10. The Legal Professions

This chapter explains what the legal professions are, what they do, and how to qualify as a member of the professions. It examines the rules governing practice as a member of the professions and, in particular, the issue of ethical behaviour. There are two principal branches to the legal profession in England and Wales. The first consists of barristers and the second of solicitors. There are three stages to qualifying as a member of either profession. The first is the academic stage and involves passing either a qualifying law degree or the Graduate Diploma in Law. The second stage is vocational education, either the Bar Professional Training Course (for barristers) or Legal Practice Course (for solicitors). The final stage is work-based training consisting of either pupillage (for barristers) or a training contract (for solicitors). The chapter also discusses the emergence of CILEX as a third branch of the profession.

7. The Structure of the Tribunals

This chapter examines the jurisdiction and structure of tribunals. It then considers two very different tribunals through the use of case studies, namely the Employment Tribunals and the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Tribunals have existed for many years but have traditionally operated as an oversight system for administrative issues. In recent years, the number of tribunals has increased and their work has begun to involve more complicated legal questions. Tribunals are now, in essence, a parallel system of dispute resolution and their complexity is recognized by the fact that their presiding officers now bear the title of ‘judge’. This chapter examines this parallel judicial system and identifies similarities between and differences from court justice.

20. The Future

This chapter makes a number of predictions for the English legal system in the coming years. It examines five main issues: continues membership of the Council of Europe, how devolution could affect the legal system of England and Wales, future directions for legal education, the transformation of the justice system through modernization, and the consequences of the vote to leave the European Union.

16. Criminal Appeals

This chapter examines under what circumstances someone is entitled to appeal and how that appeal is heard. The discussions cover summary trials or trials on indictment; appeals from a summary trial; appeal from a trial on indictment; appeal following an acquittal; appeal against sentence; appeals to the Supreme Court; and the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The paths of appeals differ depending on the mode of trial of the original criminal hearing. There are two potential criminal appeal avenues from a summary trial: either to the Divisional Court (by way of case stated or (exceptionally) judicial review) or to the Crown Court. An appeal ordinarily requires leave (permission) but appealing to the Crown Court from the magistrates’ court does not require leave.

14. Those in Court

This chapter focuses on the people who are present during criminal trials. It considers those in summary trials in magistrates’ court (magistrates, justices’ clerks/legal advisors, lawyers, and the defendant). It also considers those who are present in the Crown Court during a trial on indictment (the judge, the jury, lawyers, court clerks, the stenographer, the usher, and the defendant).

5. Human Rights Act 1998

This chapter examines the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and discusses some of the important issues that arise from its use. It also provides an overview of relevant articles in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The HRA 1998 is quite a short Act and its key parts are in a small number of sections. Perhaps the most important is that of s 6 which places an obligation on public authorities to act in a way compatible with the ECHR, and s 7 which prescribes how it can be used to obtain a remedy in the courts. This chapter also links to the previous chapters in terms of discussing how the Act is interpreted.

4. International Sources of Law

This chapter discusses international sources of law. Conventions and treaties are the primary sources of international law. International law also relies on custom, that is to say informal rules that have been commonly agreed over a period of time. The United Kingdom joined the (then) European Economic Community (EEC) in 1972. As part of the conditions for joining the UK agreed that EEC (now EU) law would become automatically part of the law of the United Kingdom. The principal treaties governing the EU are the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Disputes are adjudicated by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Whilst the UK has recently voted to leave the EU, it will not do so for at least two years, meaning EU law will remain part of UK law. The United Kingdom is also a member of the Council of Europe, which has issued a number of international Conventions that impact the English Legal System.

2. Domestic Sources of Law: Parliamentary Material

This chapter examines the sources of domestic law. There are two sources of law (primary sources and secondary sources). Primary sources are considered to be those ‘authoritative’ sources that are produced by the legal process itself. Secondary sources are sources that are produced by others and are, in essence, a commentary on the law. Primary sources of law include statutory material and this itself is divided into two types of material: primary legislation (Acts of Parliament) and secondary legislation (Statutory Instruments, Orders in Council, etc). Statutes are Acts of Parliament and are either Public Acts (Acts that are of general application) or Private Acts (which are limited to a certain body). An Act will normally have to pass both the House of Commons and House of Lords and then receive Royal Assent before it becomes an Act of Parliament.

13. Lay Justice

This chapter focuses on lay justice. The use of laypersons is widespread in criminal trials in England and Wales. Summary trials (i.e. those that take place in the magistrates’ court) often take place before three lay justices of the peace. Whilst Crown Court trials take place before a judge, those who are responsible for making decisions of fact are the jury—twelve laypersons chosen for that case. The chapter presents the different types of lay justice that exist and compares the two forms of lay involvement.

19. Alternative Dispute Resolution

This chapter considers alternative dispute resolutions (ADR), which are ways that a dispute can be settled outside of the court process. The chapter considers the growth of ADR and how the courts now require litigants to consider ADR before commencing legal action. The courts have wide powers to encourage ADR and this chapter considers these powers and why the courts try to encourage ADR. The key forms of ADR are then presented, together with an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses.