General English law. Sources of English law

Man is a social being. That is, it can exist only within the framework of society. Without communication, a person can simply die. At the same time, people's interaction today is not always a framework for banal talk.

Communication in the 21st century is a social relationship of one kind or another. At the same time, this kind of interaction between people must be regulated everywhere. For a lot of time, humanity was looking for the most effective coordinator of public relations. In the process of searching, a large number of different institutions were tried. Violence and religion were the first. Their main problem was the inability to regulate under certain conditions.

For example, violence can only affect weak people, and religion acts on believers. However, the regulator of social relations was still found. They became right. This institute developed so powerfully that in the 21st century it became one of the main ones. But the right has many interesting features. For example, on the whole planet there are several of its varieties, one of which is English law. It is characterized by action in a certain territory, and also has a specific structure and sources.

Law: the general concept

The institution of legal, political, social and other nature always has a concept and a definite structure. English law in this case is a branch of law in its classical form. Thus, in order to correctly study all interpretations of the legal system of the British Isles, it is necessary to consider its starting points. That is, we need to find out what the right is.

This concept has the value of a system of legal norms that are protected and guaranteed by the state, and are also universally binding absolutely for all people. It should be noted that the law in each country manifests itself in the form of a system that, in turn, consists of a legal culture, consciousness and realization.

The main features of law

Any legal phenomenon is characterized by a number of certain characteristics. When we talk specifically about the law, then there are also their own characteristics. For today in the scientific environment there is no uniform approach about the signs of this regulator of social relations. However, there are a number of common features, the existence of which many admit. Taking this into account, we can distinguish the following main features that characterize the law, namely:

• The whole system of norms is a banal set of rules of behavior, with which a large number of people are familiar;
• A universally binding character indicates that the system of norms extends to all and sundry;
• The state guarantees the operation of the law by establishing legal responsibility;
• The right expresses the consciousness and will of people;
• The system of norms is expressed in official state acts.

It should be understood that the presented characteristics are the most classic. That is, they will also be characteristic of any branch of classical law.

English law: concept

So, we found out what the classical kind of legal regulator of public relations is. English law in this case is a system of compulsory standards of England and Wales, which was formed historically and has its own characteristics.

It should be noted that such a legal structure is the basis of many states, for example, the United States, Britain and other countries of the British Commonwealth. English law extended to the territories of all the countries under British control. At the same time, it really works up to today.

History of the origin of the English law

The process of establishing the system of legal norms of the British Isles has a large number of its characteristic features. First of all, it should be noted that the right "in English" was formed far from the European. That is, it did not experience the constant changes that the legal systems of many continental states were subjected to. In addition, English law throughout its existence has adapted to the main needs of society.

The starting point of the British legal system was 1189. It is from this moment that judicial precedents acquire the appearance of a real legal source, and the entire structure as a whole becomes universally binding, and not only civil.

Many historians also argue that the Norman conquest of England had a great influence on the formation of British law.

After all, this nationality has introduced into the territory of the island a huge number of different legal institutions that exist to this day.

Interaction with and influence over other systems

English common law at all times influenced the legal structures of other states. It should be noted that Britain for a long time was one of the largest colonial powers. Thus, in many territories subject to it, English law functioned in its primary form. Even after the collapse of the colonial system, many countries continue to recognize British law as the basis of their legal systems. For example, in Australia courts are actively using the precedents of the relevant British authorities. There are a lot of such examples.

There is also the interaction of national English law with the international industry. At the same time, the British side has a clear position on the application of supranational norms. According to UK law, courts can use international rules only if they are directly spelled out in the internal acts of the state. For example, human rights in English law are governed by the norms of the International Convention on Fundamental Freedoms and the provisions of the Human Rights Act, issued in 1998. In this case, the rules of the last normative document have the advantage.

Branch division of the British legal structure

The English system of law has in its composition a large number of industries. By analogy with the continental legal structures, the branches regulate social relations of one kind or another. Moreover, each of them has a number of its own specific features. For example, English criminal law actually follows from the general system of norms. As for crimes themselves, they have two elements, which, in turn, characterize the objective and subjective features of the committed deed. The main feature of the British criminal industry is the fact that there is no codified act.

There are other legal branches within the British system, for example:

• constitutional law;
• administrative law;
• Labor industry, etc.

Most of all disputes in scientific circles are caused by English civil law. Because its existence in most cases is simply denied.

Specificity of English Civilization

The civil law of England is a non-existent branch. That is, it is not represented in the form in which the inhabitants of our fatherland used to see it. At the same time in the UK there is no traditional division of the legal system into private and public law in general. But civil social relations, of course, are regulated. If you look at the English civilization from the doctrinal side, it also consists of the following classical institutions: property, treaties and delicts.

The right of ownership in English law at all times has been realized specifically. For today it is known that already during the Middle Ages property regulation was flexible enough. This institute already in those distant times was divided into a real and private type. To date, many legal phenomena of civil law exist in an unchanged historical form.

Sources of English law

Like many other provisions of the British legal system, its basis is completely untypical for the continental system sources. Specificity in this case exists for various reasons. For example, a rather large role is played by historical development far from continental trends. After all, English law has always evolved autonomously. He was not influenced by the reception of the ancient Roman legal system.

Thus, the main sources of English law to date are the following sources:

• judicial precedent;
• Acts (laws);
• Customs.

These sources are listed in the order of their legal force. As we can see, the judicial precedent plays a key role in English law.

The precedent is the source of the British system

Judicial practice on the territory of England at all times played out the dominant role. At its core, the precedent is the decision of the supreme body that implements justice, which becomes generally accepted and can be used when considering similar cases.

This key precedent role is conditioned by the very doctrine of English law. According to her, judicial protection is always more important than the legal system itself. In this case, it should also be noted that the decisions of the highest judicial bodies actually have the value of laws. At the same time, it is much more convenient to use them than the norms of official normative acts. After all, the precedent is maximally concretized, in contrast to the norms of laws. The represented source appears from the activities of such instances as the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal and the High Court.

The role of law in English law

Normative acts are the second significant source of the entire British system. In continental countries, laws give rise to law. Translation into English manners significantly changes this principle. In the UK, laws (or statutes, as they are commonly called) are generally accepted by the government on the basis of delegated powers. At the same time, normative acts have a whole system, which also includes subordinate documents. However, the interaction of laws and jurisprudence in England is not easy. In many cases, the norms of the statutes require confirmation and clarification. As mentioned earlier, the norms of laws do not contain the specifics that are inherent in precedents.

Custom and English law

In addition to these main sources of the English legal system, there is also a secondary one. This is a legal custom. In the UK there are two varieties of this phenomenon. The first kind is the constitutional customs. They play a significant role in the process of the whole state. After all, constitutional authorities determine the competence of most government bodies. The second kind is the customs that regulate social relations of a different nature. But here are some features. The fact is that custom in the UK will be recognized if it has an ancient, ancient character. This also largely distinguishes the English system of law from the continental one.

Conclusion

So, we considered the right "in English". This legal system in its classical form has no direct analogues in the world. English law has been effectively regulating the social relations of its society for several centuries in a row. Therefore, many states should note the advantages of such a conservative system for the modernization of their own legal structures.