Report: Structure, Culture, and Impact of English Legal Systems

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the English legal system, encompassing both civil and criminal law. It details the structure and functions of magistrate and Crown courts, the appeal processes, and the criminal justice system's stages, including investigation, arrest, prosecution, and arraignments. The report also explores various types and principles of law, particularly focusing on criminal law and the legality principle. Furthermore, it analyzes the role of the criminal justice system in addressing criminal offenses and maintaining law and order in England and Wales. The conclusion emphasizes the effectiveness of the English legal system, highlighting the roles of the courts and the appeal mechanisms available to those dissatisfied with court decisions. The report also provides references to relevant academic resources.

LAW AND LEGAL
SYSTEM

TABLE OF CONTENT
• Introduction
• Main body
• Conclusion
• References

INTRODUCTION
• English law is common legal law system in England and Wales that comprise mainly of civil and
criminal law, every branch has its own procedures and courts. This is also known as law of
England & Wales. Authoritative law of England & Wales is statutory legislation comprising of Act
of Parliament, by-laws and regulations.
• In absence of statutory law common law having principle of the stare decisions is form residual
source of the law, that is based over judicial decisions, usage and customs. Present report is based
on the organizational structure, culture and impact of English legal systems. This will cover the
structure of magistrate and the Crown court in UK.
• This will also include the appeal process and the manner in which it is exercised. It will also
provide about the criminal offence dealt by criminal justice system for criminal offence. This will
also provide about the types and the principles that will be applied to particular offence. The
present report will increase and enhance the understanding of the laws and legal systems of United
Kingdom.

STRUCTURE OF MAGISTRATES
AND CROWN COURTS
• Magistrate court
• In England and Wales, a magistrates' court is a lower court which holds trials for summary
offences and preliminary hearings for more serious ones. Some civil matters are also decided
here, notably family proceedings.
• .Magistrates' court are basically engaged in solving serious cases. Court is being engaged in
hearing only the specific facts that are related to more serious offences
• It has been analyzed that, magistrate and district judges are being appointed in order to make
sure that cases are properly being adhered and addressed. They make sure that cases in this
court are being solved efficiently.

CROWN COURTS
• Cases that are sent by magistrate courts for trial as offences
related to case are 'indictable only'. Means that could only
be heard by crown courts.
• 'Either way' offence are the cases that could be heard in
magistrate court but could also be sent to Crown courts
when the defendant in the case chooses jury trial.

APPEALS THAT ARE AGAINST THE
DECISION OF MAGISTRATE COURTS.
• There are 3 different Crown courts centers, that are based over type of works they are
dealing with. They are :
• First tier center – They are visited by the judges of High Courts for Crown Courts criminal
and the High Courts Civil work.
• Second tier center – These are visited by judges of High Court for Crown Court criminal
works only.
• Third tier center – These are normally visited by the judges of High Court and they handle
the Crown Courts criminal works only.

CONTD…
• If the convicted person feels to be wrongfully convicted guilty in Magistrate court. Person
can make appeal to the Crown court against the com the conviction of Magistrate court to
the crown court within 21 days of sentence.
• In this process complete re-hearing of case is conducted by Crown court. Crown court has
the power of accepting or dismissing the appeal and also to change the sentence of the
Magistrate court.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CRIMINAL
OFFENCE DEALT WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SYSTEM.
• The criminal justice process of United Kingdom consists of various steps but main process
followed is investigation, arrest, pretrial actions, trials, sentencing and the corrections.
• In all these stages different steps & processes are undertaken for ensuring the right of every
person is met in the process followed

INVESTIGATION
• This stage involves the investigation of the crimes by police.
Investigation is carried out by police for gathering evidence for
identifying the suspects and support the arrest of individual.
• Investigation may require search, exploratory inspections of
person or the property. Investigation is conducted for gathering
the standards proofs that are essential related to the case.

ARREST
• After the investigation police arrests the suspected persons. The process of arrest involves
taking the suspected person in custody to hold the person until they are presented before the
court.
• The Probable cause of arrest is legal requirement for arrest. This represents that there is
reasonable link between the particular crime and specific person

PROSECUTION
• After the arrest, the next step is prosecution of
criminal defendants by district attorneys. For
deciding the charges for the crime against a
person they consider factors and weigh them
according to which the seriousness of offense
committed is decided.
• The strength of evidence produced before
them also provides them an important base for
deciding the criminality.

ARRAIGNMENTS
• Arraignments by judge. Before trials are made
dependents visits in courts & enter the plea. Most
common forms of plea are whether guilty or not
guilty.
• This is submitted in courts by the defendants
themselves.

EXPLORING THE EXERCISING OF
APPEAL PROCESS
• Individuals who fail to win the case in courts or are not satisfied with the decisions have the
right of appeals. This is however based on the decisions given in court.
• A person not satisfied with the decisions of the judge in the case, than the person have the
right of appealing to higher court. In case of tribunals to upper tribunals or the employment
Appeal Tribunal.
• There should be valid grounds for making appeals and there are defined limits within which
they can exercise their rights of appeal.
• The staff of court or the government officials do not have the right of reviewing judgements
that are made by courts. It is because judiciary is free and independent and is free to decide
results of cases without any interference of government or the administrations.

TYPES & PRINCIPLES OF LAW
Types of Law
• Criminal law
• Common law
• Substantive criminal law
Principles of Law
• Criminal law Principles
• Legality principle

CRIMINAL LAW
• It is stated as the statutory rules of the law that reveals the criminal offense, regulating
apprehension, test of the questionable persons, charging and fixing penalties or medium of
treatment that are applicable to the convicted offenders .
• It is referred as the only device through which an organized societies protecting security of
an individual interest and in ensuring survival of a group.

LEGALITY PRINCIPLE
• It is been acknowledged in all the legal systems across the globe as a key major of criminal
law.
• It has been engaged in the four senses that involves there could be no crime without the rule
of a law thus antisocial or an immoral conduct that is not impermissible and is punished by
law is not counted as criminal.
• It directs that the criminal statues are been interpreted stringently and they are not been
applied by an analogical extension.
• In case a criminal statue is seen as evasive in application, it is given as a narrow
interpretation that is favourable to an accused.

CONCLUSION
• From the above report it could be concluded that the legal systems of England and Wales is is having an
effective role in maintaining the law and order in the country. Magistrate court is the court where most of the
criminal cases are exercised by and around 95 % of them are also completed there.
• Serious offence is passed to crown court for sentencing after defendant is found guilty under magistrate courts.
• The case that are tried over the courts for giving justice to the people. The courts after trial of the case and on
assessing all the facts and evidences of the case give the sentence. The people who are not satisfied by the
judgements on the ground of legal errors or mistakes can make appeals to the higher courts and higher
tribunals.
• Appeals are exercised by the courts if accepted on the previous evidences produced in the previous trials. The
criminal justice process is a well structured process that involves investigation, arrests, pretrial detentions,
prosecution and sentence.
• The whole process is followed properly by the defendants and stakeholders. It has also given an understanding
about the types and principles of law that are involved in particular offence.

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