Legal Systems, EU Law and Public Law: Practice Flashcards

VOCABULARY style practice flashcards covering the English and Welsh legal system, court hierarchy, precedent, statutory interpretation, core institutions of the state, public order law, judicial review, and human rights/EU law as outlined in the April 2025 lecture notes.

Jurisdiction

Refers to either a political entity or geographical location where a particular law applies, or a body or court having the authority or power to settle disputes in a particular area of law.

Common Law System

A legal system, such as that in England and Wales, where both laws made in Parliament (legislation) and rulings made by judges (case law) are important sources and the law develops through precedent.

Civil Law System

A legal system, sometimes called Roman law, where law is codified in documents or legislation, and judges make decisions primarily by reference to these codes rather than prior judicial rulings.

Primary Legislation

Statutes, also known as Acts of Parliament, created directly by Parliament following procedures in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Secondary Legislation

Detailed instruments, orders, and regulations (also known as delegated or subordinate legislation) authorized by Parliament but not directly made by it.

Assimilated law

The term used for pieces of former "retained EU law" that remain following the enactment of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, subject to domestic rules of interpretation.

Equity

A body of law that developed to alleviate the inflexibility and harshness of common law, focusing on fairness and providing alternative remedies like injunctions and specific performance.

Indictable offences

The most serious criminal offences, such as murder and rape, which must be tried in the Crown Court.

Either way offences

Intermediate criminal offences, such as theft and burglary, which may be tried in either the magistrates’ courts or the Crown Court.

Summary offences

The least serious criminal offences, typically tried in magistrates’ courts, such as minor driving offences or shoplifting.

Standard of proof

The degree of certainty needed to prove a case; in criminal cases, it is "beyond reasonable doubt," and in civil cases, it is on the "balance of probabilities."

Burden of proof

The responsibility for meeting the required standard of proof in court; in criminal cases, this lies with the prosecution, and in civil cases, it lies with the party bringing the claim.

Security of tenure

An important principle of judicial independence where senior judges hold office "during good behaviour" and are protected from arbitrary dismissal by the executive until the statutory retirement age of $75$.

Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (CRA)

Legislation that strengthened judicial independence by creating the UK Supreme Court, establishing the Judicial Appointments Commission, and replacing the Lord Chancellor with the Lord or Lady Chief Justice as head of the judiciary.

Superior courts

Courts with unlimited jurisdiction that generally deal with complex or high-value cases, including the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and the Crown Court.

Inferior courts

Courts that deal with cases of lower value or complexity within a specific locality, such as magistrates’ courts and county courts.

Ratio decidendi

The legal principle or proposition of law relied upon by judges to reach a decision; it is the specific part of a judgment that may be binding as precedent.

Obiter dicta

Statements in a legal judgment that are not directly relevant to the facts of the case, such as hypothetical examples, which are persuasive rather than binding.

Stare decisis

A Latin term meaning "stand by what has been decided," which refers to the doctrine of binding precedent.

Distinguishing

A process in which a court finds that the material facts of a case are sufficiently different from a previous precedent, meaning an otherwise binding ratio does not have to be followed.

Parliamentary Sovereignty

A constitutional doctrine holding that Parliament is the supreme legal authority, can make or unmake any law, and cannot be overridden by any person or body, including the courts.

Constitutional conventions

Non-legally binding rules of political custom or behavior that are followed to make the constitution work, such as the monarch granting Royal Assent to all legislation.

Royal prerogative

The residual arbitrary power retained by the monarch that is recognized by common law, currently mostly exercised by or on behalf of the government.

Parliamentary privilege

Legal immunities for Members of both Houses provided to allow them to perform their duties without interference, including freedom of speech and the right to regulate their own affairs.

Literal rule

A rule of statutory interpretation where words are given their plain, ordinary, and natural meaning, even if the results are undesirable or harsh.

Golden rule

A rule of statutory interpretation where the plain ordinary meaning is followed unless it produces an absurdity or inconsistency, allowing a reasonable secondary interpretation to be used.

Mischief rule

A rule of statutory interpretation where courts consider the law that existed before the legislation and the specific problem or "mischief" the Act was intended to address.

Purposive approach

A modern rule of statutory interpretation that requires interpreting legislation to give effect to its intended purpose.

Expressio unius est exclusio alterius

A rule of language in statutory interpretation meaning "to say one thing is to exclude the others," used if a list is intended to be exhaustive.

Noscitur a sociis

A rule of language in statutory interpretation meaning a word is "known by the company it keeps," where meanings are constructed from the surrounding context.

Ejusdem generis

A rule of language meaning "of the same type," where general words following a specific list are interpreted as being of the same class.

Judicial Review

The mechanism by which courts exercise supervisory jurisdiction to scrutinize the legality and process of decisions made by bodies exercising public power.

Standing

The requirement that an applicant for judicial review must be affected by the decision or belong to an organization with sufficient interest in the issue.

Quashing order

A judicial review remedy that overturns an unlawful decision, rendering it null and requiring the decision-maker to remake it.

Mandatory order

A court order in judicial review that requires the defendant to fulfill a specific duty required by law.

Wednesbury unreasonableness

A standard of irrationality in judicial review where a decision is so unreasonable that no reasonable body could have made it.

Declaration of incompatibility

A statement issued by a senior court under Section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 when primary legislation is found to be incompatible with Convention rights.

Direct applicability

An EU law principle where legislation becomes part of the law of member states automatically upon being passed by the EU, without needing domestic implementing legislation.

Direct effect

An EU law principle allowing individuals to plead and rely on certain EU provisions directly in domestic courts.