Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Suggested reading
The main references in the lecture series will be to:
Slapper, G. and Kelly, D., The English Legal System
(London: Cavendish Press, 2004, 7th edition)
Zander, M., Cases and Materials on the English Legal
System (London, Butterworths, 2003, 9th edition)
Smith, A.T.H, Glanville Williams Learning the Law
(London: Sweet and Maxwell, 2002)
Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes
4. Be able to recognise the continued
influence of technical Latin and Law
French terms used in the English
Legal System;
5. Differentiate between substantive and
adjectival laws.
Civil Jurisdiction
A civil wrong must be distinguished from a crime
The main forms of civil wrong dealt with under this jurisdiction are breaches of
obligations usually either contractual or tortious
A civil wrong may also be a criminal offence
Example
Earnest knocks Lady Bracknell over in his car. Lady Bracknell sustains a fracture
to her right leg and minor bruising. Earnest may have committed a crime.
He may also be liable to Lady Bracknell for the injuries that he has caused her,
and may have to pay damages. He could, therefore, be both civilly and
criminally liable for his action or omission
Names of parties
In a civil case the parties are known as the Claimant
and the Defendant
The Claimant is the person who brings the claim
against the Defendant, initiates the proceedings
In older cases you may come across this expressed as
the Plaintiff
The Defendant is so-called because he defends the
claim which the Claimant brings this is the term also
applied in criminal proceedings
Criminal cases
In criminal cases the case is brought by the State in the name
of the Queen
The case will be listed, therefore, as R v Bracknell
The R stands for Regina in Latin
In older cases the prosecution was brought by the police
officer and at an early stage may still be referred to as the
CPS (the Crown Prosecution Service v Bracknell)
The Defendant defends the claim which is brought against
him or her he or she may also be referred to as the accused
Private prosecutions
The prosecution of criminal offences is not the sole
preserve of the State
In some circumstances individuals can bring
private prosecutions
The burden of proof in these remains on the
beyond all reasonable doubt
E.g. See the case concerning Stephen Lawrence
Equity
The court of equity was established in the 14th century
to mitigate some of the harshness of the common law
Originally the King was the dispenser of equitable relief
in his role as the fountain of justice
However, the role was eventually delegated to the Lord
Chancellor, hence areas of law which derive from
equitable jurisdiction are dealt with in the Chancery
division
The Court of Chancery was established by at least 1474
Technical terms
The English Legal System has been influenced by both
the Roman or Civil System of Law
Law French was the language of the Courts following
the Norman Conquest
The influence of these languages remains in phrases
like habeas corpus, ultra vires, autrefois acquit, laches
Woolf reforms eliminated many of the terms used in the
courts for procedure
Summary of lecture
You should now have an appreciation of elementary legal
classifications and be able to explain:
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