English law and the legal system
English law and the legal system of England and Wales is the basis of many ‘common law’ legal systems throughout the world
English law falls into two categories:
- Criminal law – offences relating to persons or property that affect the whole community. A criminal case is called a prosecution.
- Civil law – wrongs relating to conflicts between individuals within the community. A civil case is called an action or a claim.
Where does English law originate?
The rules governing civil and criminal law come from three sources:
- Common law (also known as case law) – made by judges, evolved over centuries from the judgment of cases appearing before the courts. These judgments set precedents against which future cases are judged
- Legislation – which includes statutes and Acts of Parliament
- European Community (EC) Law – which is binding in all UK legal systems.
Conflicts between laws
Conflicts which sometimes arise between common law and legislation are dealt with by the courts, and legislation takes priority.
Where EC law conflicts with national law, the UK courts are required to apply the EC law or to interpret national law to fit in with EC law.
