Legal Jurisdictions of the United Kingdom - Essay Example

SECTION A: Introduction The United Kingdom has three distinct legal jurisdictions: England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. ‘English Law’ is the name given to the law implemented in England and Wales and refers to the legal system administered by the courts in England and Wales. “English Law” has an evolving history starting from the local traditions of the Anglo-Saxons times in the fifth century and culminating in the modern approaches where continental laws are gaining importance. The main sources of English Law are as follows: Court Laws: Court Laws are rules made by the decisions of the judges in history. Following chronological common law and equity law courts are major sources in making “English Criminal and Civil Laws”: The Shire Court The Hundred Court The Franchise Court In 1066, William of Normandy introduced feudal system in England with side by side existing Saxon’s Shire Courts with following key changes: The King Council or Central Government was established Feudalism was introduced Lay Courts and Church Courts were separated Canon Laws were shaped for Church Courts Equity: In 1215, the King Council’s came into power. He introduced Equity which formed the basis of a new source for English Law. The purpose of equity was to look for natural justice where traditional legal sense failed to deliver justice. Following Royal courts were formed for this purpose: The Court of Exchequer that dealt with methods of accounting and disputes over taxation etc. The Court of Common Pleas that handled the disputes related to land. The Court of King’s Bench that deals with both the civil and criminal matters. Legislation: For centuries the highest legal authority in the United Kingdom was the Parliament or more precisely the House of Lords. This situation has changed in the recent times though. Under the Constitutional Reforms Act 2005, the Supreme Court of United Kingdom is created which is now the highest legal authority in the country. It is also the highest level of appeal in the United Kingdom. .1 (F. A. Inderwick) European Law: United Kingdom joined European community – now knows as European Union- in 1973 and since then European Law has a profound impact on English Law. First, the Communities Act 1972 made it binding for the English courts to follow its decision on matter of community law. Then, the Human Rights Act 1998 asked English courts to have regard of decisions made by European court of Human Rights. This process of development is still in process. SECTION B: Introduction “Natural Law” is based upon a set of principles which are set by nature and therefore have universal legitimacy and wide acceptance. “Equity” or “Justice” is believed to alleviate the strictness of “English Common Law” by allowing courts to use their good judgment and apply justice in accordance with “Natural Law”. According to Hobbes, there are nineteen laws of nature. 2 (Thomas Hobbes) Equity looked to follow these natural laws in order to seek justice. The Court of Chancery originated in Norman or Kings Council. It is also called the “Court of Equity” in England and Wales. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, property law and the administration of the assets etc. Importance of Equity Normally, following principles are applied by the courts of equity: “Equity” is used as and when needed. “Equity” believes in equality. Party who seeks equity must have to do equity. Delay defeats equity which means once a party knows they have been wronged they must have to mend their ways swiftly in order to preserve their rights. Party coming to Equity court must be with clean hands. Clean hands does not mean that a person with wrong deeds cannot obtain the aid of equity but it means the person with wrong deeds must not come to enforce his unlawful wishes. For example, a man killed his grandfather to get his inheritance quickly so under equity he lost his right to inheritance. 3 (Riggs v. Palmer) “Equity” is mainly to overcome the results of stringent rules of “English Common Law”. Below are few issues that could be raised, if “Equity” was not followed side by side with “English Common Law”: The strict and inflexible nature of “Common Law” did not permit oral evidences that had sometimes mislead the cases and resulted in false decisions. The English common law had become something sacred and written. The result was that the English law became rigid, and not to be slightly altered to meet up recently arising conditions. There were a few pre-defined ways to deal with cases. If a case fell within the domain of a particular writ the plaintiff got the relief otherwise he was refused because law did not have room for providing him the relief. 4 (Albert H. Putney) Conclusion Opening of Equity Jurisprudence has overcome the rigidity of “English Common Law”, helped the parties needing relief and ultimately provided enough justice to human beings according to “Natural Law” policies. Bibliography Albert H. Putney: "Popular Law Library Vol1 Introduction to The Study Of Law Legal History" F. A. Inderwick: A Historical Sketch of the English Law Courts Riggs v. Palmer, 115 N.Y. 506 (1889) Thomas Hobbes: The Natural Law Tradition Read More