Sources of Law in England and Wales

Business Law
BUSINESS LAW
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Business Law 1
Introduction
The main purpose of law in business assist regulate how but is to transactions contact
with each other. All businesses must operate within a legal framework. This paper will be
discussing the different sources of law in England and Wales. The first source that would be
covered is the parliamentary legislation. These are laws created by the United Kingdom (UK)
Parliament which is the only body with powers of enacting legislation. Another source of law is
the Case-law which is also referred to as the Common law. This is the law that has developed
through the adoption of rationales that have been held by Judges in the previous cases. Moving
on is the European Convention on Human Rights which has been incorporated into the UK Law
through the Human Rights Act of 1998 (HRA). The last source of law is the European Law. This
source comes as an adherence to the 1957 treaty the that the UK signed in 1973 to become a
member of the European Union (EU).
Statutes or Legislations
Legislations are classified as either primary or secondary legislation. Secondary
legislation may also be referred to as the subordinate or delegated legislation. Primary legislation
are also referred to as the statutes or Parliamentary Acts. These types of laws are enacted in
Parliament and they are regarded as the supreme form of the law. The UK parliament is the
supreme body for making the law, and it has the power to make and suspend a law (MacIntyre,
2016, p.8). The UK Parliament is divided is made up of the two houses, the House of Commons
and the House of Lords (HL). The process of the formation of the law starts with the presentation
of the of the Bill to the House of Commons after that it is then presented to the HL. If both
houses approve the Bill by a majority vote, it is then presented to the Queen who gives it a Royal
Assent to become a legislation.

Business Law 2
The normal procedure for a Bill to become a law is as follows;
The First reading: This is the first stage where the Bill is presented to the House of Commons.
Its title is read and published (MacIntyre, 2016, p.9).
The Second reading: The general provisions of the Bill are debated in the House of Commons
(MacIntyre, 2016, p.9).
The Committee stage: The provisions of the Bill are examined in detail and amendments are
made if any (MacIntyre, 2016, p.9).
Report stage: Votes are taken over the amendments (MacIntyre, 2016, p.9).
The Third reading: This happens to be the final stage. It involves consideration of the entire
Bill including the concluded amendments, and the MPs take the final voting. The members may
also engage in a short debate for taking minor amendments before taking a final vote for passing
the Bill (MacIntyre, 2016, p.9).
Presentation to the HL: The Bill undergoes a similar procedure like the one it underwent in the
House of Commons. If the HL suggests some amendments, the Bill goes back to the House of
Commons (Jones, 2013, p.47). The Bill can undergo this stage until both houses are satisfied
with all the provisions.
Royal Assent: The Queen gives her assent to the Bill before it becomes the law. Once this stage
has passed, the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament (Jones, 2013, p.48).
The Bills presented for enactment can be either Public or Private Bills. Public Bills are
concerned with matters such as those touching on the society in general or those dealing with a
particular Government statutory programme. Private Bills are those the government sponsors to
deal with matters that are specific to a certain location or group of people. Secondary legislation