Analysis of the UK Legal System for Business Law BMP4002

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the UK legal system, focusing on its classifications, sources, and application to business law. It begins by defining laws and identifying the UK's legal systems, differentiating between statutory and common law. The report explains civil and criminal law, outlining the roles of the High Court and Supreme Court. It also explores case law and legislation processes, including delegated legislation. A section dedicated to employment law covers statutory duties of employers, wrongful dismissal, and unfair dismissal actions. The report emphasizes the dynamic nature of the legal system and its importance in regulating society and ensuring justice.

Business Management
BMP4002 Business Law
Assessment 1
Legal System for Business
Law
Submitted by:
Name:
ID:
1

Contents
Introduction 2
Part 1: Classifications of Law p-p
Define laws and identify the respective legal systems in the UK
p
Explanation with examples the following as means of classification
of laws in the English Legal system p-p
a) Civil Law p
b) Criminal Law p
Explanation of the role of the following Courts in the English Legal
system p-p
a) High Court p
b) Supreme Court p
Part 2: Source of law p-p
Explanation of Case Law as a source of laws p
Explanation of the process of making Legislation p
The meaning and examples of Delegated Legislation p
Part 3: UK law making process: Employment Law p-p
Statutory Duties of Employers to their employees p
Wrongful Dismissal and Unfair Dismissal Actions
Conclusion p
2

3

Introduction
A country’s legal system must be changed with time in order for it to be relevant with
the changing circumstances in the society among the individuals. Modifications helps the
laws and ensures that they stay in place according to the requirements of a society based on
their morals and values. Government has the power of formation of laws and it thus forms
them to deal with the issues that surround a society. It helps in regulating the members of a
society by ensuring a justice system. Individual behavior and society can be kept in check and
discipline through laws. It helps to understand the importance of what is right and what is
wrong. In order to ensure proper enactment of any act it must be accepted by the citizens with
positivity for the protection of their interest(Pfander and Wentzel, 2020) . This report will
cover the classification of laws that is between statutory law and common law and the
difference between criminal law and civil law with respect to High court and supreme court.
It will also talk about the sources of law. It shall also cover the statutory duties of employers.
Part 1: Classifications of Law
Define laws and identify the respective legal systems in the UK
With the help of a established legal system a society can be managed effectively
because of the rules and regulations that a law describes so that citizens follow them and
abide by them in society. Law is superior to all the other bodies that are present in the country
which can be legislature and executive. People can be guided with the help of well defined
laws which ensures that they have right conduct in their behavior. Standards on how to act
are set by the legal system due to the power and authority being only with them. Non-
compliance with them can lead the citizens towards punishments. But the law must ensure
that it does not over power the citizen and their personal rights. UK’s legal system is not
wholly codified like the other nations which helps in implementing it effectively because it is
partially written. Classification of laws based on their application can be made into two
which are statutory laws and common laws. Statutory laws can be defined as those laws that a
legislature has the power to form due to it having the authority of parliamentary houses that
includes the House of Commons and the House of Lords which are the lower and upper
house. The major responsibility of formation of laws is with them. But it is a long process of
forming a statutory law which begins with a bill and finally into an act. On the other hand,
4

Common law can be defined as the case laws which are formed due to the judgements and
decisions given by the judge in the law of courts. These case laws are followed by the lower
courts in their future cases due to judicial precedent and thus it takes the form of a binding
effect(Anderson, 2018).
Explanation with examples the following as means of classification
of laws in the English Legal system
a) Civil Law:
UK’s legal system has two branches one of which is Civil law that has the power to
deal with the civil cases which comprise the matters that are related to the dispute of property
and family matters on land issues. Conflict is resolves for the parties of civil case when the
court orders penalties and solutions are given to them as relief. Thus, Civil law governs all
the matters relating to contract and agreement with respect to property. But it is essential that
the question of property must have the matter of consideration that shall be dealt by the
judges of civil law. The courts which have the jurisdiction over civil law matters are County
Courts, tribunals, Appellate courts, High courts and Supreme courts. With respect to civil
law, innocent parties of the case are given remedies by the way of compensations and
measures for the damages that they suffer in property.
b) Criminal Law:
The second branch of law in UK’s legal system is Criminal law which covers offences
and crimes committed by criminals. These people when they do wrong and illegal act become
criminals and thus are given punishments. The top priority under criminal law is to provide
safety to the person’s soul and body, thus they are protected from criminal activities and are
given justice. A moral code of conduct is established for the people defining how they should
act in the society and what should be their behavior. The study of criminology helps criminal
law in the understanding of the nature of different crimes and their intentions behind
committing a crime when they harm a victim) (Ng, 2020). Thus it protects personal liberties
of people by ensuring justice system. The forms in which the illegal acts of criminals are
given punishments are by the way of imprisonment, penalties, death penalties, etc. these help
in generating fear in the minds of criminals so that they do not commit a crime again. It also
restricts other people in the society from committing criminal acts. The crimes which are
dealt under criminal law are rape, murder, theft, robbery, assault, etc. The courts having
5

criminal cases under their jurisdiction are Queens Bench, Divisional courts, High courts and
Supreme courts.
Explanation of the role of the following Courts in the English Legal
system
a) High Court:
UK’s judiciary system majorly includes two hierarchy of courts which are High Court
and Supreme court. Under which High is very essential as it governs different regions
of London under its jurisdiction where it has branches. It is also sometimes referred
by the name of Her Majesty’s court of England. The cases under the jurisdiction of
High court are those which are not dealt by the lower courts and tribunals. Thus, it
includes cases that are the matters of public importance. The benches under High
court comprise of Chancery Division, Queens Bench, Family court, etc. In most cases
a single judge handles the cases under High Court but in certain cases several judges
are involved in the cases where there is requirement of adjudication and solution.
Appeals go in the supreme court against the decision of High court that re hears the
cases to give a final decision (Duff, 2018).
b) Supreme Court:
The court which is at the top most level of UK’s judiciary system is Supreme court
which is also called as apex court due to its power and authority to deal with matters
which are of utmost importance. It is thus superior to all the lower courts which are
below it in the hierarchy. Matters of national and state level relating to public
importance come under its jurisdiction. It also acts a final court of appeal in the
country where cases are re-heard. It has the power to hear the cases governing civil
and criminal matters. Thus, it guides all the subordinate courts below it. The judges
that give judgements and decisions in the supreme court, these become the landmark
cases that help lower court in their subsequent cases for managing the society. It is
also the only authority which has the power to hears matters relating to constitution.
Thus, it works towards protection of public interest.
Part 2: Source of law
Explanation of Case Law as a source of laws
6

Case laws also known as the branch of common law system act as a major source of
law. They are also famous by the name of judicial precedents because it outlines the nature of
major decisions and judgements given in the top level courts. It includes the decisions given
by the judges in the court of law and mainly superior courts are authorized to do that. So it is
essential that the lower courts follow the case laws formed by the high level courts in their
subsequent cases which are similar in nature to give proper judgements. The lower or
subordinate courts are bound to act in the manner prescribed in these case laws when they
deal with similar cases under their jurisdiction. Thus, the type of cases that are dealt under it
are public interest, society’s management (Sznycer and Patrick, 2020), safety and security of
individuals, etc. Case laws as common law are based on the doctrine of stare decisis which
creates a form of binding effect on the people.
Explanation of the process of making Legislation
The formation of laws is a long process which is complex in nature due to it going
through several stages before becoming a proper act. The first step of law formation begins
with the introduction of a bill in the house of parliament which comprises the house of
commons and the house of lords. The bill then moves to the other stages for discussion. The
main purpose behind making laws is to govern the society and the conduct o people in it. In
the first step title is given to the bill after which it moves to the next stage where the members
recommend amendments to the bill based on the loopholes which are there in it. After the
changes are done, voting is carried out on the bill by the members of parliament where
majority in numbers is must for the bill to move to next stage. After the voting, the bill is sent
to the last stage which is of getting royal assent on it, so that the bill can become an act or
legislation. After the assent the legislation is applied on the citizens of UK.
The meaning and examples of Delegated Legislation
Delegated legislation is basically the process where the power of formulation of laws
and legislations is delegated to the bodies that are subordinate to the house of legislature.
Parliament is the only authority that has the power to formulate laws for the country and it is
the one which can also delegate it (Ford, 2018). When the powers are delegated then
legislations are formed by lower bodies like executives where ministers come in the picture
who form laws. But it is essential that the body to whom the power is delegated must act
within the limits of authority and according to the rules and regulations laid down by the
7

parliament. The famous examples of delegated legislation are Council’s order, Sovereignty of
parliament, etc. and most famous among these is statutory legislation.
Part 3: UK law making process: Employment Law
Statutory Duties of Employers to their employees
The employment laws of UK are responsible for the regulation of the employers and
employees of an organization. The most essential legislation of employment is the
Employment Rights Act of 1996 which lays down the statutory duties of the employers
towards their employees which are:
 Regular trainings must be given by the employer to the employees so that it is easy for
them to understand the work and the work culture.
 It is the duty of the employer to ensure that they provide adequate and timly salary
and remuneration to their employees based on the National Minimum Wages act.
 It is the duty of the employer to ensure that no employee gets discriminated on any
grounds at the workplace and thus must follow an anti discrimination policy(Pina-
Sánchez, 2019) .
 Employer has the duty to establish proper health and safety protocols at the workplace
to ensure the safety of the employees in the organization.
Wrongful Dismissal and Unfair Dismissal Actions
Two ways by which the employee’s job is terminated wrongfully are described by the
employment laws which are Wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal. An employee is said to
be wrongfully dismissed when they are dismissed from their job without fulfilling the
conditions of employment contract like without giving a period of notice of 2 months. Thus,
it comes under the title of wrongful dismissal which also includes terminating the contract
before its completion.
Whereas an employee is said to be unfairly dismissed when their job is terminated and
they are dismissed by the employer without stating the proper grounds of their removal and
without giving a chance to justify themselves. It comes under unfair dismissal like when a
women employee’s job is terminated when they are on maternity leave(Khan, 2019).
Conclusion
8

From this report it can be concluded that it is necessary for every state to formulate
laws which can help to establish rules that can govern the society. The legal system is the
backbone of a country in ensuring justice system. Laws can be majorly classified into two
forms which are statutory laws and common law which guide the behavior and conduct of
people. Based on these both the house of legislature and judiciary have the power of
legislation formation. Laws can be divided into two which are civil law and criminal law.
These are dealt in the High court and supreme court of judiciary system. Case laws also act as
major source of laws. Employment laws define the statutory duties of the employers towards
their employees which must be followed by them.
References:
Pfander, J.E. and Wentzel, J.P., 2020. The Common Law Origins of Ex parte Young. Stan.
L. Rev., 72, p.1269.
Anderson, S., 2018. Legal origins and female HIV. American Economic Review, 108(6),
pp.1407-39.
Ng, K.H., 2020. The common law in two voices. Stanford University Press.
Duff, R.A., 2018. The realm of criminal law. Oxford University Press.
Sznycer, D. and Patrick, C., 2020. The origins of criminal law. Nature human
behaviour, 4(5), pp.506-516.
Ford, M., 2018. Employment tribunal fees and the rule of law: R (Unison) v Lord
Chancellor in the Supreme Court. Industrial Law Journal, 47(1), pp.1-45.
Pina-Sánchez, J., and et. al., 2019. Exploring the origin of sentencing disparities in the
Crown Court: Using text mining techniques to differentiate between court and
judge disparities. Social science research, 84, p.102343.
Khan, N., and et. al., 2019. Diversity in the workplace: An overview of disability
employment disclosures among UK firms. Corporate Social Responsibility and
Environmental Management, 26(1), pp.170-185.
9