Assignment 1

Introduction
For this assignment you will be required to demonstrate your understanding of the English Legal
System, including the structure of the civil and criminal courts and the roles undertaken by both
professional and lay personnel within the system.

You will therefore be required to

Criteria Criteria
Task Demonstrate that you are able reference attempted
No to.. (please tick)
1 Describe the hierarchy of the civil P1
courts
2 Describe the hierarchy of the criminal P2
courts
3 Explain the differences between the P3
two hierarchies
4 Describe the role of lay people in P4
criminal cases
5 Outline the role of judges and P5
lawyers in civil and criminal cases
6 Compare and contrast the role and M1
function of judges, lawyers and lay
people within the English courts
7 Evaluate the effectiveness of lay D1
people in the English courts
Scenario
Jayne and her boyfriend Jim are unhappy, as in preparation for a forthcoming holiday to Florida,
Jayne purchased an expensive (150) fast tanning cream from Sacks and Shawcross (a national
department store). She applied the cream last night, and her skin has turned red instead of brown
and she has developed an itchy rash over most of her body.
Jayne and Jim go to the store to complain and to seek compensation. The assistant, Derek, is rude
to Jayne and says that there is nothing wrong with the product and it must be that Jayne has
wrongly applied the cream (there were no instructions with the product that recommended the skin
being tested first).
The assistant refuses to refund the purchase price to Jayne, or even to call the manager to deal
with the problem.
Jim becomes infuriated at this and punches Derek in the face and body causing Derek a black eye
and a broken rib. In the commotion that follows, Jayne and Jim leave the store and Jayne steals a
20 bottle of perfume on the way out.
Both Jayne and Jim have now been issued with criminal court proceedings in connection with the
two incidents. Jayne has also consulted a solicitor and is commencing civil proceedings against
Sacks and Shawcross in respect of the faulty tanning product.

Criteria
P1 Task 1
Draw a diagram to show the civil court hierarchy. Include in your diagram the scope
and power of each of the courts.
Criteria
P2 Task 2
Draw a diagram to show the criminal court hierarchy. Include in your diagram the
scope and power of each of the courts.
Criteria
 P3 Task 3
Outline the key distinctions between criminal and civil law. Explain to Jayne and
Jim which of their cases will be civil and which of their cases will be criminal.
Identify which courts are most likely to hear their cases.
Criteria
P4 Task 4
a) Describe the meaning of the term lay people
b) Describe the role played by lay people in the criminal justice system.

Criteria
P5 Task 5
Outline the roles undertaken by:-
a) legal executives,
b) solicitors,
c) barristers and
d) judges
in both civil and criminal cases.

Criteria
M1 Task 6
a) Compare and contrast the roles and functions of both the lay people and lawyers
who will be involved in Jayne and Jims two criminal cases.
b) Compare and contrast with 4a) the roles and functions of both the lay people and
lawyers who will be involved in Jaynes civil case.

Criteria
D1 Task 7
Evaluate the effectiveness of lay magistrates and the jury in the English Criminal
courts by clearly discussing: -

a) The advantages and disadvantages of using lay magistrates in the criminal legal
system compared with full time District Judges (Magistrates Court)
b) The advantages and disadvantages of trial by jury
c) The possible alternatives to trial by jury
Assignment 2
Introduction
For this assignment you will be required to demonstrate your understanding of how laws are
made in the English Legal System. In addition you will show and evaluate how the law is
interpreted and changed.
You will therefore be required to
Task Criteria Criteria Criteria
No reference attempted
(please tick)
1 P6 Explain how precedents are applied in court
2 P7 Describe the process when making an Act of
Parliament
3 P8 Explain the rules of statutory interpretation
4 M2 Compare and contrast the methods of law
making
5 M3 Apply the rules of statutory interpretation
6 D2 Evaluate the role of the judiciary in the
formulation and interpretation of legal rules
Scenario
Jayne and her boyfriend Jim from assignment 1 have finally made it to the airport and are
waiting for a plane to take them to Florida, and away from all their court cases.
Feeling rather hungry, Jim goes to a fast food outlet and buys them both chicken and chips.
They are tucking into the food, when suddenly Jayne extracts from the batter what is obviously
a mouses tail. She is immediately sick and becomes hysterical at the thought of possibly eating
a mouse. She is too ill to catch the plane, and suffers hysteria and stomach problems for weeks
afterwards.
She consults a solicitor for advice on a possible claim against the fast food outlet.

Criteria Describe how precedents are applied in court

P6 Task 1
Jayne has just told you about her misfortune at the fast food outlet. As her solicitor, draft a
letter to Jayne outlining whether you think her claim would be successful.
Include:
a) An explanation of the word precedent
b) A description of how precedents are created, distinguished and used in court
c) A description of the famous precedent that could be used in Jaynes case, what
happened in that famous case, and how it would help Jayne to win her case.

Criteria Describe the process when making an Act of Parliament and outline the rules for statutory
interpretation
P7 Task 2
Jayne is so upset about the mouse incident that she is considering seeing
her Member of Parliament to ask him if he could get a law passed to ensure
that all fast-food outlets who sell contaminated food are fined a minimum
of 1000.
Produce a leaflet explaining to her the process for making an Act of Parliament.
Include:
a) The meaning of an Act of Parliament/Statute
b) A description of the process necessary for a bill to become an
Act of Parliament

Criteria Explain the rules of statutory interpretation

P8 Task 3
 As part of your leaflet for Task 2, include an explanation of.

a) Why statutes need to be interpreted by judges in court and;

b) The three main rules of statutory interpretation

Criteria Compare and contrast the methods of law making

M2 Task 3
Law can be made in a variety of ways.
Acts of Parliament
EU law
Common law (judicial precedent) are all sources of law.

In table form:

Describe each of the above sources of law

Give 2 advantages of each of the sources
Give 2 disadvantages of each of the sources

Criteria Explain the rules of statutory interpretation

M3 Task 4
Sometimes the wording in a statute is ambiguous or confusing, and judges have to decide which
rule of interpretation to apply.

Explain, with case law examples, the three rules of statutory interpretation. Make sure
you include an explanation of at least two cases per rule and explain some of the
advantages and disadvantages of each rule.

Criteria Evaluate the role of the judiciary in the formulation and interpretation of legal rules
D2 Task 5
Case Study
The Justices of the Supreme Court (previously the Law Lords in the House of Lords) are able to
change the law when necessary using the powers granted to them in the Practice Statement of
1966.

Judges are also allowed to use the process of statutory interpretation in court to interpret the
wording of an Act or Parliament.

Both of these powers mean that the judiciary have a role in the formation and interpretation of
legal rules.

Attached to this assignment are two case studies. Read these case studies and use your
knowledge of the English legal system together with independent research to answer the
questions.
Case Study (1)

R v Richards and Gemmell (2003) UK HL 50

Two young boys aged 11 and 12 went camping without their parents approval. They went to the back of the Co-
op in Newport Pagnell, lit some newspapers which set fire to a wheelie-bin which set fire to the shops, causing
1m of damage. They were charged with arson under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. The House of Lords had to
decide the meaning of the word recklessness under the Act. In the case of Caldwell (1981) the House of Lords
had given an objective meaning to the word recklessness deciding that a person could only be guilty if an
ordinary prudent person would have realised that there was a risk. In R v Richards and Gemmell (2003) the
court decided that a persons individual characteristics and age should be taken into account, therefore taking a
subjective meaning to the word recklessness.

They used the Practice Statement to overrule their decision in Caldwell.

(i) Why was the Practice Statement introduced in 1966 and what did it give the judges in the House
of Lords the power to do?

(ii) How have the Law Lords used their powers to change the law under the Practice Statement since
1966? (Use at least 5 case law examples of the Law Lords use of the Practice Statement, to
illustrate your answer).

Case Study (2)

Magor and St Mellons v Newport Borough Council (1952) HL

Lord Denning;
We do not sit here to pull the language of Parliament to pieces and make nonsense of it. We sit here to find
out the intention of Parliament and carry it out and we do this better by filling in the gaps and making sense
of the enactment than by opening it up to destructive analysis

(He was saying that by applying the literal approach to statutory interpretation the intention of Parliament
could be destroyed).

When this case was appealed to the House of Lords, Dennings approach was considered by Lord Simonds
as a naked usurpation of the legislative function under the thin guise of interpretationif a gap is disclosed
the remedy lies in an amending Act

(i) What is the literal approach to statutory interpretation? (use examples from case law to illustrate
your answer)

(ii) What is the purposive approach to statutory interpretation? (use examples from case law to
illustrate your answer)

(iii) What are the arguments for and against judges having the power to make new law and interpret
law in a court?