6. Personnel of the English Legal System

Author(s):  
Mark Thomas ◽  
Claire McGourlay

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This chapter looks at the multitude of different professionals, both legal and lay, in the English legal system (ELS). Legal professionals, often referred to as ‘lawyers’, includes such individuals as solicitors, barristers, legal executives, and paralegals. Barristers and solicitors were traditionally two very distinct roles in the ELS. Nowadays, a fusion of roles has occurred, meaning that the two professions are not as different as they formerly were. Meanwhile, judiciary refers to the various judicial ‘offices’ and ‘office holders’. Law officers are the individuals responsible for the operation of the ELS and includes such persons as the Attorney General and the Solicitor General. Court staff are the individuals involved in the day-to-day running of the ELS and include such persons as clerks, ushers, legal advisers, and many other persons. Lastly, laypersons refer to a special class of individuals — namely magistrates and juries responsible for trying cases in the Crown Court and magistrates' court respectively.

Author(s):  
Mark Thomas ◽  
Claire McGourlay

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This chapter looks at the multitude of different professionals, both legal and lay, in the English legal system (ELS). Legal professionals, often referred to as ‘lawyers’, includes such individuals as solicitors, barristers, legal executives, and paralegals. Barristers and solicitors were traditionally two very distinct roles in the ELS. Nowadays, a fusion of roles has occurred, meaning that the two professions are not as different as they formerly were. Meanwhile, judiciary refers to the various judicial ‘offices’ and ‘office-holders’. Law officers are the individuals responsible for the operation of the ELS and include such persons as the Attorney General and the Solicitor General. Court staff are the individuals involved in the day-to-day running of the ELS and include such persons as clerks, ushers, legal advisers, and many other persons. Finally, laypersons refer to a special class of individuals—namely magistrates and juries responsible for trying cases in the Crown Court and magistrates’ court respectively.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
James Marson ◽  
Katy Ferris

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 English legal system. It provides an overview of the courts in the civil and criminal divisions, and their hierarchy. It discusses the source of law, delegated legislation, the impact of membership in the EU and the Human Rights Act 1998, and alternative forms of dispute resolution (ADR). The implications of ADR are increasingly important in civil disputes and essential between businesses where traditional court action can destroy commercial relationships.


Author(s):  
Mark Thomas ◽  
Claire McGourlay

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This concluding chapter assesses the future of the English legal system (ELS). It argues that the ELS will continue to grow and develop in order to move with the times. Each development may individually not have such significant impact on the ELS; however, when coupled with the other development, it is more likely that the development may significantly alter people's understanding of the ELS. Change in the ELS may come from political, economic, legal, social, and international factors. The chapter then considers some of the key debates, events, and activities that may shape the future of the ELS. These issues include the UK's membership in the EU, signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights, and transformation of the justice system.


Author(s):  
Mark Thomas ◽  
Claire McGourlay

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This chapter addresses funding access to the English legal system. Funding legal services may be provided publicly or privately. Public funding relates to funding available from the state, whereas private funding specifically refers to the assets and monetary resources available to that specific individual. Only certain individuals are entitled to benefit from public funding, whilst all persons can, in theory, privately fund legal services. Moreover, legal aid — meaning state-funded assistance in legal matters — is available in both criminal and civil cases but is restricted to narrow circumstances and types of cases. The availability of legal aid depends on several tests set by the government. Where legal aid is not available and the individual cannot privately fund their case, pro bono institutions may be available to provide advice.


Author(s):  
Mark Thomas ◽  
Claire McGourlay

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This introductory chapter provides an overview of the English legal system (ELS). The study of ELS involves the study of the legal system of both England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland are subject to a separate yet connected legal system. These four countries are subjected to the laws of the UK; however, each individual constituent has devolved powers allowing them to legislate in particular areas. Where a conflict between laws of the UK and laws of the constituent country arises, the UK law takes precedence. The effect of devolution from the UK to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland does not affect this parliamentary supremacy. Indeed, it has been argued for some time that devolution of power has not gone far enough in allowing Scotland or Northern Ireland to govern themselves.


Author(s):  
Mark Thomas ◽  
Claire McGourlay

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This introductory chapter provides an overview of the English legal system (ELS). The study of ELS involves the study of the legal system of both England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland are subject to a separate, yet connected legal system. These four countries are subjected to the laws of the UK; however, each individual constituent has devolved powers allowing them to legislate in particular areas. Where a conflict between laws of the UK and laws of the constituent country arises, the UK law takes precedence. The effect of devolution from the UK to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland does not affect this parliamentary supremacy. Indeed, it has been argued for some time that devolution of power has not gone far enough in allowing Scotland or Northern Ireland to govern themselves.


Author(s):  
Mark Thomas ◽  
Claire McGourlay

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This chapter addresses funding access to the English legal system. Funding legal services may be provided publicly or privately. Public funding relates to funding available from the state, whereas private funding specifically refers to the assets and monetary resources available to that specific individual. Only certain individuals are entitled to benefit from public funding, whilst all persons can, in theory, privately fund legal services. Moreover, legal aid—meaning state-funded assistance in legal matters—is available in both criminal and civil cases but is restricted to narrow circumstances and types of cases. The availability of legal aid depends on several tests set by the government. Where legal aid is not available and the individual cannot privately fund their case, pro bono institutions may be available to provide advice.


Author(s):  
James E. Baldwin

Chapter 6 examines how Cairene litigants navigated the multiplicity of forums and practices with overlapping jurisdictions that constituted Cairo’s legal system. Moving away from the state-centric orientation of much Ottoman historiography, this chapter adopts the perspective of the legal consumer in order to discover how legal institutions were used, rather that the role the state intended them to play. The chapter emphasizes the lack of formal hierarchies or defined relationships between the different legal forums, and argues that this jurisdictional imprecision offered litigants opportunities to manipulate the system’s pluralism to their own advantage.


Author(s):  
Adrian Ward

Introduction and Background As one of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (‘UK’), Scotland has always retained its separate legal system. Scotland occupies the northern part of the island of Great Britain, together with some...


Author(s):  
Stuart Banner

This chapter traces the effect of 19th-century constitutional thought on the decline of natural law. Written constitutions were an American innovation with no direct parallel in the English legal tradition. Natural law had long been understood as a constraint on legislation, but constitutions served the same function, which raised the question whether American judges had the authority to invalidate legislation that conflicted with natural principles rather than written constitutional text. In the course of this debate, American lawyers voiced their first sustained critiques of the use of natural law within the legal system. The adoption of written constitutions in the late 18th century thus lay the groundwork for the eventual disappearance of natural law from the legal system.


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