The English common law system is one of two major legal systems in the world.

Developed in
medieval England somewhere in mid-12th century, it has become a huge influence in many parts of
the world. With the emergence of Parliament as the supreme law-making body, statutes of
Parliament prevailed over common law principles if at all they came into conflict. What are the main
sources of law today? (25 marks)

Law is made by the state or government and is backed up by consequences for those who do

not follow these rules. In English Law, source of a rule is relevant in determining both its significance

and whether it might take precedence over a rule from another source. This question requires an

explanation of the main sources of law today.

Starting off with one of the four principal sources of law, law made by Parliament is referred

to as ‘legislation’, ‘statute law’ or Acts of Parliament. It is primarily codified law and has to go

through the legislative process. The first stage is called the first reading. It will be read out by the

member of the Lords in charge of the Bill and no debate will take place. After being formally

introduced, the bill will be printed. The next stage is second reading. The members will start to

debate in this stage about the amendments that are needed or raise their concerns regarding the

bill. After this stage, it will be committee stage. This is basically a more detailed version of second

reading. The members of the House will examine line by line of the bill until the end of the Bill.

During this process, every clause of the bill has to be agreed before moving to the next detail.

Report stage will take place after this. The examination will continue and then move to the third

reading. Members will be concentrating on making sure there will be no loopholes in the eventual

effective law. If the bill started in the Lords, it goes to the House of Commons for its first reading.

The Commons reprints the bill with the Lords amendments. If the bill began in the Commons, it is

sent back after third reading in the Lords for consideration of Lords amendments, or, if there have

been no amendments in the Lords, is sent to the monarch for Royal Assent. The Bill became law

after receiving Royal Assent.

departments but with the authority of Parliament. That authority is usually laid down in a parent

Act. It lays down main framework of the law and delegates the power to other to make more

detailed law. The three types of delegated legislation are orders in council, statutory instruments

and by-laws. Orders in Council is approved by the Privy council and signed by the Queen. It is

generally used in times of emergency and to transfer ministerial responsibility. Statutory

instruments are used to provide the necessary detail that would be considered too complex to

include in the body of an Act. By-laws are made by local authorities, public and nationalized bodies

to cover matters within their own area or jurisdiction. They have to be approved by central

government.

The second main source of law that will be discussed is law decided in courts. It is normally

referred to as ‘common law’ or ‘case law’. Due to the non-specific nature of statutes, as it has to

accommodate a wide range of circumstances, judges have to interpret the will of Parliament. Courts

exercise their judicial function of statutory interpretation and when interpreting legal reasoning of

previous cases. This action is called judicial interpretation. These legal principles are derived from

actual legal disputes in court. The primacy of these principles depends on the source. Decisions of

courts in the higher hierarchy will be binding on the lower courts. Between case laws and legislation,

legislation will prevail due to parliamentary supremacy.

The third main source of law is EU laws as a result of UK being a member of the EU.

However, due to the recent updates of the Brexit, EU legislation is applied to the UK on 31

December 2020 is now a part of UK domestic legislation, under the control of the UK's Parliaments

and Assemblies. EU law still prevails in any conflicts with domestic law.
 The fourth main source of law is European Convention of Human Rights. These are Articles

of human rights or Convention rights to protect fundamental human rights. The purpose of this law

is to protect the human rights of people in countries that belong to the Council of Europe. Examples

of these laws are Art 2 right to life, Art 3 freedom from torture, degrading treatment, Art 6 right to a

fair trial. The vertical direct effect of ECHR concerns the relationship between individuals and

member states. Meanwhile, the horizontal effect concerns the relationship between individuals and

individuals, for example private corporations. This source of law is incorporated into UK law from the

passing of the Human Rights Act 1998. Section 2 of the ECHR requirement for UK courts to take into

account the precedents of the ECtHR. Section 3 of the ECHR stated that UK court must interpret

national laws as far as it is possible, to be compatible with Convention rights by virtue of Ghaidan v

Mendoza. Section 4 of ECHR applies when Section 3 fails to find a compatible interpretation, court

may make a Declaration of Incompatibility (DOI). DOI does not affect the validity of the legislation.

In studying the operation of the legal system – we need to recognize which rules are regarded as

‘law’ and how important one rule is over the other. This is why it is important to understand sources

of laws.