The English Legal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The English Legal System - Essay Example The UK parliament is the sovereign authority of legislation i.e. is responsible for the creation of Acts of Parliament. Before enactment, an Act is referred to as a Bill, both Houses of Parliament have to consider Bills and finally receive the Royal Assent. The most importantly is delegated legislation that is considered as a source of law.The next source of law is case law, the effective creation and refinement of law during judicial decisions: The judiciary main function is interpreting the actual meaning of legislation providing it with further creativity. The final source of law is custom. The common law represents a crystallization of common customs, distilled by the judiciary in the course of its travels round the land. A second possible customary source of law its rules are derived form specific local customs. In the English legal system restraints on judges are that the Judicial decisions are subject to modification by legislation; And the final authority to dismiss a judge r esides in Parliament but this can only be done by the consent of both Houses. However jurisdiction of courts supervises the use of statutory and prerogative powers by government ministers. Moreover "The validity of actions and decisions for which there is no legal authority or source or which are taken in flagrant abuse of the requirements of procedural fairness (natural justice) may be challenged through an application for judicial review." Carroll, a. 2007. In addition There are rules that underpinning judicial independence: By convention ministers do not criticize judges or their decisions - although in recent times some see it can't be applied on parliamentary questions relating to controversial cases. According to the rules of the House of Commons it is forbidden to criticize a judge unless pursuant to a substantive motion for dismissal. It is permitted to propose adverse comment on judicial decisions providing this does not reflect on a judge's character or competence. For explaining the power of precedent Judicial precedent means that judges must follow the rule of law established in the previous decided cases of the court of equal status or higher, if they are of the same legal principle and facts. Judicial precedent is a system of law-making by judges rather than by parliament. The decisions made by the judges, called precedents, are used as models for future cases. This causes certainty due to the prediction of outcome of a case on which applied previous rules of a similar case however due to discretion of judges to make law and over rule precedents and conflicting rules may also produce uncertainty. The precedents of the Higher courts are binding on lower courts and the court structure is hierarchical and the House of Lords is the highest court. With R v R - rape within marriages - wife no longer a property of husband. A court higher up in the hierarchy in a different later case can set aside a legal ruling established in a previous case. Overruling refers to the ratio of a case and not its decision. It has to be emphasized the

An Overview Of The Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

An Overview Of The Law - Essay Example There are particular safeguards for expectant women. The Act disbars transsexual individuals from being incorporated in gender-specific programs if, by so doing, it would be a fair approach to realizing a legitimate objective. The disabled are also taken care of under the piece of legislation: for instance, organizations are obligated to make appropriate adjustments to the employment area, in order to accommodate the disabled in terms of the easy movement of the group. In light of these initiatives, the Equality Act 2010 is not a new legislation; rather, it seeks to strengthen the already existing non-discrimination legal structures in the country. Even though the Equality Act was crafted based the need to transform Great Britain into a society without discrimination, the lukewarm government response to the implementation of the legislation is likely to hinder the effort and spirit which pioneered its formation. As at now, the law, to some extent, has been rendered ineffectual follow ing the admission by the national government that only some sections of the statute would be put into effect when it was enacted in effect in 2010. The failure by the government to implement the legislation in totality undermines every assurance coalition officers ever gave rooting the philosophy of a non-discriminatory Britain. As intended, sections 71, 77 and 78 of the Act would have prompted big for-profit organizations to ascertain whether they have, within their jurisdiction, before 1970.... As at now, the law, to some extent, has been rendered ineffectual following the admission by the national government that only some sections of the statute would be put into effect when it was enacted in effect in 2010. The failure by the government to implement the legislation in totality undermines every assurance coalition officers ever gave rooting the philosophy of a non-discriminatory Britain. As intended, sections 71, 77 and 78 of the Act would have prompted big for-profit organizations to ascertain whether they have, within their jurisdiction, the discrepancies of pay across gender as witnessed in the country, before 1970 (John et al. 2010, pp21-36). The law had clear provisions that would eliminate pay secrecy, which were and may still be cited by the organizations to conceal discriminatory practices targeted at women regarding remuneration issues (Steele 2010, pp264-274). The government’s suspension of some sections of the law from implementation, arguably to facilit ate a review of the numerous clauses endorsed by legislature early in the second quarter of 2010 is not only suspect but a trigger for the continuation of discriminatory practices in the country. According to Steele (2010, p270), pressure groups and rights organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations indicate that refusing the implementation of the entire law was a clear pointer to the failure on the part of government to commit itself to a fair society. They argue that back-pedalling on the legal provision for multinationals and big organizations to reveal and act on any disparities in remuneration between feminine and masculine workers, negates the letter and spirit of a liberal and fair society. Additionally, the failure carry out gender pay appraisals is