Judges and the law 2 of 59 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/people-politics-law/the-law/judges-and-the-law/content-section-0?utm_source=openlearnutm_campaign=olutm_medium=ebook Friday 5 July 2019 About this free course This free course provides a sample of Level 1 study in Law www.open.ac.uk/courses/find/law. This version of the content may include video, images and interactive content that may not be optimised for your device. You can experience this free course as it was originally designed on OpenLearn, the home of free learning from The Open University – www.open.edu/openlearn/people-politics-law/the-law/judges-and-the-law/content-section-0 There you’ll also be able to track your progress via your activity record, which you can use to demonstrate your learning. 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Head of Intellectual Property, The Open University The Open University 3 of 59 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/people-politics-law/the-law/judges-and-the-law/content-section-0?utm_source=openlearnutm_campaign=olutm_medium=ebook Friday 5 July 2019 Thanet Press Limited, Margate, Kent Contents Introduction 6 Learning Outcomes 7 1 The role of the courts and the judiciary 8 2 Part A Historical development of the common law 9 2.1 The history of the common law 9 2.2 Use of language 11 2.3 Summary of Part A 13 Part B Precedent 14 3.1 Introduction 14 3.2 The hierarchy of the courts 14 3.3 Structure of the court system in England and Wales 15 3.4 Binding precedent 27 3.5 Summary of Part B 32 4 Part C Accurate law reporting 33 4.1 Introduction 33 4.2 Tyes of reports 33 4.3 Summary of accurate law reporting 38 4.4 Summary of Part C 38 5 Part D The need for statutory interpretation 39 5.1 Reasons for unclear meaning 39 5.2 Summary of Part D 40 6 Part E The rules of statutory interpretation 41 6.1 Introduction 41 6.2 The literal rule 41 6.3 The golden rule 42 6.4 The mischief rule 43 6.5 The purposive approach 43 6.6 Rules of language 45 6.7 Intrinsic aids 45 6.8 Extrinsic aids 45 6.9 Summary of Part E 46 7 Part F Common law, equity and statute law 48 7.1 Equity 48 7.2 Statute law and common law 49 7.3 Summary of Part F 51 8 Part G Common law and civil law systems 52 8.1 The differences between common law and civil law systems 52 8.2 Summary of Part G 53 9 Part H Consolidation 54 4 of 59 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/people-politics-law/the-law/judges-and-the-law/content-section-0?utm_source=openlearnutm_campaign=olutm_medium=ebook Friday 5 July 2019 Conclusion 57 Keep on learning 58 References 58 Acknowledgements 59 5 of 59 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/people-politics-law/the-law/judges-and-the-law/content-section-0?utm_source=openlearnutm_campaign=olutm_medium=ebook Friday 5 July 2019 Introduction Introduction This course considers the way that judges make law, how the common law system works and the advantages and disadvantages of a system like the British one that relies heavily on such rules and rule making. The course will set out the basic differences between ‘civil code’ systems and ‘common law’ systems, and consider the relationship between judge- made law and statutory law. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of Level 1 study in Law. 6 of 59 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/people-politics-law/the-law/judges-and-the-law/content-section-0?utm_source=openlearnutm_campaign=olutm_medium=ebook Friday 5 July 2019 Learning Outcomes After studying this course, you should be able to: ● understand what is meant by a common law system ● demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of what is meant by the common law and how its rules are made and changed ● discuss how a precedent can be altered or avoided ● identify the ratio decidendi and obiter dictum of a court case ● read and analyse legal materials (cases, statutes and academic commentary). 1 The role of the courts and the judiciary 1 The role of the courts and the judiciary This course will explore the role of the courts and the judiciary in England and Wales. The English legal system is often referred to as a ‘common law’ legal system. Before medieval times the law in what we now call Great Britain was largely regional. Different regional kingdoms had different law. Over time, the same law was applied by judges across the single kingdom established after 1066 and so became common to all parts of the country. This was known as ‘the common law’. (The common law is a system that is followed in many countries – Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand and the USA, to name but a few – but we will concentrate on its development in England and Wales.) This means that many of our primary legal principles have been made and developed by judges (rather than by Parliament) from case to case in what is called a system of precedent, where the lower courts are bound to follow principles established by the higher courts in previous cases. The common law (or judge-made law) is at least as important to us as the law made by Parliament. For example, there is no Act of Parliament telling us that murder is a crime; it is a common law crime which has been refined over the centuries by judges. Another important role played by the judiciary is that of statutory interpretation. Whilst the meaning of law in a statute should be clear and explicit, this is not always achieved. Many cases come before the courts because there is a dispute over the meaning of a word in a statute. For example, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 contains the phrase ‘any dog of the type known as the pit bull terrier’ but it did not say whether ‘type’ meant the same as ‘breed’. In order to assist with the interpretation of statutes the judiciary have developed a number of rules: the literal rule, the golden rule, the mischief rule and the purposive approach. They all take slightly different approaches and the judiciary do not always agree on which approach should be used, so the interpretation of a statute may depend on the judge hearing the case. Once that interpretation has been made, however, it may form a precedent for later cases. Finally, this course will examine how the common law system works, the basic differences between ‘civil code’ (continental) systems and ‘common law’ systems, and the advantages and disadvantages of the common law system that relies heavily on rules and rule making. This course will set out to explore the role of the judiciary in the law-making process by examining the historical origins of common law, the system of precedent and the rules of statutory interpretation.