AQA Law A-Level (Paper 1 - The Nature of Law and the English Legal System)

Green Paper

Proposal document for discussion

White Paper

More firm statement of government intent

Bill Stages

1. First Reading (formal) 2. Second Reading (debate) 3. Committee Stage (detailed scrutiny) 4. Report Stage 5. Third Reading 6. House of Lords 7. Royal Assent

Types of Bills

Government, Private Member's, Private, Hybrid

Delegated Legislation

Made by non-Parliamentary bodies under the authority of the Enabling Act.

Types of Delegated Legislation

Statutory Instruments, By-Laws, Orders in Council

Controls

Parliamentary , Judicial

Judicial Precedent

Based on ‘stare decisis’ - “stand by what has been decided”, meaning that similar cases should be decided similarly. It establishes legal principles from previous court decisions.

Key Parts of Judicial Precedent

Ratio decidendi: the legal reasoning or principle behind a judge's decision, which forms binding precedent for future cases.
Obiter dicta: comments made by judges that are not essential to the decision and do not create binding precedent.

Practice Statement (1966)

Supreme Court can depart from its previous decisions when it appears right to do so, allowing for adaptability and change in the law.

Avoiding precedent

Judges may distinguish cases based on different facts or legal principles, allowing them to apply different precedents in similar circumstances without overturning existing law.

Statutory Interpretation

Judges interpret when wording is unclear to determine the legislature's intent and apply the law accurately in specific cases.

Rules of Statutory Interpretation

Literal Rule: Interpretation based on the plain meaning of the words used in the statute.

Golden Rule: Modification of the literal rule to avoid absurd outcomes. (narrow and wide approach; Narrow approach: the court looks for one possible meaning of the words. Wide approach: the court can choose a meaning that avoids an absurd result.
Mischief Rule: Interpretation focused on the law's purpose, aiming to rectify the problem the statute intended to address.
Purpose Approach: Interpretation based on the legislative intent and purpose of the statute.

Cases for the Rules of Statutory Interpretation

Literal Rule: e.g., Whitely v Chappell: The defendant was not guilty as the statute referred to "a person entitled to vote," and a dead person cannot vote.
Golden Rule: e.g., Re: Sigsworth: a son could not inherit from his mother because he had murdered her, preventing an absurd outcome.
Mischief Rule: e.g., Smith v Hughes: interpreted the legislation to address the mischief of soliciting in public places.
Purpose Approach: e.g., Pepper v Hart: allowed reference to Hansard to determine legislative intent.

Criminal Courts and Lay People

Criminal court hierarchy: Magistrates > Crown Court > Court of Appeal > Supreme Court
Magistrates: Try minor offences, issue bail, max 6-month sentence.
Juries (crown court) 12 lay members decide verdict only.
Jury Qualifications: 18-75 years of age, on electoral register, resident in UK 5+ years.

Legal Personnel and Funding

Solicitors: Client contract, legal advice, representation in lower courts.
Barristers: Advocacy in higher courts; works independently or in chambers.
Legal Executive: Specialise in specific legal areas.
Legal Aid: Means- and merit tested; covers criminal and some civil cases.
Problems. Underfunding, complex applications and limited access.

Law and Morality / Justice

Law = rules enforced by the state.
Morality = societal standards of right and wrong.

They often overlap (e.g., murder is morally wrong, and it is against the law), but not always (e.g., adultery (cheating on spouse) isn’t against the law but it is morally wrong.
Hart-Devlin Debate: Should law enforce morality?
- Hart (liberal) law shouldn’t enforce private morality.
- Devlin (conservative) - society needs shared morality.
Justice: fairness and quality; law aims to be just but not always succeeds.