3. Sources of English Law

Author(s):  
Lucy Jones

This chapter discusses the sources of English law, legislation, custom, case law, and EU law. It includes detail of how an Act of Parliament is created, an explanation of delegated legislation, and how legislation is interpreted by the courts. In considering case law, the importance of judicial precedent and how the system of precedence functions is fully explained. The chapter also discusses the major institutions of the EU including the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The sources of EU law, treaties, regulations, directives, and decisions are outlined. The chapter outlines the 2016 referendum and the position of EU law in the UK during the negotiation period for the UK’s exit from the EU and the likely impact of the UK’s exit from the EU. Detail is given of the rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Author(s):  
Lucy Jones

This chapter discusses the sources of English law, legislation, custom, case law, and EU law. It includes detail of how an Act of Parliament is created, an explanation of delegated legislation, and how legislation is interpreted by the courts. In considering case law, the importance of judicial precedent and how the system of precedence functions is fully explained. The chapter also discusses the major institutions of the EU including the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The sources of EU law, treaties, regulations, directives, and decisions are outlined. The chapter discusses the 2016 referendum and the position of EU law in the UK during the negotiation period for the UK’s exit from the EU. Detail is given of the rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998.


2020 ◽  
pp. 240-268
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars

This chapter traces the development of EU law-based fundamental rights, from early Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law up to the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It considers the EU's relationship with the Council of Europe, focusing on how the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) attempt to avoid conflicting interpretations of overlapping rights, and whether the EU can in fact sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It is important to remember that the ECtHR and the ECHR are not part of EU law. The ECHR is an international human rights treaty administered by the Council of Europe. It is applied and interpreted by the ECtHR, and is transcribed into UK law in the form of the Human Rights Act 1998. The EU, meanwhile, has the Charter of Fundamental Rights as its human rights ‘treaty’. The chapter then looks at the relationship between the CJEU and the ECtHR, and examines post-Brexit fundamental rights.


Author(s):  
Neil Parpworth

This chapter discusses the protection of freedoms and liberties in the UK. It begins by distinguishing between human rights and civil liberties. It then covers political and social or economic rights, the traditional means of protecting civil liberties in the UK, the European Convention on Human Rights, the incorporation of the Convention into English law, and judicial deference/discretionary areas of judgment. The Human Rights Act 1998 is reviewed from a protection of rights perspective. Finally, the question of a Bill of Rights for the UK is considered.


Legal Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 360-378
Author(s):  
Benedict Douglas

AbstractAre we defined by the choices we make or the duties we owe? This paper argues that there is a conflict between the fundamental conception of the individual as possessing the capacity to choose how to live, which has been held to be the foundation of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the understanding of the individual as a bearer of duties which has long underpinned the UK Constitution. Through case law analysis, it is shown that the tension between these two understandings of the individual underlies the troubled acceptance of the Human Rights Act 1998, and influences the UK judiciary's substantive interpretations of the Convention rights. It is ultimately argued that for the Convention rights to be fully accepted in the UK, the evolution from a duty to a choice-based understanding of the individual, which was artificially accelerated by the Human Rights Act, must be more widely accepted by society and the courts.


2019 ◽  
pp. 111-126
Author(s):  
Colin Faragher

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the definition of parliamentary sovereignty, AV Dicey’s views concerning parliamentary sovereignty, the jurisdiction of the courts, whether the substance of an Act of Parliament can be challenged, the enrolled bill rule; whether the jurisdiction of the court over an Act of Parliament can be enlarged; the rule in Pepper v Hart; entrenchment clauses; prospective formula; the effect of the Human Rights Act 1998; the purposive approach to statutory interpretation; the implications of EU law for parliamentary sovereignty and the end of the supremacy of EU law when the UK exits the European Union.


Author(s):  
Nigel Foster

Foster on EU Law offers an account of the institutions and procedures of the EU legal system as well as focused analysis of key substantive areas, including free movement of goods; free movement of persons; citizenship; and competition law, including state aids. This clear structure provides a solid foundation in the mechanisms and applications of EU law. The book considers the supremacy of EU law in relation to ordinary domestic law, member state constitutional law, and international law, including UN Resolutions. It includes a consideration of EU law and Germany and France, as well as a briefer look at a number of other member states and contains discussion of human rights, in particular the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the moves of the EU to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights. The material on remedies in Chapter 6 has been rearranged to aid presentation and understanding. It follows the further developments of Art 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and has rearranged the material on the free movement of persons to take account of the judgments of the Court of Justice. The relationship between the UK and the EU and Brexit are dealt with in a new, dedicated chapter.


Author(s):  
Mark Lunney ◽  
Donal Nolan ◽  
Ken Oliphant

The right of privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights was incorporated into English law by the Human Rights Act 1998, but English law as yet recognises no tort of invasion of privacy as such. Admittedly, a number of specific torts protect particular aspects of privacy, but this protection may be regarded as haphazard, incidental, and incomplete. Recent decisions, however, have seen substantial developments in the protection given to particular privacy interests, above all by adapting the law of breach of confidence to provide a remedy against the unauthorised disclosure of personal information. These issues are discussed in this chapter.


Author(s):  
John Stanton ◽  
Craig Prescott

One of the most fundamental aspects of any constitution are the provisions and measures that protect the rights and freedoms of individuals. In the UK, rights protection is markedly different to that in America, in chief because there is no entrenched Bill of Rights. Rights protection is dominated by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), incorporated by the Human Rights Act 1998, which sets out a number of positive rights that are actionable in the UK courts This chapter discusses the ways in which these rights are protected in the UK Constitution. It discusses the courts' historic civil liberties approach and common law protection of rights, before then examining the development, incorporation, and application of the ECHR. The chapter also explores the way in which the various sections of the Human Rights Act 1998 work to ensure appropriate enforcement and protection of rights in UK law.


2019 ◽  
pp. 10-36
Author(s):  
Maureen Spencer ◽  
John Spencer

This chapter focuses on the burden of proof and presumption of innocence in criminal and civil cases under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It considers the influence of the UK’s Human Rights Act 1998 on the allocation of the burden of proof and compares legal/persuasive burden of proof with the evidential burden. It contains a detailed examination of the case law under this Act and the criteria developed to assess where reverse burdens should apply. It draws on academic commentary in making this analysis. It also looks at situations where the legal and the evidential burden may be split. It concludes with an overview of the law on presumptions.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Maureen Spencer ◽  
John Spencer

This chapter introduces the principles and key concepts underlying the law of evidence, with an emphasis on criminal evidence. It reviews Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), now part of English law as a result of the Human Rights Act 1998. It concludes by highlighting the importance of analysis of the relevance of the facts in a trial.


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