Exploring the UK Legal System: Courts, Legislation, and Employment Law

This report provides a detailed overview of the UK legal system, beginning with the classification of laws into common law and statutory law, further dividing into civil and criminal law, and explaining the roles of the High Court and Supreme Court. It explores the sources of law, focusing on case law and the legislation-making process, including delegated legislation. The report also examines UK employment law, specifically highlighting the statutory duties of employers to their employees under the Employment Rights Act of 1996, covering areas such as training, minimum wage, anti-discrimination policies, health and safety, and fair recruitment. Finally, it touches on wrongful and unfair dismissal actions, providing a comprehensive understanding of the legal framework governing businesses and employment in the UK. Desklib offers a wealth of resources for students, including solved assignments and past papers.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................2
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................3
Classifications of Law:................................................................................................................3
Concept of law and the legal systems in UK- .......................................................................3
Classification of Laws in English legal system- ....................................................................3
Role of High court and Supreme court in the English legal system:......................................4
Source of law:.............................................................................................................................5
Case law as source of law-.....................................................................................................5
Legislation making Process- ..................................................................................................5
Meaning and examples of delegated Legislation-..................................................................6
Law making process of UK: Employment law:..........................................................................6
Statutory duties of the Employers to their Employees- .........................................................6
Wrongful Dismissal and Unfair Dismissal Actions- .............................................................7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
INTRODUCTION
The legal system of any country requires timely changes because of situational dynamics
that occur as the time changes so these law frameworks must be modified and amended.
Amendments must be made to address the values and morals of society. Legislations are
specifically amended so that issues can be dealt with by inclusion of specific sections which
prove to be relevant with the current scenarios of society. Rules and regulations are established
with the help of law which guides the behaviour and conduct of the individuals in the society. So
that citizens can make distinctions between the good and bad conduct so that they can maintain

right behaviour in the society(Anderson, 2018) . UK citizens must show optimistic attitude with
respect to accepting laws which can help them in getting justice while their interests are
protected. This report will provide information about the classification of laws in UK and how
they are implemented. It talks about the difference between High court and Supreme court and
also describes the employment laws and the statutory duties prescribed in it for the employers.
TASK
Classifications of Law:
Concept of law and the legal systems in UK-
A proper and well mannered established legal system helps in carrying out any society's
effective management by laying down different rules and procedures which help in its easy
functioning. Law is thus on the superior level and all the bodies of legislature and executives are
below it in the country. A well structured lawful framework helps in carrying out supervision
guidance with the help of law on the people so that they have idea about the right conduct that
must be behaved by them in the society(Chauvel, 2019). The power and authority is only with
the legal system which can set a standard that helps citizens have a good behaviour. But it is
essential for the law that it must not be carried in the way that it overpowers the citizens personal
rights which are given to them for their protection and defence. The nature of laws in the legal
system of UK makes them not codified as a whole which is why they prove to be more effective
as they have flexible nature and can be amended easily due to their partial written nature. The
classification of laws can be major done into two forms based on how they are applied which are
Common law and Statutory law. In context of statutory laws, they can be defined as the laws
which are formed by the legislature houses which is known by the name of parliament as it
includes two houses namely the lower house which is the House of Commons and the Upper
house which is the House of Lords. These houses must form laws which can be helpful for a
society's functioning. A law or act is formed after it goes through several stages in the house of
legislature beginning as a bill and becoming an act in the end. On the other hand, Common law
can be defined as laws which are formed by the judges when they give judgements in the court.
These thus act as case laws which can be followed by the lower courts in their subsequent cases
giving rise to the nature of judicial precedent which has a binding effect.

Classification of Laws in English legal system-
 Civil law- It is one of the branch of legal system that involves matters of dispute and
conflict in property or family related matters with respect to land or individual rights of a
person. The parties that are included in the case have their disputes resolved through
penalties and appropriate solutions. Civil law thus includes cases where formation of
contract or agreement takes place on any property, etc. Civil law takes the implied form
when the land and property matters are managed by it which also must have the matter of
considerations (Chuasanga and Victoria, 2019). Thus, it governs the failure of agreements
created by contracts. The civil law matters are heard by the County courts, Appellate
courts, tribunals, High courts and supreme courts. Thus it has the power to look after civil
wrongs. Under it, parties which are innocent are given remedies through compensations
and measures for damages.
 Criminal law- It is the second branch of law that includes commitment of offences and
crimes under it by the people who are members of the society. Individual safety is given
the most priority under this law which is why they are given protection through it. Thus, a
moral code of conduct is established by it which guides the behaviour of individuals in
the society so that people know how they should act. Criminology is studied under it
which includes analysis of the harm and damages that are faced by an individual when
they are victims of a crime. So it ensures administration of justice by protecting the
personal interests and liberties of a person. Criminals are the people who commit any
illegal act so they are given punishments like imprisonments or penalties which can
discourage them from committing the same act again. These also refrain other people in
the society so that they do not indulge in crimes. Thus, crimes like rape, theft, robbery,
murder, assault, etc. are covered under the criminal law. The courts which have the power
to deal with criminal cases are Queens bench, Divisional courts, High courts and
Supreme courts (Collins, 2018) .
Role of High court and Supreme court in the English legal system:
 High Court- Judiciary system's most essential court is the High court of UK that has its
branches established in the different regions of London. High court is also famous by the
name of Her majesty's court of England. It comprises and deals with the cases that are not

dealt by the other lower courts and tribunals due to their limited jurisdiction. High court
hears cases which involve public importance matters. The different branches of High
court deal with different region matters. The High court benches are Chancery Division,
queens bench, family court, etc. Generally, single judge provides judgement in the High
court cases but several times cases also have the need of adjudications and solutions due
to their differential conditions. Appeals can be made in the supreme court regarding the
decisions of the High court which then re hears the cases to give a final decision.
 Supreme Court- UK's judiciary system has the top level court by the name of Supreme
court which is the apex court of the country and that is why it is superior to all the other
subordinate courts. It hears the cases of public importance due to the power and authority
that its has with respect to taking cases of the national and state level. Thus it is called as
the final court of appeal in the judiciary system. It has the power of hearing both the civil
cases and criminal cases as it has jurisdiction above them. Thus, it performs a vital role
by guiding the other lower courts in the judiciary. Its decisions that are given help in the
effective management of society because its judgements take the form of landmark cases
which must be followed in any manner. Supreme court also has the power and authority
with respect to hearing matters that are related with constitution so it protect public
interests by giving protection to them (Collins, 2018).
Source of law:
Case law as source of law-
Common laws in UK are also referred to as Case laws as they have a major role to
perform in the formation of laws and legislation. These include the decisions and judgements
that are given by the judges in the court of justice which makes them important in nature as they
are given by top level courts (Hessick, 2019). Lower courts are guided by them because they also
deal with cases similar in nature thus they help as judicial precedents. Judges in lower courts
analyse these decisions and abide by them as case laws in their future cases. These courts have
the power to hear matters that involve cases relating to public protection, safety and security,
society's management, etc. Doctrine of stare decisis is the base of the judicial precedents which
makes it binding in nature to be followed in subsequent cases.

Legislation making Process-
Legislation making is quite long and complex in nature as it goes through several stages
in the house of legislature. The process begins with the introduction of a bill in the parliament.
Legislation or laws are primarily formed to guide citizens on how to act while dealing with
particular issues which are relevant to the society and thus requires rules and regulations on it.
Individuals must have the behaviour accordingly. The parliament comprises House of Commons
and the House of lords which is why it is the authority that is given the responsibility of
formation of laws (McGee and Gardiner, 2019). After the bill gets introduced in the
parliamentary house it moves to the next stage where voting is carried out on it by the members
who also recommend changes and amendments so that the bill can be structured into a perfect
law. Once all the amendments are done and all the stages get completed the bill is then sent to
the Royal monarch to get a final assent on it after which it becomes an act and is implemented on
the citizens of UK.
Meaning and examples of delegated Legislation-
Legislations are formed with the help of subordinate or lower bodies when power is
delegated to them by a superior authority and this is described as the delegated legislation
process. It thus comprises laws which are formed by lower bodies or executives instead of the
legislature house which have the real authority to form a law. The parliament delegates the
power to the subordinate bodies so that they can make rules and regulations which are
appropriate and are needed (Murphy and Eadie, 2019) . But it is essential that the delegated
authorities must use the power to a limited extent and according to the principles of the
government. Famous examples of delegated legislation are order of the council, sovereignty of
parliament, etc. and the most famous among them is the statutory legislation. Different executive
bodies like ministers are usually delegated power of making legislation.
Law making process of UK: Employment law:
Statutory duties of the Employers to their Employees-
Employment laws of UK govern the employers and employees and most essential legislation that
governs them is the Employment Rights Act of 1996. The employers while dealing with their
employees must abide by the statutory duties that are given in this law which are as follows:

 Employees must be given training by their employers. They must have regular programs
which in a way trains the employers so that they have easy understanding of their
workplace.
 Employers must abide by the National Minimum wages act so that employees are given
proper salary and remuneration by them in accordance with the work that they do.
 The employers must also ensure that no employee gets discriminated on the basis of race,
colour, religion, etc. while following the anti discrimination policy(Palombo, 2019) .
 The work place must have proper health and safety protocol standards so that employees
have a safe and secure environment.
 Employers must have the policy of average working hours for their employees so that
they are governed by fair recruitment.
Wrongful Dismissal and Unfair Dismissal Actions-
When a job of an employee is terminated by the employer without abiding by the policies
and standards of agreement it comes under the title of Wrongful dismissal and Unfair dismissal
and with respect to these the employee has the right to claim for remedies. Wrongful dismissal
occurs when an employee is dismissed from their job by the employer without giving them a
period of notice which means the terms and conditions of the employment contract are not
fulfilled in it.
On the other hand, unfair dismissal occurs when an employee is removed from their job
by the employer without stating the proper reasons for their dismissal from the job. An employee
is also said to be unfairly dismissed when they are given no chance to explain or justify
themselves. Like the termination of the job of an employee when they are on maternity
leave(Sznycer and Patrick, 2020).
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from this report that rules and regulations are provided so that a
society can be governed with respect to different laws. Legal system helps to establish a standard
of conduct which guides the behaviour of individuals in the society. Laws are classified into
Statutory laws and Common laws wherein the former one are the legislations formed by the
parliament whereas the latter one includes case law which are judgements made in courts. The

courts are mainly the High Court and the Supreme court which deal with the civil and criminal
law matters. Employers statutory duties towards their employees are defined in the employment
laws of the country which also state the meaning of wrongful and unfair dismissal.

REFERENCES
Anderson, S., 2018. Legal origins and female HIV. American Economic Review, 108(6),
pp.1407-39.
Chauvel, C., 2019. Post-legislative Scrutiny in New Zealand: A Focus on Delegated
Legislation. Eur. JL Reform, 21, p.169.
Chuasanga, A. and Victoria, O.A., 2019. Legal Principles Under Criminal Law in Indonesia Dan
Thailand. Jurnal Daulat Hukum, 2(1), pp.131-138.
Collins, H., 2018. Private Law, Fundamental Rights, and the Rule of Law. W. Va. L. Rev., 121,
p.1.
Hessick, C.B., 2019. The Myth of Common Law Crimes. Virginia Law Review, 105(5), pp.965-
1024.
McGee, A. and Gardiner, D., 2019. Differences in the definition of brain death and their legal
impact on intensive care practice. Anaesthesia, 74(5), pp.569-572.
Murphy, M. and Eadie, R., 2019. Socially responsible procurement: A service innovation for
generating employment in construction. Built environment project and asset
management.
Palombo, D., 2019. The duty of care of the parent company: A comparison between French law,
UK precedents and the Swiss proposals. Business and Human Rights Journal, 4(2),
pp.265-286.
Sznycer, D. and Patrick, C., 2020. The origins of criminal law. Nature human behaviour, 4(5),
pp.506-516.