An Overview of the Sources of Law in the English Legal System

This essay provides an overview of the English Legal System, emphasizing the critical role of both primary and secondary sources of law in its structure and function. It discusses how the English Legal System, applicable in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, operates on common law principles and the doctrine of stare decisis. The essay details the legislative process, highlighting the government's role in drafting and enacting laws, and distinguishes between primary legislation (acts of Parliament) and delegated legislation. Furthermore, it examines primary sources such as case laws, customs, and European law, alongside secondary sources like legal encyclopedias and law journals, illustrating how these elements collectively shape the legal framework of the United Kingdom. Desklib provides students with access to this essay, as well as a wealth of other solved assignments and past papers, to aid in their studies.

Introduction to Law
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Essay................................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Reference:........................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
It is essential for regulating and controlling the activities which affects the economy of the nation
that an effective legal system is established. This assignment focuses on the English Legal
system which is followed in various corners of the world. The foundation of this legal system is
common law/customs. This legal system also considers the statutory laws but in case of conflict
between the statutory and common law, legal system will adopt common law over statutes. The
Legal system of the United Kingdom is derived from different sources which will be discussed in
the assignment. The role played by the government will be described under this assignment
along with the enactment of laws or acts by the legislation, which are applicable on whole
nations, if otherwise specified.
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Essay
English Legal System
One of the oldest and most followed legal systems is the English Legal System. England, Wales,
Northern Ireland and Scotland are some of the nations on which the legal system of the United
Kingdom is applicable. From ancient times, there have been a various alteration in the laws and
norms on which this legal system operates. This also changes the framework developed under
the previous applicable law. The legal system of the United Kingdom works on the rules and
regulation provided under common law and the judgments or the decision are made by the court
based on above-mentioned law (Harris, 2015). In the present time, this legal system operates on
the doctrine of stare decisis which states that the subordinate courts are liable to comply or
follow the decisions made by the superior courts. Government is the foremost authority in the
enactment of new laws or making amendments and development in existing laws (Dougan,
2017). The draft of the act i.e. the Bill is prepared by the government based on the needs of
society or a specific area in which regulation of law is required. Once the bill is prepared such is
presented before both the houses of the Parliament and if required changes in such bills are made
as per the comments of the Houses. After the approval of the Houses, assents from Monarch is
also required to be received. From the date of notifying the Official Gazette, the act is considered
to be enforced. This act enacted by the authorities is applicable, unless otherwise specified, on
whole nation i.e. the United Kingdom.
“These are the set of rule which is separately defined by a particular nation or the community
which recognises the need for regulating the activities of its members and which have the
authority to impose penalties on the members in case of any default.”
“Set of rules which are binding on the people of a specific nation and which is enforced by the
controlling authority of that particular nation.”
Sources of Law
This means those factors from which the law is originated or is developed. Different laws are
considered while making a law. For formulating an effective legal system, it is necessary that
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different types of sources must be considered. Considering different sources helps in making
gap-free laws, rules and regulations which ensure having a grip on the illicit activities of the
national community. The laws of the legal system of the United Kingdom are derived from
different sources which divided into two parts i.e. Primary and Secondary Sources.
Primary Sources: It is the main source of law from which is derived. These are the statements
which are provided by the law itself. These are those resources which are taken into
consideration which making a law. This includes:
Case Laws: This means the cases which are presented before the court in the past times. These
are referred by the authorities while developing or making law. These cases are published in the
form of the report i.e. Law Report which contains the facts of the case, the reasoning between the
parties, applicable laws or other related law and the judgment made by the court. Case laws are
considered while developing law and it is essential for the development and amendments in law.
These reports are issued from time to time with new and updated case laws which help in
amending the laws. English Legal System operates on the principle of precedents which means
that the subordinate courts are liable to follow the decision made or judgment passed by the
superior court in past times (SOAS Library, 2017). Incorporated Council of Law Reports is
responsible for issuing and publishing the general law reports which include the judgment passed
by the Appeal Cases, Queen’s Bench, Chancery and Family court and for the weekly reports
which include almost 280 cases throughout the year. There are many cases which are not
recorded or published in the law reports which are described as “Unpublished Cases”. As various
cases are presented before the courts of the United Kingdom, not all the cases can be published
in the report. Therefore, the cases of high importance or significance are published in these
reports.
Customs: Same as the case laws, these sources are related to the past times of the legal system
of the United Kingdom. Customs can be defined as an established behavioral pattern that can be
verified as per the setting of the society or the community of a particular (Besson and
d'Aspremont, 2017). In other words, it can be said that these are practices of the legal system
which are followed from a long period of time. All the laws made or enacted are consistent with
the customs of the nation.
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Legislation: The constitution of the United Kingdom is described as the partly written and
wholly uncodified. Most of the part of the constitution of the U.K. is written and is enacted by
the Parliament. The laws made under this are known as legislation which will be applicable to
whole nation. It can also be said that the laws made by the legislature are known as legislation.
Parliament is considered as the supreme authority in the legal system of the United Kingdom and
the laws are made by the Parliament based on the needs of the society to control and manage the
unlawful activities. Moreover, the laws enacted by the Parliament cannot be confronted by
anyone. This can be understood with the help of an example of Equality Act, 2010, which was
enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom for regulating the activities and providing
equal opportunities to the citizens of the nation (Koskenniemi. ed., 2017). Bills are prepared
before making any law and are presented before the Houses of the Parliament. Various bills are
presented before the Parliament each year but not every bill is approved by the authority. The
legislation is divided into two categories i.e. Primary and Delegated Legislation. Primary
Legislation means the laws, statutes or the acts enacted or made by the Parliament itself. These
laws depict the intention of the Parliament in regards to controlling and regulating some
particular activities. Delegated Legislations are those instruments which are developed by the
people or professional acting under the power or authority of the Parliament.
European law: This is one of the most essential sources of law. The laws under the legal system
of the United Kingdom considers the law of European Union as the sources because this
European law take into consideration the precedents of the laws over any other sources for
enacting new laws. All the laws made under the English Legal System are required to be
constant with the laws of European Union (Garoup& G ´omez Lig ¨uerre, 2014). There must be
no conflicts between the provisions of UK and European law.
Secondary Sources: These sources are also essential for making the laws in the United
Kingdom. These sources are also referred along with the primary sources at the time of enacting
the law. These sources are the comments on the law made by the legislature. Secondary Sources
includes:
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Legal Encyclopedias: For conducting a research in regards to the law, this is the best option as it
includes all the significant case laws, assessment of various legislation, etc. It is also stated that
these encyclopedias are written as per the comments of the lawyers.
Papers of Parliament and Non-parliaments: These are the papers which include the
significance of the legal system as it describes the reason why such law came into existence, the
focal point of a specific area on the law is based (Thirlway, 2014). The papers published by or in
consultation with the departments of Governments or other agencies such as Ministry of Justice,
Health Departments, etc.
Law Journals: These are the presentation of laws, the focal point of which may be general laws
or some may focus on specific laws. These journals include the comments and opinion of various
professionals which provides clarity in interpretation of the law. It also provides an update to the
practitioners in the practices of law.
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Conclusion
It is concluded from the assessment of the legal system of the United Kingdom and its sources
that laws, rules and the legislation are enacted or made taking into consideration different
sources. These sources are categorised into two parts i.e. Primary and Secondary Sources.
Primary sources include customs, legislation, European Law, etc whereas secondary sources
include law journals, legal encyclopedias, etc.
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Reference:
 Besson, S. and d'Aspremont, J., 2017. The Sources of International Law. In The Oxford
handbook on the sources of international law (pp. 1-39). Oxford University Press.
 Dougan, M., 2017. The UK outwith the EU, the EU without the UK.
 Garoup, N. & G ´omezLig ¨uerre, C., 2014. The syndrome of the efficiency of the
common law. Boston university international law journal.
 Harris, P., 2015. An introduction to law. Cambridge University Press.
 Koskenniemi, M. ed., 2017. Sources of international law. Routledge.
 SOAS Library, 2017. Research Guides.
Available at: https://www.soas.ac.uk/library/subjects/law/research/file70249.pdf .
Accessed on: [24.05.2018]
 Thirlway, H., 2014. The sources of international law. OUP Oxford.
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