The Law in Great Britain

The set of rules by which a state regulates the behaviour of its members is called the law. The law determines the way in which individuals or groups behave towards one another. For instance, they must not kill each other. The law also sets out how they must behave in relation to the state – paying taxes, for example.

Laws in England and Wales have their origins deep in history and are administered by a range of judges and courts. British law comes from two main sources: laws made in Parliament (usually drawn up by government departments and lawyers), and Common Law, which is based on previous judgments and customs. Just as there is no written constitution, so England and Wales have no criminal code or civil code and the interpretation of the law is based on what has happened in the past. The laws which are made in Parliament are interpreted by the courts, but changes in the law itself are made in Parliament.

Custom, or common law, is based on common practices going back many centuries. Judges were appointed to implement laws that applied in common to everyone. As the judges applied these laws they interpreted and amended them in the courts. Their decisions on cases were recorded and set examples or precedents which were binding on all the lower courts. This source of law is called case law.

The second source of law is statute, which means law passed by Acts of Parliament. In an average year Parliament passes between 70 and 100 acts.

The administrative machinery of the law is divided into two branches. One deals with criminal law, the other with civil law.

Criminal law involves acts which are considered harmful to society as a whole, such as murder. A person found guilty of such crimes is punished, with sentences ranging from small fines for offences considered petty to long periods in prison for acts considered serious, such as armed robbery.

Civil law deals with disputes between people or bodies. These disputes are not criminal because they are not considered harmful to society as a whole. For example, a landlord may go to court in an attempt to evict a tenant.

The language used in these two branches of law differs, to distinguish them. In criminal cases, the person facing charges (the defendant) is prosecuted, usually by the state. In civil cases one private individual or body usually sues another.