A Short Introduction to the English Legal System
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A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM
The DfES key stage 4 guidelines for the teaching of Citizenship as part of the National Curriculum state that in acquiring knowledge and understanding about becoming informed citizens, students should be taught about:
‘the legal and human rights and responsibilities underpinning society and how they relate to citizens, including the role and operation of the criminal and civil justice systems.’[1]
One of the key skills that students should develop is the ability to ‘study, think about and discuss topical political, spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues, problems and events.’[2] The guidelines recognise that this can only be achieved through a growing awareness of the legal, political, religious, social, constitutional and economic systems that influence lives and communities.
This article focuses on one of those systems, the English legal system. However, recognising that this system of justice cannot be fully understood in isolation, we begin with a brief comment on the UK’s constitutional arrangements to show how the English legal system is the necessary product of the concept that is commonly referred to as ‘the rule of law’.
Introduction
The classical understanding of Britain’s unwritten constitutional tradition is that it rests on three pillars, namely:
• parliamentary sovereignty; • the separation of powers; and • the rule of law.
To place the English legal system in its proper context, it is necessary to have some understanding of these concepts and particularly the rule of law.
Briefly, parliamentary sovereignty refers to the legislative supremacy of the UK Parliament. It means that there is no limit (apart from any self-imposed limit) on the capacity of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Crown to enact laws in the UK. The UK Parliament is the principal source of UK law.
The separation of powers refers to the idea that there is
A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM
The DfES key stage 4 guidelines for the teaching of Citizenship as part of the National Curriculum state that in acquiring knowledge and understanding about becoming informed citizens, students should be taught about:
‘the legal and human rights and responsibilities underpinning society and how they relate to citizens, including the role and operation of the criminal and civil justice systems.’[1]
One of the key skills that students should develop is the ability to ‘study, think about and discuss topical political, spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues, problems and events.’[2] The guidelines recognise that this can only be achieved through a growing awareness of the legal, political, religious, social, constitutional and economic systems that influence lives and communities.
This article focuses on one of those systems, the English legal system. However, recognising that this system of justice cannot be fully understood in isolation, we begin with a brief comment on the UK’s constitutional arrangements to show how the English legal system is the necessary product of the concept that is commonly referred to as ‘the rule of law’.
Introduction
The classical understanding of Britain’s unwritten constitutional tradition is that it rests on three pillars, namely:
• parliamentary sovereignty; • the separation of powers; and • the rule of law.
To place the English legal system in its proper context, it is necessary to have some understanding of these concepts and particularly the rule of law.
Briefly, parliamentary sovereignty refers to the legislative supremacy of the UK Parliament. It means that there is no limit (apart from any self-imposed limit) on the capacity of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Crown to enact laws in the UK. The UK Parliament is the principal source of UK law.
The separation of powers refers to the idea that there is