable on Gilpin Hotel &
Lake House and the management of the organisation ensures that these law and norms are
complied with. A company can be rescued by the liquidation and insolvency by making a
proper budget for all the operations.
a. Are reporting restrictions typically imposed in relation to a trial?
There is a provision to restrict the proceeding of the trials. Such person can apply to the
council so that they can prevent the summary of the cases from being published. However,
the final decision will be on the court whether to allow such thing or not.
b. What is the main function of the trial and who are the main parties to it?
It is the duty of the court to hear the facts and consider all the evidence related to the court.
After that, the decision will be made by the court that whether to allow the commencement of
such cases. At the time of the proceeding, the parties will state the reason for making such
accusations on each other. Evidence is also considered while the proceedings are conducted.
After that decision are made by the court (Indiana Judicial Branch, 2018).
The main role of the trial is to take the previously decided matters for serving accurate
judgment. This also provides the opportunity to prove the innocence by providing evidence
and witnesses.
Gilpin Hotel & Lake House will be one of the main parties if the company is under any
litigation. This depends upon the situation that whether the organisation will be the defendant
or the
c. What is the main role of the judge and counsel in a trial?
There is various personnel involved in the conducting the trial. Judges and counsel are also
included in such personnel. It is the duty of the judge to ensure that the proceedings of the
court are conducted as per the provided guidelines and the interpretation of the law is made
properly whereas it is the role of the council to the case of the parties before the judges and
the juries. The judgment of the case is issued by the judges.

M3
Positive impacts of legal solutions to business problems are:
1. Legal solution gives perfect and accurate judgement for any problem which comes in
front of it. The main reason for getting the perfect and accurate judgement is that legal
solutions are given after examining all the facts as well as evidence thoroughly.
2. Another positive impact of legal solution is that the decision which is passed by the
court is bounded to be followed by the parties in the suit.
Negative impacts of a legal solution to a business problem are:
1. Legal proceeding takes time to be completed, so if a business problem would be
solved legally then till that time business might suffer loss due to the delay.
The legal solution is expensive than normal proceeding so parties to the suit might have to
bear a huge amount of fees which is payable to court as well as to advocates (Company debt,
2017).

P6
The above scenario discusses the dispute of two companies which is under the process of
adjudication from last 5 years, by observing the scenario, it is recommended that company
has to use the process of mediation rather than arbitration. Arbitration is the process of
resolution in which parties settle their disputes outside the courts. Dispute can be decided by
one or more persons. Mediation is the planned, interactive process in which third-party
supports the disputing parties in determining conflicts through the different negotiation
techniques (Findlaw, 2018).
a. To what extent are juries used?
Juries can be used in both civil and criminal case. In criminal case, they agree to
resolve the criminal matters in which they involve the finding of guilty or not guilty.
The other criminal case is dealt in the court of magistrate. In civil case, there is
limited number of cases. The panel agrees upon the facts of the case and tries to find
whether the applicant has verified his case or not. If claimant has won, then damages
are award on that basis.
b. What restrictions exist as to the evidence that can be heard by the court?
Hearsay evidence is a restriction. It is that statement that is made by the court, this
statement helps to prove the matter which is truth and made other than by witness
while affirming the hearing in question. Hearsay evidence is presented before the
court for cross-examination (Wilson, et. al., 2014).
c. Which party has the burden of proof in a trial and at what standard is this
burden met?
The party has to prove the burden of proof in both civil and criminal case. In criminal
cases, the respondent is reflected as innocent unless the crime of the respondent is
verified by the trial. In civil case, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. Evidence has
to produce by the petitioner that supports the claim to prove the respondent is guilty
or not
Role of ADR:
ADR plays a vital role in English legal system. It provides deliberate substitute to the
recognised practice of using the law court to resolve the civil disagreements. The best
systems of ADR are conciliation and Negotiation but arbitration is a cherished method of
settling disagreement fairly, quickly and cheaply.

M4
The recommendation to solve the dispute between the businesses is to follow the mediation
process. This would be helpful in solving the case quickly and without even suffering any
monetary loss to the business. Since the arbitration process has already taken 5 years of time
the parties want a way by which they can quickly resolve the matter (British Columbia
International Commercial Arbitration Centre, 2018).
The comparison between arbitration and mediation in the above scenario is that:
1. Mediation solves the dispute more quickly than arbitration.
2. Mediation requires low money and time investment which is beneficial for both the
parties (Findlaw, 2018).
The effectiveness of mediation will be:
If mediation process would be followed then the relation of the parties would be maintained
and there won’t be any grudges between the companies.

D2
Legal solution can also be used in the above-mentioned situation. The comparison between
legal solution and alternate legal advice are:
1. Legal solution is passed by examining the facts, evidence and situation of the case.
2. As the proper procedure is followed in legal proceeding chances are higher than the
correct judgement would be passed.
According to the legal solution, the court can ask Company ‘B’ to stop the production of the
goods and also stop selling the produced goods in the market as the ownership of the goods
belong to Company ‘A’
As a punishment for Company ‘B’ court can ask them to give back the number of profits they
have earned by selling the similar goods as of Company ‘A’. The court can pass the order that
such goods will only be produced by Company ‘A’ and only they are authorised to sell such
goods
Suppose there was a dispute between Gilpin Hotel and Lake House in which Lake House
built a wall to block the view for the guests of Gilpin Hotel. For this dispute, Gilpin Hotel
decided to go for legal resolution.
a. What verdicts can the court give?
In the above case, court can ask Lake House to break the illegal wall which was built to block
the view for the guests.
b. What range of penalties/relief can the court order upon a verdict?
Also, court can ask Lake House to compensate Gilpin Hotel for the loss which they have
suffered due to the illegal act was done by Lake House in order to cut down the sale of the
hotel.

Conclusion
From the above report, it has been concluded that law plays an important role in Country. It
analyses the English legal system in which structure has been elaborated that helps in the
process of jurisdiction. Different Sources are also described that helps in interpreting the
case laws through precedents. It also evaluates the different method of a solution such as
alternative dispute resolution that includes the arbitration, conciliation, mediation etc. This
solution helps the parties in resolving their disputes. Different legislations play an important
role to solve the problem of company. These can be company law, employment law, contract
law that helps to find the business solutions for company.

References
 Amelung, N., Queirós, F. and Machado, H., 2017. Studying ethical controversies
around genetic surveillance technologies: a comparative approach to the cases of
Portugal and the UK. In IX Congresso Português de Sociologia: Portugal, território de
territórios (pp. 1-15). Associação Portuguesa de Sociologia.
 British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre. 2018. Difference
between Arbitration and Mediation. Available at: http://bcicac.com/about/what-is-
mediationarbitration/difference-between-arbitration-and-mediation/ [Accessed on 14
March 2018]
 Company debt, 2017. Common Insolvency Problems and Rescue Solutions.
Available at: https://www.companydebt.com/articles/business-rescue/insolvency-
problems-and-solutions/ [Accessed on 14 March 2018].
 Company debt, 2017. Common Insolvency Problems and Rescue Solutions.
Available at: https://www.companydebt.com/articles/business-rescue/insolvency-
problems-and-solutions/ [Accessed on: 14 March 2018].
 Deloitte. 2017. Company Law. Available at:
https://www.iasplus.com/en-gb/resources/other-regulatory/company-law [Accessed
on 14 March 2018]
 Findlaw, 2018.What is Mediation? Available at:
http://adr.findlaw.com/mediation/what-is-mediation-.html [Accessed on 14 March
2018].
 Hierarchy, 2018. United Kingdom Legal System Hierarchy. Available at:
https://www.hierarchystructure.com/united-kingdom-legal-system-hierarchy/
[Accessed on: 14March 2018].
 Indiana Judicial Branch, 2018. What is the difference between trial courts and
appellate courts. Available at: https://www.in.gov/judiciary/2677.htm [Accessed on:
14 March 2018].
 Judicial Independence, 2018. What is Judicial Independence. Available at:
http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/judicial-independence.[Accessed on: 14 March
2018]
 LOC.GOV, 2016. Legal Research Guide: China. Available at:
https://www.loc.gov/law/help/legal-research-guide/china.php. [Accessed on: 14
March 2018]
 Parisi, F., 2017. Public Law and Legal Institutions (Vol. 3). Oxford University Press.
 Partington, M., 2015. Transforming the English Legal System: Recent changes and
future prospects, Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System. Available at:
https://martinpartington.com/transforming-the-english-legal-system-recent-changes-
and-future-prospects/ . [Accessed on: 14 March 2018]
 Partington, M., 2016. Introduction to the English legal system 2016-2017. Oxford
University Press.
 Singer, L., 2018. Settling disputes: Conflict resolution in business, families, and the
legal system. Routledge.
 The judicial office international team, 2016. The Judicial System of England and
Wales: A Visitor’s Guide. Available at:
https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/international-visitors-
guide-10a.pdf . [Accessed on: 14 March 2018]

 Wilson, S., Rutherford, H., Storey, T. and Wortley, N., 2014. English Legal System.
Oxford University Press.