Major Aspects of the British Legal System - Assignment Example

English Legal System By Introduction The Britain current English Legal System rests on three pillars which include the parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law and separation of powers. Actually, the English Legal System has several differing personnel. The following report analyses as well as evaluates the roles of the differing personnel in the current English Legal System. Evidently, the responsibilities for different aspects of the legal system have been vested in various legal personnel and bodies. Some of the legal personnel and bodies in the English Legal System include the ministry of Justice, Lord Chamber, The Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), The Lord Chief Justice, Legal Service Commission and the Lawyers. Similarly, the report will also analyze the structure of the judiciary in the English Legal System. Roles of differing personnel in the current English Legal System The Ministry of Justice Inherently, the work of the Ministry of Justice with regard to the English Legal System includes supporting the judiciary as well as providing legal aid and guidance on the constitutional reforms (Slapper, 2009). In addition, the Ministry of Justice is also responsible for ensuring that there are policies with regard to the civil, family, criminal, and administrative justice system. More importantly, this also includes the Law commission. Moreover, the ministry of justice is supposed to ensure there is adherence to the sentencing policy, as well as provide support to both the courts and the tribunals and make sure that they are fully operational. Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor plays a pivotal role in the English Legal System. This encompasses being a member of the government, as a cabinet minister (Elliott, 2012). Secondly, the Lord Chancellor has a law making role since he is a member of the second legislative chamber the House of Lords. The Lord Chamber also serves as the head of judiciary, together with being a sitting judge and as such the Lord Chamber has the mandate to appoint judges, or recommend judges for appointment. Under the Lord Chancellor, there are superior judges together with inferior judges. The superior judges include the Law Lords, Lords Justice of Appeal, High court Judges who sit in the House of Lords, court of Appeal and High Court respectively. Similarly, the inferior Judges include the Circuit Judges, Recorders, who are full time judges and part-time judges respectively in county court and crown court respectively (Slapper, 2009). More importantly, the District Judges are also part of inferior judges who sit in Magistrates’ Court and county court. The Attorney General Notably, the attorney General serves as a member of government and he is supposed to guide the government on the issues that relates to law. Actually, the attorney general together with the deputy, the solicitor general, is referred to as the Law officers. With regard to the criminal offences, the Attorney general can prosecute and has the mandate to take over the prosecution in case of important cases (Lloyd, 1997). Specifically, by statute the consent of the Attorney General is needed in prosecution of certain offences, which may raise the need for consideration of public policy, are a matter of national security, or the ones that have relations with other states. More importantly, the Attorney General is actually answerable for the Director of Public prosecutions. According to the white paper on Governance of Britain (cm 7170, 2007) the attorney General role is identified as one that is supposed to be renewed in order to cultivate public confidence (Gillespie, 2007). The Director of Public Prosecutions Inherently, the director of public prosecutions acts as the head of the Crown prosecution service. Consequently, the duties of the director of public prosecution which are carried through the crown Prosecution service consist; To takeover all the criminal proceedings, with the exception of certain specified proceedings, that are instituted on behalf of police force Commencement together with conducting criminal proceedings in such a way that to him seems to be of great significance or difficulty or otherwise suitable for proceedings that he may need to institute Taking over the prosecutions that have already commenced, and this includes private prosecutions undertaken. Similarly, the consent of the director of public prosecution is required for prosecution of certain offenses. Crown prosecution service (CPS) Actually, the crown prosecution service was created through the prosecution of offences Act 1985 with two main functions which include; Promoting consistency in the approaches to prosecution Separate the investigative processes from the decisions to prosecute. The Lord Chief Justice In accordance to the constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lord Chief Justice has a number of statutory duties (Slapper, 2011). The duties of the Lord Chief Justice include; Serving as the president of the courts of England and Wales, Serving as the head of Judiciary of England and Wales Serving as the president of the court of appeal in the Criminal division Legal Service Commission The duties of the Legal Service Commission are well defined by Access to Justice Act 1999, and relates to Criminal Defence Service Community Legal Service i. Criminal Defence Service The function of Criminal Defence Service is mainly to ensure that the individuals who get involved in criminal investigations or in any criminal proceedings have access to assistance, advice, along with representation such as the interest of justice may require (Hirschel, 2008). Moreover, criminal legal aid to such persons is supposed to be delivered through the criminal defense service. ii. Community legal service The community legal service promotes of legal services to individuals, for instance providing the necessary information in connection to law and legal services, assisting in resolving or preventing disputes, and providing assistance with regard to the legal proceedings (Hirschel, 2008). Secondly, the community legal service assists individuals to access services that will effectively meet their needs through such ways as within the resources available, as well as priorities set. Lawyers Notably the lawyers are divided into two professions, in England and Wales, that is, the solicitors and barristers (Smith and Bailey 1994). More importantly, the lawyers plays a pivotal role in providing legal services, such as advice, conveyancing, together with representation before the courts, despite the fact that they are not the only source of legal services. Whereas the barristers present a case before the judge and speak in court, the solicitors’ role is mainly to prepare works along with drafting and reviewing legal documents and proving legal advice. Structure of the legal system The structure of the judiciary system in the English Legal System includes the House of Lords, the court of appeal, and the High Court. Inherently, the house of lords is actually the highest court in United Kingdom (Hirschel, 2008). The decision of the House of Lords can only be overturned by the European Court of Human rights or European Court of Justice (ECJ). More importantly, the primary function of ECJ is actually to make sure that the interpretation along with the application of the treaty of Rome 1957 is observed. The treaty of Rome is the European Union founding treaty. Mainly, the ECJ jurisdiction covers the European Union law and Court can hear cases that are brought by the member states or individuals, or any European Union institution, such as the appeals from the House of Lords. Notably, the House of Lords being the most senior appellate court, it is comprised of several Law Lords who hears appeal cases that the court of appeal sends to them. Actually, the Court of appeal decisions is the most authoritative after the House of Lords. Following the court of appeal, the decisions of the High court come next (Bolm, Dickson, and Drewry, 2009). More importantly, the system through which the judges follow the decisions made by the higher courts is referred to as the doctrine of precedent. Judicial precedent can either be classified as binding or persuasive. This has consequently facilitated the development of common law. More importantly, Judges are also responsible of interpreting Acts of Parliament together with secondary legislation. Clearly, the English Legal System contains several distinct systems of justice that can operate internally in accordance to their own procedures (Geoffery, and Andens, 1998). The justice system in the English Legal System includes the civil justice system and the criminal justice system. The English Legal System also contains a number of national regulatory bodies that have powers of making rules and regulations which are binding on the citizen in specific circumstances. The power to make rules is actually conferred by the Act of parliament and therefore the regulatory body is actually an agent of the government (Gibson, 2008). Some of the examples of such regulatory bodies include the Financial Services Authority, the Law society and the Civil Aviation Authority. More importantly, there are also several international institutions whose policies together with rules have become part of national laws. Such policies and rules include the shipping law, use of internet, and the conventions of warfare. Conclusion Evidently, the English Legal System is composed of differing the legal personnel and bodies who include the ministry of justice, Lord Chamber, The Attorney General, The Director of Public Prosecutions, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), The Lord Chief Justice, Legal Service Commission, and the Lawyers. Actually, understanding the role of each legal personnel is inherent in implementation and ‘exchange of potential practitioners’ scheme that will consequently encourage both diversity and the sharing of good practice. References Bolm C., Dickson, B and Drewry, G. (2009). The Judicial House of Lords 1876-2009. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press.  Elliott, C. (2012). English Legal System. Harlow England: Pearson Education.  Geoffery, F. and Andens, T. M. (1998). European Community law in the English courts. Oxford New York: Clarendon Press.  Gibson, B. (2008). The new Ministry of justice : an introduction. Sherfield on Loddon, U.K. Portland, Or: Waterside Press North American distributor, International Specialised Book Services.  Gillespie, A. (2007). The English Legal System. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. Hirschel, J. (2008). Criminal justice in England and the United States. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.  Lloyd, L. (1997). The framework of the English Legal System. London Portland, OR: Frank Cass.  Slapper, G. (2009). The English Legal System. London New York: Routledge-Cavendish.  Slapper, G. (2011). The English Legal System. London New York: Routledge. Smith, P. and Bailey. 1994. The modern English Legal System. London: Sweet & Maxwell Read More