Sources of Law in England and Wales

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key sources of law in England and Wales, statutory processes, judicial precedent, retained EU law, and human rights frameworks.

Sources of law

The origins and means by which law comes into existence, consisting of eight main forms in England: case law, Acts of Parliament, statutory interpretation, delegated legislation, EU law, custom, equity, and treaties.

Acts of Parliament

The highest form of law in the UK legal systems (also called statutes or primary law), created by Parliament, which prevails over all other legal sources including case law.

White paper

A preliminary government document setting out proposed policies and plans for legislative change before a bill is introduced to Parliament.

Bill

A draft of proposed legislation that must be debated, amended, and passed through several stages in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Royal Assent

The formal agreement given by the monarch that converts a bill agreed upon by both Houses of Parliament into an enforceable Act of Parliament.

Parliamentary sovereignty

The fundamental constitutional principle establishing Parliament as the supreme lawmaker, meaning UK courts lack the authority to conduct constitutional reviews to declare domestic primary legislation invalid.

Delegated legislation

Law created by an external body or individual (often a government department) using law-making authority conferred upon them by Parliament through an Act.

Statutory instrument

The most common form of secondary legislation, drafted by government departments to amend, implement, or update existing laws without passing a new Act.

Natasha's Law

The informal title for the Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019, a statutory instrument requiring pre-packed food labels to detail ingredients and allergens following the fatal allergic reaction of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse.

Henry VIII clauses

Provisions within an Act of Parliament granting government ministers the power to alter or repeal primary legislation using secondary legislation, often with minimal parliamentary scrutiny.

Case law

A primary source of English law (also known as common law or judge-made law) established by judicial decisions interpreting legal principles in court cases.

Stare decisis

The doctrine of judicial precedent in common law systems, meaning 'to stand by decisions,' requiring judges to follow principles established in earlier relevant cases.

Ratio decidendi

A Latin phrase meaning 'the reason for deciding,' denoting the underlying legal principle of a judicial ruling that forms the binding precedent for future cases with similar facts.

Distinguishing

A judicial process where a judge avoids following a precedent by showing that the material facts of the current case differ significantly from those of the earlier case.

Overruling

The decision by a superior court in a separate, subsequent case to discard a legal principle set by an inferior court, ensuring that principle will no longer be followed.

Reversing

The act of an appellate court overturning the decision and legal interpretation of a lower court within the exact same case on appeal.

Synallagmatic contract

A legal term for a bilateral contract, used by Lord Diplock in the Hong Kong Fir Shipping case and famously criticized by another judge as 'gratuitous philological exhibitionism.'

Treaty of Rome (1957)

The international founding treaty that established the European Economic Community (EEC).

Maastricht Treaty (1993)

The international founding treaty that established the European Union (EU).

European Communities Act 1972

The UK statute that facilitated the UK's accession to the European Communities in 1973 and made primary and secondary European law enforceable in domestic courts.

Retained EU law

A category of domestic law created by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 that rolled over existing EU law into the UK legal system following Brexit.

Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023

Legislation taking effect in June 2023 that substituted an automatic sunset clause of retained EU law with a revocation schedule listing approximately 600 pieces of law to be repealed.

European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

An international human rights treaty separate from the European Union that came into force in 1953 and currently has 47 signatories.

Human Rights Act 1998

The UK statute that took effect in 2000, incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into English law so citizens can enforce convention rights in domestic courts.

Declaration of incompatibility

A formal finding made by a UK court under the Human Rights Act 1998 stating that a domestic statute conflicts with a convention right, without invalidating the primary legislation itself.