English Legal System
By John Wheeler
July 2002
Longman / Pearson Education
ISBN: 0-582-42405-4
417 Pages
$72.50 paper original
This is an accessible introductory textbook that covers the topics required on most English legal system courses that form part of an LLB degree program. It should also prove useful to students taking law electives as part of a business studies program at undergraduate and at postgraduate level. The text provides a framework for understanding how the various elements comprising the legal system combine, interrelate and function at a time of considerable change and challenge.
In particular, the pervasive effect of the Human Rights Act 1998 and its growing influence on English law is a recurring theme throughout the book. By way of innovation, a section has been devoted to assist with the acquisition of some basic legal research skills. A companion website provides links to the websites mentioned throughout the book and this will make it possible for periodic updates to be made to the content.
English Legal System is structured in four Parts. Part One covers the organization and structure of the legal profession, the courts, the magistracy and the judiciary. Part Two examines the law-making processes in the form of judicial precedent, primary and subordinate legislation. The impact of European Union law on the system and the interpretation of both European and UK legislation are also considered. Part Three opens with an overview of the new arrangements for resourcing legal services and goes on to describe the criminal justice system and the reformed civil justice system.
This Part also deals with the growing importance of alternative forms of dispute resolution including arbitration and there is a substantial chapter on judicial review. Part Three concludes with a discussion of the Law Commission's role in the on-going process of law reform. Part Four contains two chapters on the acquisition of some basic skills in legal research for students new to the study of law. There is a comprehensive index together with tables of cases and statute law.
John Wheeler MA LLM BSc ACIB Cert Ed is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Surrey Roehampton. CWS logo
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