ACCA LW GLO Chapter 1: Politics, Legal Systems, and International Law

Vocabulary flashcards covering key political systems, legal systems, common vs civil vs Sharia law, statutory interpretation rules, international organisations, and alternative dispute resolution from ACCA LW GLO Chapter 1.

Dictatorship

A political system where a dictator runs the country and individual freedom may be heavily regulated.

Democracy

A political system where an elected body or elected government runs the country.

Planned Economy

An economic system where the government makes the decisions and choices that direct the economy, such as setting prices and directing resource usage.

Law

The body of rules under which society operates, usually understood in local rather than global terms.

Separation of Powers

The constitutional principle dividing government powers into three separate branches: legislature, executive, and judiciary.

Legislature

The primary law-making body in a state.

Executive

The branch of government that implements the law, bringing it into effect.

Judiciary

The branch of government consisting of judges and courts that interprets the law and decides questions arising in disputes.

Judicial Review

A court procedure checking whether a public body had authority and followed proper procedures, normally initiated when an individual claims a body acted illegally or ultra vires.

Ultra Vires

Acting outside or beyond one's legal powers.

Criminal Law

A form of public law addressing conduct the State disapproves of and seeks to control by enforcing particular behavior through punishment.

Civil Law

Private law involving relationships between individuals, aiming to settle disputes and provide legal remedies such as financial compensation.

Claimant

The person who brings a civil legal case seeking a remedy.

Prosecution

The State side bringing a criminal case in the name of the Crown.

Beyond Reasonable Doubt

The standard of proof required to establish guilt in a criminal case.

Balance of Probabilities

The standard of proof required to establish liability in a civil case.

Binding Precedent

An earlier legal decision based on a proposition of law with materially similar facts from a court with power to bind, which must be followed by the relevant court.

Persuasive Precedent

A previous court decision that may influence or guide a judge but does not have to be followed.

Delegated Legislation

Secondary law created by another body authorized by Parliament to save Parliamentary time.

Literal Rule

A rule of statutory interpretation where judges apply the ordinary dictionary meaning of words, even if the result is undesirable (illustrated by Fisher v Bell).

Golden Rule

A rule of statutory interpretation used if the literal meaning yields an absurd result or multiple meanings, preferring the meaning that avoids absurdity (illustrated by Adler v George).

Mischief Rule

A rule of statutory interpretation where law is interpreted to provide a remedy for the specific problem or defect the statute was intended to prevent (illustrated by Gorris v Scott).

Purposive Rule

A rule of statutory interpretation where judges consider what Parliament intended the law to achieve (illustrated by Gardiner v Sevenoaks RDC).

Ejusdem Generis

A statutory interpretation rule stating that general words take the same kind or class as the specific words preceding them (illustrated by Powell v Kempton Park Racecourse Co).

Expressio Unius Exclusio Alterius

A statutory interpretation rule stating that if a statute gives a list of what is covered, items not listed are treated as excluded.

Common Law System

A legal system developed in England between 1066 AD and 1400 AD based on judge-made judicial precedent, equity, and statutes.

Civil Law System

A legal system historically developed from Roman law based on comprehensive written codes where judges generally apply general principles rather than interpret law.

Sharia Law

Law based in the religion of Islam, described as given by Allah and the divine way ordained for mankind.

Quran

Allah's divine revelation to Prophet Mohammed, forming a primary source of Sharia law.

Sunnah

An accepted course of conduct in Sharia law derived from sayings of the prophet, known as Ahadith.

Taqlid

The Sharia legal theory that the law has already been interpreted sufficiently in the past and does not require further interpretation.

Ijtihad

Historic processes and legal methods used by a qualified person (Mujtahid) for interpreting Sharia law.

Qiyas

A method of Ijtihad involving comparing two things to evaluate one in light of the other, such as extending the Quranic ban on alcohol to illegal drugs.

Riba

An unjustified increment in borrowing or lending money, paid in money or kind above the original amount of the loan.

Public International Law

Law recognized by a group of nations, consisting of conventions, treaties, international custom, and general principles of law.

Private International Law

National or domestic rules used to determine jurisdiction and applicable law in international contracts, as well as foreign judgment enforcement.

Conflict of Laws

A situation occurring when parties from different legal jurisdictions interact and their legal rules conflict, producing different outcomes.

UNCITRAL

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law; established in 1966 by the UN General Assembly to harmonise and unify international trade law.

ICC

International Chamber of Commerce; an organization created by business leaders to promote international trade, investment, open markets, and free capital flow.

WTO

World Trade Organisation; formed in 1995 from GATT (which existed from 1948) to assist the free flow of trade and administer international trade rules.

OECD

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; an organisation of 38 member countries serving as a forum for developing economic and social policies.

UNIDROIT

International Institute for the Unification of Private Law; an independent inter-governmental organization with 61 member states that harmonises private commercial law.

ICJ

International Court of Justice; the UN court consisting of 15 judges serving nine-year terms that settles disputes between states and gives legal advice to international bodies.

ICA

International Court of Arbitration; a body created by the ICC to oversee aspects of arbitration, appoint arbitrators, and approve arbitral awards.

Arbitration

An alternative dispute resolution procedure where parties refer an issue to a third party for resolution outside of ordinary court proceedings.