Business Law: Understanding Legal Concepts and Applications in the UK

This report delves into the intricacies of business law, focusing on the English legal system and its application to the Bishop's Gate Hotel. It explores the constitution, sources of law, contract law, employment law, company law, and the impact of legislation, regulations, and standards on business operations. The report also examines the effectiveness of legal institutions and procedures, comparing the English legal system with the Chinese legal system. Furthermore, it analyzes alternative dispute resolution methods, including mediation and arbitration, and their advantages over traditional litigation. The report concludes by highlighting the importance of understanding and complying with legal frameworks to ensure business success and minimize legal risks.

Business Law

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
LO1 & LO2......................................................................................................................................4
P1.................................................................................................................................................4
P2.................................................................................................................................................5
M1................................................................................................................................................6
P3.................................................................................................................................................7
M2................................................................................................................................................8
D1.................................................................................................................................................9
LO3 & LO4....................................................................................................................................10
P4...............................................................................................................................................10
P5...............................................................................................................................................12
M3..............................................................................................................................................13
P6...............................................................................................................................................14
D2...............................................................................................................................................17
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................18
Reference:......................................................................................................................................19

Introduction
This report is prepared to provide the discussion regarding the various concepts used in the
business law. The Bishop’s Gate Hotel is taken into consideration to explain the concept related
to the constitution and the various sources that are based on the principles of the common law.
The effectiveness in terms of the legal system and their application is also provided in this report
to develop the effective understanding of the concepts used. The approaches used in the
alternative legal solutions are also provided in this assignment to explain the legal consequences
and the considerations. It is presented in the report that every form of the branch consists of the
certain authorities which are responsible for the execution and the solution of the cases. The
sources in the English legal system are explained in the report thoroughly.

LO1 & LO2
P1
The effectiveness is provided in terms of the constitution regarding the application of the legal
system. The constitution reflects the historical origin which prevails in the country. The form of
the functioning is in unwritten form. In other words, the rights of the individuals are not provided
in the written manner. Hence the powers which are an exercise in the Bishop’s Gate Hotel are
also not mentioned in the constitution in the written form (Martin, 2013).
The functioning of the UK legal system is such which provides the judges with an authority in
regards to interpret the laws made but their regulations are generally bounded by the precedents.
The power regarding overrule is provided in the case where the decision provided by the body
proves to be wrong in the case held after in the same or the other superior courts.
Sources of Law
There are various sources of laws which are used for formation of new laws or making
amendments in the old laws. The constitution of the UK consists of the separation of the powers
in three forms which are executive, legislature and judiciary. Every form of the branch consists
of the certain authorities which are responsible for the execution and the solution of the cases.
These sources are as follows:
Legislation: This is the foremost sources as in the UK; Parliament is considered the chief
authority of the legal system. These laws are enacted by the parliament and are applicable on the
whole country unless specified. The legislative process which is followed in the working and the
functioning of the UK legal system provides the reading which is used in the formation of the
business laws. The two forms of the bill are used in the legislative procedure. The public bills
consist of the laws which involve the interests of the public only. In the other case, the private
bills are introduced which are introduced by the non-ministerial bodies working in the
Parliament (Slapper and Kelly, 2013).
Judiciary: One of the main sources of law is judiciaries. It is the decision taken by the superior
courts and judges in the past times. These decisions are considered while making decision for
current cases. There are involved the doctrines which help in reviewing both the executive and
the legislative actions. The reason which helps in reviewing the process is related to the illegality
and the irrationality. If the provisions formulated are such which proves to be illegal or irrational
then in such case, the actions can be reviewed.
European Union Laws: These are the laws of European Union which are referred while
developing a law as new laws are required to be constant with the union laws. The regulations
related to the European Treaties are provided in the functioning of the European laws. These
involve the treaties such as Treaty on the functioning of European Union 1957. The subjects and
treaties on the basis of which the international laws are based cover the form of Parliamentary
supremacy (Taylor and Emir, 2015).

P2
The form of governance helps in the smooth working of the laws. Here in, the UK uses the
parliamentary form of the governance. The head authority used in this case is Westminster
Parliament. It basically consists of the Head of State which is the monarch and is unelected. The
monarch is considered to be a body which helps in occupying the position by the birth only. In
the same way, the structure is also followed in it which consists of both the House of Commons
and the Lords. Laws are made according to the needs of the economy or wherever the control of
law is required. Debates are organised for both the Houses for discussing the issues that seeks
control of law.
The draft of the law is made by the Government after the debate is ended. For this, Government
can constitute a committee which directs the process of enactment of the law. The prepared draft
is forwarded to both the Houses of Parliament and after the approval of the houses; it is then
forwarded for the approval of Monarch. It is enforceable when it is notified in Official Gazette.
Application of Statutory Law: These laws are essential part of the legal system of the UK.
These are the laws which are enacted by the Parliament which is considered the chief authority in
the UK’s legal system. While making law, a committee is constituted for making and monitoring
the functioning of the law. This committee also invites views of general public and society and
debates regarding the rules and regulations of such laws. These laws cannot be challenged by
anyone.
Application of Common Law: These are the laws which are made on the basis of previous
judgments passed. As it is well known that the legal system of the UK is based on the principle
of stare decisis which means that the decision of the superior courts and judges will be
applicable on the lower courts and their judges. Same is in this case, as the decision made by the
Superior Court is referred to by the lower court at the time of issuing a verdict.
The hierarchy and the set process are used in by the organisation to solve in the cases involved in
the functioning of Bishop’s Gate Hotel. The court structure followed in by the company helps in
the settlement in an effective manner. In the functioning of the court process, the highest
authority is the Supreme Court which is used to solve in the cases. In the same way, the
subordinate’s courts are also involved to solve the dispute.

M1
The effectiveness is enhanced with the reforms involved in the working of the legal system. The
structural variations help in enhancing the productivity of the legal rules and the obligations.
This helps in reduction of the fees and the development of the centralized rules and the
regulations. The effectiveness is attained in the form of the increased understanding which helps
in the working of the laws in a more effective and the efficient manner. The individuals who are
poor are benefited with these reforms. The effective legal system helps in the business to develop
the effectiveness and the rules that improve the legal functioning of the economy (Taylor and
Emir, 2015).
Effectiveness of the legal institutions
There have been significant changes in the structure of the legal system of the UK. Creation of
new bodies along with the updation in the old bodies was part of this reformation process. This
can be understood with the help of some examples like: Conversion of House of Lords into the
Supreme Court in year 2009, Department for constitutional Affairs was replaced by the Ministry
of Justice in year 2007. Various courts like family courts, country courts were also established
during this phase (Partington, 2016).
Effectiveness of the legal procedures
Reforms are necessary for the effective working of every system. Some procedural changes were
also implemented for enhancing the effectiveness of the English Legal System. Establishment of
private bodies played a vital role in serving justice. In today’s time, use of digital technology is
also implemented into the working of legal system which reduces the burden of work of the court
and the professionals related to it.

P3
The laws related to the contract provide all the functioning related to the formation and the
breach of the contractual regulations. The contract laws help the individuals to work in the
related areas.
Contract between employer and the employees: The provisions of contract laws are also
applicable on the employment contract along with the provision of Employment Rights Act,
1996. All the terms and conditions of the service is specified in the contract i.e. tenure of service,
remuneration, ground of removal, etc.
However, there are some other laws which are also applicable on the organisation and the
personnel related to it.
Employment law: The functioning of these laws forms the part of the regulations related to the
employment rules and the policies. The regulations provided in this help in the providing the
number of the rules related to both employer and the employees. Employment law deals with the
provisions which help the individuals to save them from the various risks related to the
organizational working and the environment (Barnard, 2012).
Company Law: Company law is executed in the year 2006. The basic functioning and the
provisions are provided in terms of the incorporation and the liquidation of the company. The
company law also provides the functioning in related to the appointment and the resignation of
the directors. It is also considered to be a distinct entity which helps in guiding an individual
regarding the application of the laws related to the companies.
Legal Exceptions
These are the situations where the provisions of contract law are not followed as in specified
manner. Situations like termination of the contract or updation of the contracts, in case of
emergency. There are emergency powers provided to the employer and the organisation in the
UK. These are related to the emergency situations and the process used in the implementation of
the laws. Further certain local arrangements are also provided to deal with the cases that help in
providing the safety to the locals.
There are situations where the right of the employees is affected in the course of employment. It
is significant that employer and the organisation must have information regarding the human
rights. It is analysed from the UK economy that the laws which are related to the human rights
are not protected in the case when the Human Rights Act is not formulated. But after the
introduction of the act, the rights are formulated under the functioning of the act. This also helps
in providing the safeguards to the individuals.
Working Environment
It is the obligation of the employer to provide healthy and safe working environment to the
workers. This is also specified under the Employment Rights Act, 1996. Moreover, the working
hours are also specified in this act along with the wages for overtime.

M2
The legislation, regulations and the standards help in the business undertaking to formulate the
laws accordingly. The regulations are considered to be an international trading system which is
formulated in the functioning of Bishop’s Gate Hotel.
Impact of the legislations:
In the same way, the legislation is also considered to be a higher authority evolved in the
economy (Difference Between, 2018). The legislation helps in the development of the global
opportunities in the market. The standards help in the measurement of the expectations which are
formulated by the countries.
Impact of regulations:
The regulations which are imposed by the government affect the legal functioning of the
economy. The functioning related to the imports and the exports are provided in it. These are the
policies which support the implementation and working of the laws made by the legislature.
Impact of Standards:
These are the benchmarks set for the monitoring the performance of the laws and its supporting
regulations. Standard ensure the effectiveness of laws and sometimes, these standards are set for
the safety of public.

D1
In this task, the effectiveness is explained in terms of providing the comparison among the
Chinese English Legal System and the English Legal System. The difference is involved in the
areas which help in the effective functioning. The legal system which is evolved in the UK
generally follows the system which covers the common law principles. But when taken the case
of the Chinese legal system then the same principles are followed but functioning is not on based
on the stare decisis. In the functioning of the UK legal system, the sources used in arelegislation,
precedents, etc. wherein the Chinese system consists of the People Republic of China. The
functioning which is followed in the by the lower and the higher courts are not same which is
followed in the China ruling (Nelken, 2017).

LO3 & LO4
P4
Business environment attracts various issues and the market of the business sector is
unpredictable. For the performance of the tasks and accomplishment of the organisational goals,
companies hire effective and efficient employees to earn more profits and expand their business.
Terminate of the contract
If the employee does not stand up to their expectations company has a right to terminate the
employee. The condition to terminate the employee is that the company has to give a prior notice
to the employee with the reason for their termination. If the company does not follow the proper
procedure to terminate the employee then that termination would be held as invalid termination
and the company has to take back the employee. The Employment Act protects the employee
from any sort of discrimination against them by the company or the employer. Bishop’s Gate
Hotel also needs to follow all the laws which are set up by the government if they need to
terminate an employee because of the reason of his/her performance.
Rescue form Insolvency
The company must protect themselves from insolvency and liquidation if the company has to run
smoothly and survive in the market. If the company is not able to cope up with insolvency or
liquidation then it would become difficult for the company to survive in the market.
This can be managed by making a budget for every operation of the organisation and allocating
the resources accordingly.
Liquidation
It is a process of dissolving the company. If a company is unable to pay its debts then, the
creditors or the members have the options to apply to the court for liquidation of the company.
Such process of liquidation is independent as the constitution provides a provision for an
independent judiciary. Under section – 3 of Constitutional Reform Act 2005 guarantee for an
independent judiciary is being given. The main reason for theindependence of the judiciary is the
fairness of judgment. If the judiciary would not be independent then the decisions might be
biased and not according to the rules and regulation set up by the government. If Bishop’s Gate
Hotel has any legal dispute they can rely upon the judiciary to get perfect resolution. (Brooke,
2015)
Moreover, Bishop’s Gate Hotel has its operation in the UK where the legal system is adversarial.
The court uses adversarial system to hear the dispute. In adversarial method both the parties have
to present before the judge and present their appeals before the judge to prove the innocence of
their clients. The advocates use relevant evidence to prove their points in the court. After the
presentation of both the parties,judge decides what needs to be done in the matter by examining
the arguments of the parties.

There are some other provisions which must be understood which are as follows:
Gathering Evidence:
There are two types of cases:
1. Civil Cases: In such cases, all the parties who are in disputes gather the evidence which is
in favour of them to prove their innocence. In front of the court.
2. Criminal Cases: In these cases, the evidence are gathered by the authorities who are
appointed to handle the case. The evidenceis to be presented before the court to prove the
party guilty or innocent.
If Bishop’s Gate Hotel is involved in any of the cases then they have to follow the similar
procedure of gathering the evidence.
Examination of Evidence before trial
Examination of evidence differs from the type of cases for e.g. in civil cases examination is not
done for the evidence produced over here. On the other hand in criminal cases, evidence is
examined properly by the court.
Public hearing/trials
Trail/hearings are open to the public when they are conducted in courtrooms. If it is required
court can conduct the hearing or part of hearing with the presence of only the parties to the case.
In criminal cases, parties have an option of getting the hearing done in private but for that, they
have to submit an application in court minimum 5 days before the hearing.

P5
Application of the Company Law:
If a company is to be set up then there are set of rules and regulations which are to be followed
by the company and they are mentioned under Company Law. Companies can raise the amount
of capital by issuing shares in the market for the general public to invest in the company. All the
companies have to follow the procedure prescribed by the law. Bishop’s Gate Hotel also has to
follow the procedure of Company if they have to do any sort of changes or implementation in the
company. Prior planning done before conducting anything can help the company to save
themselves from liquidation and insolvency.
There are provisions regarding the raising capital for managing the operations of the company by
issuing share in the market.
There are some other laws which must be understood by the company. These are as follows:
Restrictions on Trials
If parties want to restrict the trail to be published they can make a request to the court about the
same by providing a valid reason for the same. The decision is upon the court that whether it
entertain the request or not.
Main Functions of Trial and important parties to the cases
The trails are a part of the cases where court after hearing the parties finally passes the judgment
for the case. In trial parties again get an opportunity to prove their innocence in front of the court.
After the final chance, the judge after examining the facts and circumstances passes the judgment
and the awards the punishment (Indiana Judicial Branch, 2018).
The main parties to trial are respondent and defendant.
Main functions of the trial are:
 To provide correct judgment.
 Examining the facts before passing judgment.
 Awarding sentence to the wrongdoer.
Bishop’s Gate Hotel can be considered as a party in a case if they file any case or any case is
filed against them.
Role of Judges and Counsel
There are several roles of judges and counsel in a trial. In a jury trial, judges hear the arguments
of both the parties and the opinion is given by them. In such cases, they do not have right to pass
a judgment. In a benchtrial, the judge has the same work as they do in a jurytrial but here they
also pass the judgment in the case. Counsel plays a major role in a trial they protect their party by
arguing in front of the judge. They try to prove the innocence of their clients by proving the
points with the help of evidence (Students’ Legal Assistance, 2018).

M3).
All the solution provided above may provide satisfactory outcomes but it has both, positive and
negative aspects. This part focuses on the positive aspects of the legal solutions which are as
follows:
 The company understands the significance of the following the laws and norms
applicable to it which will protect the company from facing legal consequences in the
future.
 The legal solution provided resolves the problem by legally following the procedures and
guidelines specified in the laws. This ensures that such solution will be legally
enforceable and will be followed by the parties. However, there is an option to appeal
against the decision by reaching to the higher court (Nelken, 2017).
This part focuses on the negative aspects of the legal solutions which are given below:
 It is well known the proceedings of the court requires a lot of time, this means the issues
or the dispute between the parties remain unresolved for a long period of time. This
affects the working relationships between the parties.
 Moreover, this requires an investment of huge amount as the legal fees and charges of the
court and the advocates is high.

P6).
As per the case abovementioned, there is a dispute between two companies and these companies
had a clause in the agreement that at the time of the dispute, same will resolve through
Arbitration. Now the case between the parties is under arbitration from last five years. Parties are
seeking a solution to this problem.
Role of Alternate Dispute Resolution
It is recommended that the parties must adopt the option of solving the dispute by the way of
Mediation. It is a process where a third party is appointed to solve the issues between the parties.
This focuses on the coming up with a best suitable solution. Arbitration is a process in which the
parties to dispute appoint one or more person(s) who act as arbitrator. This person focuses on the
facts and evidence presented to him and makes a decision by complying with the rules and
regulations of the arbitration.
It is also suggested that at the time of dispute or issues of Bishop's Gate Hotel, the same must be
solved by way of the Alternative Dispute Resolution as it provides quick and effective decisions.
In Russia, there are many institutions providing the services of resolving the disputes by way of
alternate methods. The well-renowned institutions are the International Commercial
Arbitration Court and at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, the Maritime
Arbitration Commission (Moses, 2017).
Just like arbitrator and mediator tries to resolve the case by giving rightful decision in the
alternative dispute resolution, juries under the litigation system have some similarities.
Juries are the panel of individuals who are appointed by the legal system for monitoring the
litigation proceedings and for considering the evidence presented before the judges by the parties
to the issue. It is the juries who decide whether the accused person is guilty or innocent.
Although it is not necessary that the juries sit in every proceeding, there are provisions which
are:
 Under the civil cases, juries don’t sit in the proceedings at first instance however if it is
required by the court, the case can be heard by the juries for making right decision.
 Juries sit in every criminal proceeding and consider the evidence and pass the judgment
accordingly.
Limitation on hearing of evidence
In ADR, there is no restriction in hearing of evidence whereas there are some limitations in the
litigation system regarding hearing of evidence.
There are certain limitations which are applicable to the proceeding of the court and considering
the evidence. As per the Civil Procedure Rules, there is a restriction on considering the Hearsay
Evidence. This means a statement made a third person hearing the statement of another person

who witnessed the incident of which the proceeding is going on. If the party to the issue failed to
present such third person then the statement of the party will not be considered.
As per the Criminal Procedure Rules, it is on the court whether to consider such statement of
third person as evidence. The court may refer to the rules regarding the written statement of
witness, warrants, summon, orders, etc. for the witness. Moreover, the opinion of experts can
also be considered (Blake, et. al., 2016).
Burden of Proof
In ADR, there is no provision regarding the burden of proof as both the parties comes together to
solve the problem whereas this is different in the litigation system which is as follows:
At first instance, under the civil cases, the burden to prove the accusation lies on the claimant as
such accusation is made by him. The claimant will present the evidence and the facts related to
his side of the case before the court. After the claimant is done with proving his side of
accusations, burden will shift towards the defendant.
Under the criminal cases, the accused is deemed innocent until the accusations made by the
claimant is proved in the court. The burden of proof under such cases lies on the prosecutor to
prove that the defendant is guilty. Defendant has the right to present the evidence against the
accusations made by the claimant.
The same will be followed in Bishop's Gate Hotel if in case this organisation faces any legal
cases and will be solved accordingly. However, the role of the organisation depends on the
situation.

M4).
As per the given scenario, from the last 5 years, the dispute between the parties is under
arbitrations. It is recommended that the issues between the companies can be solved by the
Mediation.
A comparison between the mediation and arbitration is as follows:
 Arbitration is a method of solving the dispute between the parties by considering the facts
and evidence whereas mediation is a method of solving the dispute by focusing on the
best solution for the dispute.
 Arbitration is governed by the Arbitration Act, 1996 whereas Mediation is governed by
the Mediation Act, 2017.
 In Arbitration, parties have the option to appoint more than one arbitrator whereas in
mediation, parties can only appoint one mediator.
 Arbitration is more formal than the mediation, however less formal than court
proceedings whereas Mediation is less formal than court proceedings and arbitration
(Agapiou and Ilter, 2016).
The effectiveness of both the method can be understood as mediation focuses on solving the
problem along with solving the issues quickly whereas arbitration focuses in considering the
facts and evidence and the problem may or may not be solved quickly

D2).
Litigation system provides services of solving the issues between the parties which may be
satisfactory for the parties. However, it is recommended that the parties must use alternate
methods for solving the issues as it provides quick redressal.
Court has a range of authorities, one of which is issuing verdicts. There are various verdicts that
can be passed by the court which are as follows:
 Under civil cases, court can order the company to make payment of the damages suffered
or incurred by the aggrieved party, or to pass an order for injunction, summon, etc.
 Under criminal cases, court can issue a judgment of penalties, fines, imprisonment of the
personnel of the organisation.
One of the authorities that the court has is power to impose penalties, fines on the guilty person.
This depends upon the nature of damage done by such person or organisation. However, if the
nature of the guilt is not serious, court may order performance of any act which was not
performed by the guilty person or organisation (Keep out of court, 2012).
These authorities are not available under alternative dispute resolution as the parties are not
liable to comply with the decisions under ADR, except in case of arbitration.

Conclusion
In the above-mentionedreport, there is a thorough discussion of the business law. English legal
system is also discussed in the report. The procedure of setting up of a company is mentioned in
the report. Also, the benefits of alternative dispute resolution are mentioned and how legal
solution can be helpful in few cases is also being mentioned in the report. Procedure of
appointment of judges in the United Kingdom is explained in the above report. Independence of
judiciary is an important rule to be followed which is further discussed in Constitution Reform
Act 2005 and importance the same is also explained in the report.

Reference:
 Agapiou, A. and Ilter, D.A. (2016). Court-connected Construction Mediation
Practice: A Comparative International Review. Taylor & Francis.
 Barnard, C., (2012). EU employment law. Oxford University Press.
 Blake, S.H., Browne, J. and Sime, S. (2016). A practical approach to alternative
dispute resolution. Oxford University Press.
 Brooke. H., (2015). The History of Judicial Independence in England and Wales.
Available at: https://sirhenrybrooke.me/2015/11/03/the-history-of-judicial-
independence-in-england-and-wales/ [Accessed on 15 March 2018]
 Courts and Tribunal Judiciary, (2018). Judicial Appointments. Available at:
https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/the-judiciary-the-government-and-
the-constitution/jud-acc-ind/jud-appts/ [Accessed on 15 March 2018]
 Difference Between, (2018). Difference between Legislation and Regulation.
Available at: http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-legislation-and-
regulation. [Accessed on: 03.03.2018]
 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
15 March 2018]
 Keep out of court (2012).Benefits of Mediation. Available at:
http://www.keepoutofcourt.com/benefits-of-mediation [Accessed on: 15 March 2018]
 Martin, J., (2013). The English Legal System, eBook ePub.Hachette UK.
 Moses, M.L., (2017). The principles and practice of international commercial
arbitration. Cambridge University Press.
 Nelken, D. ed., (2017). Comparing legal cultures. Routledge.
 Slapper, G. and Kelly, D., (2013). The English Legal System: 2012-2013. Routledge.
 Students’ Legal Assistance, (2018). The Role of the Judge. Available at:
http://niu.edu/Legal/topics/courtsystem/judge.shtml [Accessed on 15 March 2018]
 Taylor, S., and Emir, A., 2015. Employment law: an introduction. Oxford University
Press, USA.
 Partington, M., 2016. Introduction to the English legal system 2016-2017. Oxford
University Press.