Unit 3 Sources of English Law
Before you read
Discuss these questions.
1What are the sources of law?
2Where do laws come from in your legal system?
3Is the law codified in your country?
4Is most of the law written or unwritten?
Sources of English Law
The courts are the interpreters and declarers of the law, the 'sources' of law are therefore the sources to which the courts turn in order to determine what it is. Considered from the aspect of their sources, laws are traditionally divided into two main categories according to the solemnity of the form in which they are made. They may either be written or unwritten. These traditional terms are misleading, because the expression 'written' law signifies any law that is formally enacted, whether reduced to writing or not, and the expression 'unwritten' law signifies all unenacted law. For example, as will appear, judicial decisions are often reduced to writing in the form of law reports, but because they are not formal enactments they are 'unwritten' law.
Since the fashion was set by the Code Napoléon many continental countries have codified much of their law, public and private; on the Continent, therefore, the volume of written law tends to preponderate over the volume of unwritten. But in England unwritten law is predominant, for more of law derives from judicial precedents than from legislative enactment. This does not, of course, mean that none of law is codified, for many parts of it are such as the law relating to the sale of goods (Sale of Goods Act 1979) and the law relating to partnership (Partnership Act 1890). All that is meant is that, as yet at least, although Parliament casts increasing multitudes of statutes, England has not adopted the system of wholesale codification which prevails in many continental countries.
Two principal and two subsidiary sources of English law must be mentioned. These principal sources are Legislation, and Judicial Precedent; the subsidiary sources are Custom and Books of Authority.
The Principal Sources
Legislation
Legislation is enacted law. In England the ultimate legislator is Parliament. Parliament is sovereign. It means first, that all legislative power within the realm is vested in Parliament, or is derived from the authority of Parliament – Parliament thus has no rival within the legislative sphere – and it means secondly that there is no legal limit to the power of Parliament.
In the legislative sphere Parliament is thus legally ‘sovereign’ and master, but this does not mean that the courts have no influence upon the development of enacted law; for, in order to be applied, every enactment, however it be promulgated, has to be interpreted (or construed), and the courts are the recognized interpreters of the law.
Judicial precedent
In all countries, at all times, the decisions of courts are treated with respect, and they tend to be regarded as 'precedents' which subsequent courts will follow when they are called upon to determine issues of a similar kind.
This reliance upon precedent has been both the hallmark and the strength of the common law. Its rules have been evolved inductively from decision to decision involving similar facts, so that they are firmly grounded upon the actualities of litigation and the reality of human conduct. And new cases lead onwards to reach forward to new rules. This characteristic of the common law contrasts with the European civil law which is derived from a code; that is, from an enacted body of rules either (as in the case of Justinian’s or of Napoleon’s legislation) embodying the whole of, or some considerable part of, the law, or embracing some special aspect of it. Thus the task of the courts is deductive: to subsume the present case under the mantle of the generalized and codified rule.
Another salient feature of the English system is the doctrine of the binding case. By this doctrine the authority of the courts is hierarchical; a court which is inferior in authority to another court is obliged to follow ('bound by') a court of superior authority if called upon to decide upon facts similar to facts already tried by the superior court.
The precedents formed by decided cases are, thus, the ‘anchors of the laws’. A practitioner who is asked to consider a legal matter will therefore look to the reported decisions of the courts; and he will do this even though the point in issue is regulated by a statute, for, as has been explained, statutes are interpreted by the courts, and a decision which is concerned with the interpretation of the statute is just as binding as any other decision.
It must not, however, be imagined that the law is always discoverable by the simple process of looking up, and finding, the right precedent. For facts are infinitely various and by no means all cases are exactly covered by previous authority. Quite the reverse, the facts in issue often resemble two or more divergent authorities. In these circumstances the courts therefore have freedom of choice in deciding which of the divergent authorities to ‘follow’.
Further, cases of ‘first impression’ sometimes arise; cases arising upon facts which bear no resemblance to the facts of any previous case. When the judge rules in such a case he legislates, because future courts must usually ‘follow’ him.
The judges have a field of choice in making their decisions. But they do not exercise their discretion in an arbitrary way; they rest their judgements upon the general principles enshrined in case-law as a whole. These principles have been evolved by the courts through the centuries.
Thus in a sense the history of the common law (as opposed to statute law – for statutes are sometimes arbitrary and they have often wrought injustice) is the story of the evolution of the judges conception of justice realized in the form of rules of law intended to be general in their application and as easily ascertainable as possible.
The Subsidiary Sources
Customs
Customs are social habits, patterns of behaviour, which all societies evolve. In a sense custom should be accorded as one of the principal sources of law for much, if not most, law was originally based upon it. Moreover custom is not solely important as a source of law, for even today some customary rules are observed in their own right and they command almost as much obedience as rules of law proper; they only differ from rules of law in that their observance is not enforced by the organs of the State. Thus, it will be seen that many of the fundamental rules governing the Constitution are 'conventional' (i.e. customary), rather than legal, rules.
But in modern times most general customs (i.e. customs universally observed throughout the realm) have either fallen into desuetude or become absorbed in rules of law. For example many of the early rules of the common law were general customs which the courts adopted, and by this very act of adoption made into law. So too, much of the modern mercantile law owes its origin to the general customs of merchants which the courts assimilated. So also many of the rules of the law relating to the sale of goods originated as customs, were adopted by the courts, and eventually moulded into a statutory code. General custom has therefore now ceased to operate as an important source of law. For law, whether enacted or judicially declared, has in most fields superseded custom.
Books of authority
On the Continent the writings of legal authors form an important source of law. In England, in accordance with the tradition that the law is to be sought in judicial decisions, their writings have in the past been treated with comparatively little respect. They have been cited in court, if citied at all, rather by way of evidence of what the law is that as independent sources from which it may be derived.
This general rule has, however, always been subject to certain recognized exceptions; for there are certain ‘books of authority’, written by authors of outstanding eminence, which may not only be cited as independent sources in themselves for the law of their times but which also carry a weight of authority almost equal to that of precedents.
In modern times the established tradition appears to have been breaking down, because many textbooks are now in practice constantly cited in the courts, though only the best of them are likely to command attention. The reason for this departure from the established tradition is probably that in comparatively recent years a large increase in the popularity of the study of English law in all our major universities has done much to improve the quality of legal writing and to increase the volume of legal literature. Thus, today books of authority are commonly referred to in court and even works of living authors are now often cited, though by a rule of etiquette, counsel who refers to works of the latter category should not cite them directly as authorities, but should request the leave of the court to ‘adopt’ the arguments which they contain as part of his own submissions. In practice, however, even this latter etiquette is now not always observed.
Vocabulary
| absorbv поглощать |
| accordv предоставлять |
| actualityn факты, действительность |
| adoptv принимать |
| anchorn якорь |
| applyvприменять, принимать; to apply an enactmentпринять закон |
| arbitraryadj,syn random произвольный; in arbitrary wayпроизвольно |
| ascertainableadj выясняемый, устанавливаемый |
| assimilatev усваивать |
| authorityn источник права; прецедент; судебное решение; books of authorityисточники права; сборники судебных решений; авторитетные учебники по праву |
| bear a/ no resemblance toиметь / не иметь сходства с |
| break downv нарушать |
| call uponv предоставлять слово |
| casen судебное дело; судебный прецедент; binding case обязательный прецедент; прецедент, имеющий обязательную силу |
| case-lawn,case law прецедентное право |
| case of the first impression дело, по которому не имеется прецедентов |
| castv бросать, сбрасывать |
| ceasev прекращать |
| citev syn quote цитировать |
| Civil Lawn (часто прописью) римское право |
| civil lawn (всегда строчными буквами) гражданское право |
| coden кодекс (a systematic written collection of laws on a particular subject or area of law), код; Code Napoleonкодекс Наполеона |
| codifyv кодифицировать |
| commandv располагать, внушать |
| common lawn общее право |
| consider a legal matter рассматривать/обсуждать дело |
| considered принимая во внимание; с точки зрения |
| construev использовать |
| conventionaladj традиционный, обычный |
| counseln 1 адвокат; 2 советник; 3 барристер |
| courtn суд; судья; судьи; superior courtвышестоящий суд |
| coverv охватывать; распространять своё действие |
| customn обычай |
| customaryadj обычный; customary dutyобязанность, основанная на традициях / обычаях |
| declarern тот, кто объясняет/ объявляет |
| deductiveadj дедуктивный (от общего к частному) |
| departuren отклонение |
| desuetuden неупотребление; устарелость (закона, обычая); to fall into desuetudeвыходить из употребления |
| discretionn компетенция; усмотрение |
| divergentadj расходящийся, отклоняющийся |
| doctrinen доктрина, принцип; doctrine of precedentдоктрина прецедента |
| embodyv воплощать; содержать |
| embrace v включать, охватывать |
| eminencen знаменитость |
| enactv принимать закон; вводить закон; enactmentn 1 принятие закона; 2 нормативный акт; legislative enactmentзаконодательный акт; enacted body of rulesпринятая совокупность правил/норм |
| enforcev обеспечивать соблюдение; to enforce lawпринимать правовую норму / закон |
| enshrinev помещать в |
| establishv устанавливать |
| evidencen 1 свидетельство; свидетельские показания; 2 доказательства |
| evolvev развиваться; эволюционировать |
| fashionn образ |
| hallmarkn отличительный признак |
| hierarchicaladj иерархический |
| inductivelyadv индуктивно (от частного к общему) |
| inferioradj низший (lower in position, rank); подчинённый; нижестоящий |
| infinitelyadv бесконечно |
| injusticen несправедливость; отказ в правосудии |
| involvevвлечь за собой, вызывать |
| issuen 1 вопрос, дело; 2 опубликование |
| judgen судья |
| judicial decisionn судебное решение |
| judicial precedentn судебный прецедент |
| Justinian’s legislationзаконодательство Юстиниана (527-565); cвод законов Юстиниана |
| lawn 1 право; 2 закон;law reportsсборник судебных решений |
| leave of the Courtразрешение суда |
| legislatev издавать законы; legislationзаконодательство; legislation is enacted lawзаконодательство – это введённый в действие / силу закон; legislativelyadv в законодательном порядке; legislatorn законодатель |
| litigationn тяжба; судебный процесс |
| mantlen покров |
| mercantile [merchant] law n торговое право |
| misleadv (give wrong impression to) вводить в заблуждение; a misleading statementзаявление, вводящее в заблуждение |
| mouldv формировать |
| multitudenмножество |
| onwardsadv вперёд |
| Parliamentn парламент |
| partnershipn товарищество |
| patternn образец |
| powern 1 право; полномочие; 2 власть |
| practitionernпрактикующий юрист |
| precedentn прецедент |
| predominentadjдоминирующий |
| preponderatev преобладать |
| private lawn частное право |
| promulgatev обнародовать; провозглашать |
| public lawn публичное право |
| realmn королевство; власть |
| reducev превращать |
| reliancen доверие, |
| reported decisionn решение, включённое в сборник судебных решений |
| rivaln соперник; конкурент |
| rulen норма; правило |
| salientadj выдающийся |
| sensen смысл; in a senseв некотором смысле; до некоторой степени |
| solelyadv только, исключительно |
| solemnityn важность |
| sourcen источник; principal sourcesосновные источники; subsidiary sourcesдополнительные источники |
| sovereignn суверен; обладатель полноты власти; монарх |
| statuten статут, закон |
| submissionn 1 аргумент, довод, утверждение; 2 представление, подача (документа) |
| subsequentadj последующий, следующий |
| subsumev включать (в какую-либо категорию) |
| supersedev сменять, заменять, отменять |
| thereforeadv за это, поэтому, следовательно |
| tryv разбирать; расследовать; рассматривать |
| ultimateadj последний, окончательный |
| vestv наделять; облекать; пользоваться |
| wholesaleadj оптовый, массовый, в массовом масштабе |
| wrought(used in the past tense only) причинять, вызывать; оказывать действие |
Reading tasks
Answer these questions.
1What are the two main categories of sources of law?
2What category of law prevails in England?
3Is all law which is written defined as ‘written law’?
4Is any ‘unwritten law’ in fact written?
5Is most English law written in a code?
6Is most Continental law generally written or unwritten?
7What are the four sources of English law?
8Who makes legislation in England?
9What is a doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty?
10Can the English courts influence the effect of legislation?
11Has English law developed (1) from fixed general rules? or (2) through
decisions in individual cases?
12How can you characterize the doctrine of the binding case?
13What is the position of the judge in English legal system?
14What are “cases of first impression”?
15In what way do the judges choose precedent?
16Is most English law found in the form of legislation or judicial precedent?
17What are customs?
18Is custom important as a source of law (1) in the history of the law (2) in
England today?
19What is the law relating to the sale of goods?
20Are books of authority more important as a source of law in England or on the Continent?
21What is a tendency concerning books of authority in England in modern times?
Language focus: connectors
Connectors are words like and, so, but, because, which are used to join or connect different pieces of language together. They show relation between what the speaker or writer said before and what they will say next.
Choose the best connector from thus, therefore, for, however, further to complete the following passage.
Judicial precedent
Judicial precedent is of fundamental importance in the English legal system, 1) ________ the principles of the common law, which have developed gradually through case-law over the centuries, are the main source of English law.
The English courts are bound to follow decisions of higher courts in the judicial hierarchy; 2) ________ in many cases they must also follow their own decisions. Decisions of inferior courts, 3) ________, do not have binding force. Decisions concerning the interpretation of statutes are also binding, 4) ________ English lawyers must always refer to case-law even if the facts of the case they are preparing are covered by statute-law and not common-law rules. The law reports are 5) ________ basic works of reference for members of the English legal profession.
Vocabulary tasks
The word LEGAL has the following meanings in Russian:
Юридический
legal person – юридическое лицо
Правовой
legal text – правовой текст
Судебный
legal action – судебный иск