Common Law Reasoning

What are the source of law? Illustrate your answer byreffering to adequate cases, journal articles and/or othermaterials.

Introduction

Legal systems are there to determine what will happen

when people have disputes. Legal rules are also there so

people can order their lives in such a way as to avoid such

disputes.1 English law is the legal system of England and

Wales, and the basis of common law legal systems in the

Republic of Ireland, Commonwealth countries and the United

States of America. “No civilization would ever have been

possible without a framework of stability. To provide the

wherein for the flux of charge. Foremost among the stabilizing

factors, more enduring than customs, manners and traditions

are the legal systems that regulate our life in the world and

our daily affairs with each other.”2

1) Primary Source of Law

1 Reference to: English Legal System in context (2nd edn. Butterworth, 2000, p6) by FCownie and A Bradney.2 Reference to: Hannah Arendt quote, (German Philosopher and Political scientist. 1906-1975).

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i) Common Law

Before the Norman Conquest 1066, there was no system of

law uniform to the country as a whole. Customary laws are

formed according to the local customs in different area of the

country. There was no any central law to govern the people;

instead they just practise their own custom. William the

conqueror, wanted to standardise the law that applicable

throughout the country. There are judges known as the

‘itinerant justices’ which are the representatives of the King

were travelled throughout the country to adjudicate the

disputes according to the local customary law.3 The justices

will return to London once a while to discuss their experience

and select the best local customs and this developed a uniform

rule which is applied throughout the whole country. This then

emerge the concept of common law, which is the law common to

all people. There are mainly two types of sources of law,

namely primary source and secondary source.

ii) Equity

3 Reference to: E Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the Country of Kent: Volume 1 (Institute of Historical Research, 1797) p229-231.

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The birth of equity is due to the shortcoming and defects

of common law as it was formed to fill in the lacuna in the

common law.4 It is a venerable group of rights and procedures

to provide fairness, unhampered by the narrow strictures of

the old common law or other technical requirements of the law.5

Today, although equity and the common law are implemented by

the same courts, the two branches of the law are separated.

Whenever a conflict is occurred, equity still prevails. This

is because equity developed maxims to ensure that decisions

made are morally fair, i.e. ‘equity is equality’, ‘equity

looks to the intention and not the form’, ‘equity acts in

personam’ etc.6 Besides that, equity also provides additional

remedies such as injunction, specific performance and

rescission.7

4 Reference to: R H Binns and J Martin, Unlocking the English Legal System (3rd edition, Hodder Education, 2010), pg.5-6, 1.4.2 Development of equity5 Reference to: Gerald and K.Hill, Law.com “Legal Terms and Definition” URL: http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=646 accessed 2 March 2014.6 Reference to: R H Binns and J Martin, Unlocking the English Legal System (3rd edition, Hodder Education, 2010), pg.6-7, Maxims of equity. This refer to one of the ways in which equity was able to plug the gaps of the common lawwas by using guidelines called maxims of equity. One of the better-known maxims is ‘He who comes to equity must come with clean hands’, this means that equity will not assist a party who has acted in bad conscience…. 7 Reference to: R H Binns and J Martin, Unlocking the English Legal System (3rd edition, Hodder Education, 2010), pg.7. Equitable remedies. This states that equity created not only new rights,…but also new remedies…equity recognised the limits of the usefulness of money as an award and developed,among others…

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Common Law and Equity

Common Law and equity are found by judges in cases. It is

submitted that the main purpose of equity is to remedy the odd

pronouncements of common law and it provides a gloss to the

common law system.8 Although it doesn’t replace common law,

there are times where two different jurisdictions conflicted,

as seen in the case of Earl of Oxford’s Case.9 James I settled the

situation: where the two jurisdictions conflicted, equity was

to prevail. When the ‘Judicature Act 1873-75’ was passed, the

jurisdiction of common law and equity had been merged and

there would no longer be separate courts administering equity

and common law.

iii) Case Law

8 Reference to: Lawyers.com.au, ‘The Difference between Common Law and Equity’URL: http://www.lawyers.com.au/legal-articles/difference-between-law-and-equity/accessed on 2 March 2014.9 Reference to: Earl of Oxford’s Case (1616) 1 Rep Ch 1. The common law judges refused to recognise the interest of a beneficial owner of a trust while the Chancery judges threatened to imprison the trustees unless they recognised that same interest.

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Case law is a mass of judge-made decisions which lay down

rules to be followed in future court cases. It is very

important today because for centuries case law have been the

main form of law. This is evidenced when cardinal foundation

of various core subject being taught in the course, i.e. law

of tort; modification of the Reynold Defence for defamation

under Defamation Act 2013, company law; codification of

director’s duty in part 10 of Companies Act 2006, and etc. was

found under common law principle. As Smith, Bailey and Gunn in

their book had noted common law as a number of "distinct

sources of law that exist within such a system"10.

Case law is the set of existing rulings which have made

new interpretations of law and, therefore, can be cited as

precedent.11 In most countries, including most European

countries, the term is applied to any set of rulings on law

which is guided by previous rulings, for example, previous

decisions of a government agency - that is, precedential case

law can arise from either a judicial ruling or a ruling of

10 Reference to: The Modern English Legal System, S Bailey and Gunn(5th edition, Sweet and Maxwell, 2007), pg. 5.11 Reference to: Gerald and K Hill, Law.com ‘Legal Terms and Definition’ URL : http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=148 accessed 1 March 2014.

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adjudication within an executive branch agency.12 Even so, on

times of necessity, the courts have the power to do any option

like: follow, overrule, distinguish and reverse.13 However it

is rather strange for the People Republic of China since their

judiciary are lack of the system of precedent.14

Sometimes foreign legal materials may play a role both in

the heuristic phase of the judicial deliberations and in the

phase of the legitimising of the decision through the court's

reasoning.15 When they have a legal obligation to take these

sources into account and when they consider that, even in the

absence of an obligation to do so, taking account of foreign

legal sources could be useful.16

Judicial Precedent

12 Ibid.13 Reference to: the three exception in Young v. Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd [1944] KB 718 Court of Appeal.14 Reference to Guangdong Xu, Tianshu Zhou, Bin Zeng, and Jin Shi, Directors’ duties in China , (2013), 14(1) E.B.O.R. 57, p73.15 Reference to: B Markesinis & J Fedtke, ‘Judicial Recourse to Foreign Law’,(Abingdon 2006), pg. 7-46. Normative frameworks for judicial decision-making generally allow judges a considerable amount of discretion regardingthe sources which they take into account.16 Reference to: Camb. Law J., 70 [2011], pp 420-450 at 421.

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The doctrine of judicial precedent lies at the heart of

the English Legal System and is based on stare decisis, it simply

means that the court is bounded by the previous legal

principle decided in a higher court or and has to be followed

in certain other courts. In the case of Donoghue v Stevenson

[1932], the House of Lords held that a manufacture owed a duty

of care to the consumer.17 It was then followed in Grant v

Australian Knitting Mills [1936] since there are similar cases.18

When a judge is delivering a judgement, they will set out

their reason for reaching a decision; this is known as the ratio

decidendi as any rule of law treated by the judges as an

essential step in reacting his decision had been regarded to

the line of reasoning adopted by himself.19 This is the part of

judgement that forms binding precedent for future cases.

On the other hand, obiter dicta simply means that remarks of

a judge which are not necessary to reaching a decision, but

are made as comments, illustrations or thoughts, e.g. in case

of R v Howe & Bannister [1987], the court held that the defence

should not be available to one who attempts murder, the judge

17 Reference to: Donoghue v Stevenson[1932] AC 562.18 Reference to: Grant v Australian Knitting Mills [1936] AC 85.19 Reference to: e-lawresources.co.uk, ‘Judicial Precedent’, URL: http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Judicial-precedent.php accessed on 1 March 2014.

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then choose whether they want to follow the previous decision

made.

Binding precedent must be applied in a later case even it

is wrongly decided but the course material facts must be

similar, such as in the case of Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Lincoln City

Council (1998).20 However, persuasive precedent means precedent

which a judge is not obliged to follow, but is of importance

in reaching a judgment as in the case of R v R [ 1991]21, it

opposed to a binding precedent.

iv) Legislation

a) Domestic Legislation or Act of Parliament or Statute

Statute, also known as Act of Parliament, which is some

of the founding origin of the English Legal System, are law

made by Parliament that consists of the House of Commons, the

20 Reference to: Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Lincoln City Council (1998) 4 All ER513 House of Lords. An old established rule of contract law that if the parties to an agreement based upon a mistake as to what the law was they are still bound by the contract: a mistake as to law was of no effect. However, if the parties made a mistake about the facts then in some circumstances the contract would not be binding. Although this distinction had seemed rather illogical, it was not until 1998 that the H of L decided,by a majority of 3-2, to abolish this rule about mistakes in law.21 Reference to: R v R [1991]UKHL 12. The Court of Appeal  decided that a man could be guilty of raping his wife and the House of Lords followed the same legal reasoning and agreed with the Court of Appeal's decision although the House of Lords being higher in the hierarchy than the Court ofAppeal were not bound to follow the decision.

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House of Lords and the Monarch.22 Although statute came late,

in the case of Proclamation, it was held that only the

Parliament can prohibit an offence and not the King of United

Kingdom.23 Not only that, its authority and sovereignty had

ensured that the Parliament is always above the common law

system. The Act of Settlement24 was later passed by the

Parliament which recognised the autonomy of the judiciary

after the “Glorious Revolution in 1688 to 1689”25.

22 Reference to: e-lawresources.co.uk, ‘Statutes’ URL: http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Statutes.php accessed on 2 March 2014.23 Reference to: The case of PROCLAMATIONS 77 ER 1352, (1611) 12 Co Rep 74. The King cannot issue any proclamation. This proclamation is not part of the law. Only the parliament can prohibit an offence and not the King through a proclamation. And even in the case where the Parliament does not issue a law prohibiting an offence, a proclamation imposing fine or imprisonment is impossible. Separation between the executive and the legislative branch.24 Reference to: The British Monarchy (Official Website), ‘The Act of Settlement’, URL: http://www.royal.gov.uk/historyofthemonarchy/kingsandqueensoftheunitedkingdom/thestuarts/maryiiwilliamiiiandtheactofsettlement/theactofsettlement.aspxaccessed on 3 March 2014. The Act of Settlement of 1701 was designed to secure the Protestant succession to the throne, and tostrengthen the guarantees for ensuring parliamentary system of government.25 Reference to: --, ‘Bill of Rights Act, 1689 - The Glorious Revolution', URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A727265 accessed on 3March 2014. The Bill of Rights Act, 1689 passed through Parliament after the coronation and, on 16 December, 1689, the King and Queen gave it Royal Assent, passing it into English law. Never again would English monarchs claim their power came from God as The Bill of Rights Act, 1689 represented the endof the concept of Divine Right of Kings, which was one of the issues over which the English Civil War had been fought. It also made kings and queens subject to laws passed by Parliament; this has been called the 'Glorious Revolution'.

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The significant of the revolution is that it established

an elected Parliament as supreme in the fundamentals of

taxation and legislation and set clear limits to royal

assent.26 Due to the supremacy of the law making institution,

the product of Parliament - Act of Parliament basically had

'inherited' the sovereign status of the legislature.

b)Delegated Legislation or Subordinate Legislation or

Secondary Legislation

Delegated Legislation are laws passed otherwise than in

an Act of Parliament and it can take a variety of forms, each

of which are for different purposes. This legislation is made

under an enabling Act or the Parent Act of a statute which

allows the Government to make changes to a law such as

altering sanctions under a given statute without needing to

push through a completely new Act of Parliament, leaving the

detailed rule or technicalities to the third parties.26 Reference to: C Easton, The English Legal System (course notes), (1st edn, Hodder Education, 2012), pg.7. Royal assent simply means that No Bill can become an Act without the Royal Assent, this means that the monarch must consent to the Bill becoming law. However, this is merely a formal process; the monarch does not read every Bill and give personal consent. Reference to: --, ‘Typical Revolution’URL: http://students.cis.uab.edu/jcmetcal/CS%20101%20Glorious%20Revolution.html accessed on 3 March 2014.

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Moreover, the legislation created by delegated legislation

must be made in accordance with the purposes laid down in the

Act.27

As John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton expressed: ‘Power

tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’28

Delegated legislation can be criticized on the ground that,

the power confers to them to make law is too powerful. They

are not democratically elected. Thus, the control of delegated

legislation by the Parliament and the courts are very

important. As Thomas Hobbes said: ‘It is not wisdom but

Authority makes the law.’29 The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act

200630 gives the executive very wide powers to make delegated

27 Reference to: Law Teacher ( The Law Essay Professional), ‘Delegated Legislation’,URL: http://www.lawteacher.net/english-legal-system/resources/delegated-legislation.php accessed on 3 March 2014.28

Reference to: Power Corrupts URL:www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely.htmlaccessed on 4 March 2014.29 Reference to: Quotes by Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury (5 April 1588- 4December 1679) English philosopher, best known today for his work onpolitical philosophy.30 Reference to: Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. It wasintroduced following a report of the Better Regulation Task Force,Regulation- Less is More (2005). The official aim of the Act is to make itsimpler and faster to amend existing legislation. It allows minister toissue statutory instrument to amend legislation to reduce a burden (such asunnecessary cost or administrative inconvenience) caused by legislation inorder to promote better regulation.

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legislation. If this power is misused, the consequences could

be disastrous. Delegated legislation can take a variety of

forms, each of which are for different purposes.

Statutory Instruments

Statutory Instruments are rules and regulations that are

being made by the relevant ministry and government department

which derived their power from the Parent Act that set out the

broad general principles and delegate the technicalities that

are to be filled in by them.31 Consultations are often take

place with interested bodies and parties Around 3,000

Statutory Instruments are issued each year, making up the

majority of delegated legislation. In the year 2010, there are

about 3866 of Statutory Instruments that became law according

to the Parliament Session.32 It is normally drafted by the

legal office of the relevant government department.

Consultations are often take place with interested bodies and

parties.

31 Reference to: LAWMENTOR, ‘Parent Act’, URL: http://www.lawmentor.co.uk/glossary/P/parent-act/ accessed on 4 March 2014.Such parent or enabling act derives their authority from the Parliament.32 Reference to: House of Commons Information Office, House of Commons BriefGuild, ‘ Delegated Legislation’ (August 2011).

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Orders in Council

Orders in Council are specific forms used in very

important or urgent circumstances which are passed by the

Privacy Council of the Legislative Committee, it effectively

allows the government to introduce legislation without the

approval of Parliament.33 This form of delegated legislation is

also used during war time as was in the case of the Gulf War

and subsequent invasion of Iraq34, as well as to give the

European law direct effect when the legislation is not

directly effective. However, after the Statutory Instruments

Act (SIA) 1946 under section 1 was passed, every power to make

an Orders of Council conferred by an Act of Parliament must be

in the form of statutory instrument.

By-laws

By-Law are laws made by the local authorities, public

bodies or private institution, using the power granted by an

Act of Parliament under the Local Government Act 1972.

Moreover, a breach of the bylaw may lead to legal proceeding

33 Reference to: G Slapper and D Kelly, ‘The English Legal System’, (14th edition, Routledge-Oxon, 2013), pg.114.34 Reference to: Kenneth Estes, ‘The Second Gulf War’, 12 July 2007, ISN, URL: http://www.cfr.org/world/isn-second-gulf-war-1990-1991/p13865 accessedon 4 March 2014.

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initiation, such as in the case of Boddington v. British Transport

Police [1998].35

v) The European Union

The accession of the United Kingdom into the membership

of the European Community (now called the European Union) was

through the ‘Treaty of Rome’ in 1 January 1973, which is made

up from four main institutions.36 It created new and very

important sources of law for the UK. ‘Section 2(4) of the

European Communities Act 1972’ provides that English law

should be interpreted and have effect subject to the

principles that European law is supreme; this means that

European law now takes precedence over all domestic sources of

law.37

35 Reference to: House of Lord, ‘Judgment of Boddington v. British Transport Police’URL: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/ldjudgmt/jd980402/bodd01.htm accessed on 4 March 2014.36 Reference to: J Martin, ‘The English Legal System’ (7th edn Hodder Education, London 2013), p.g. 68. The main institutions are The Council of the European Union, The Commission, The European Parliament, The European Court of Justice.37 Reference to: European Communities Act 1972, c.68 Section2(4).

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There is a range of different forms of European

Legislations, namely Treaties, Regulations, Directives. In

considering the impact of this legislation, a distinction has

to be drawn between direct applicability and direct effect.

Direct applicability refers to the fact that treaty articles,

regulations and some decisions immediately become part of the

law of each member state without intervention of Parliament.

Provisions of treaties, regulations and directives only have

direct effect if they are clear, unconditional and their

implementation requires no further legislation in member

states. Direct effect can be divided into two types; verticle

effect gives individual rights against Governments to invoke a

European provision in relation to the State.38 Horizontal

direct effect gives rights against other people and

organizations, just as in the case of Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse

Administratie der Belastingen (1963).39

38 Reference to: Europa (Summaries of EU Legislation), ‘The direct effect ofEuropean Law’ URL: http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/institutional_affairs/decisionmaking_process/l14547_en.htm accessed on 5 March 2014.39 Reference to: NV Algemene Transporten Expeditie Onderneming van Gend en Loos v. Nederlandse Administratis der Belastingen 26/62, [1963 ECR 1; [1963] CMLR 105].

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Treaties, a major source of law, it is a binding

agreement between European Union member countries. It sets out

European Union objectives, rules for European Union

institutions, how decisions are made and the relationship

between the European Union and its member countries.40 There

are quite some number of treaties which the United Kingdom had

signed such as the Treaties of the European Union, the

European Convention of Human Rights and etc. The Treaties of

the European Union are international treaties agrees between

all the member states. They effectively constitute the

European constitution, establishing the six key European

institutions and the aims of the European Union. The treaty is

of direct effect.41 An example of directly effective treaty is

Macarthys Ltd v Smith (1979), they impose obligation on the

member state to adhere the provision.42

40 Reference to: European Union, ‘EU treaties’ URL: http://europa.eu/eu-law/decision-making/treaties/index_en.htm accessedon 5 March 2014.41 Reference to: Sixth Form Law, ‘EC Law - directly applicable and the doctrine of direct effect’ URL: http://sixthformlaw.info/01_modules/mod2/2_3_2_eu_sources/08_doctrine_of_direct_effect.htm accessed on 5 March 2014.42 Reference to: Macarthys Ltd v. Smith [1979] I.C.R. 785, [1981] QB 180. Art. 157 was held to give a woman in the UK the right to claim the same wages as were paid to the male predecessor in her job, even though she had no such right under the UK equal pay legislation passed in 1970 before UK joined Europe.

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Regulations are the most direct form of European Union

law; they are directly applied throughout the European Union

once they are passed, without the need for each country to

make its own legislation, in particular the people of the

member state43, which is similar to the Act of Parliament.

Regulation must be applied even if the member state has

already passed legislation which conflicts them, this was

happened in the case of Leonesio v. Italian Ministry for Agriculture and

Forestry (1973).44

Directives are addressed to national authorities, they

aim to set out broad objectives, leaving members state with a

margin to create their own detailed rule so that the objective

of the directive is achieve without compromising the member

state autonomy. Directives are of direct effect as it was

essential for the government to implement the directive, as in

the case of Van Duyn v Home Office45.

Decisions of the European here does not refer to

decisions made by the European Court of Justice but to

decisions issued under the power of Article 288 (TFEU) which43 Reference to: European Commission, ‘ Application of EU Law’ URL: http://ec.europa.eu/eu_law/introduction/what_regulation_en.htm accessed on 5 March 2014.44 Reference to: Leonesio v. Italian Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry [1973] ECR 28745 Reference to: Van Duyn v Home Office [1975] Ch 258 ECJ.

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is addressed to a Member State or an individual and are

binding in every respect.46

European Convention on Human Rights

The European Convention on Human Rights is an

international treaty to protect human rights and

fundamental freedoms in Europe under Hitler’s rule of Germany;

it played an important role in the development and awareness

about Human Rights. 47 This convention was One can appeal their

case to the European Courts of Human Rights whenever there is

an alleged breach of human rights by the government. Moreover,

this convention is the most important instrument of

international law to emanate from the Council of Europe.

Still, the decision under the European Court of Human Right

would be a source of law under the judicial precedent because

section 2 of the HRA 1998 requires the domestic court to take

into account the foreign decision, which might indirectly

mound the jurisprudence of the English court.48

46 Reference to: J Martin, ‘The English Legal System’ (7th edn Hodder Education, London 2013), p.g. 80. 47 Reference to: UK LAW ONLINE, ‘ The European Convention on Human Right’ URL: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/hamlyn/echr.htm accessed on 5 March 2014.48 Reference to: A The National Achieves, ‘Human Right Act 1998’

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Human Rights Act 1998

This Act gives legal effect in the UK to certain

fundamental rights and freedoms contained in the European

Convention on Human Rights.49 The HRA 1998 makes the European

Convention binding at national level as well, so that people

in the UK can complain in their local courts about a failure

to uphold their Convention Rights.50

Under the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Bill of Rights of 1689,

rights such as the right to liberty, the right to a fair trial

and the prohibition against torture and slavery, have long

been recognised in UK law. The HRA codifies these rights and

puts them into an accessible framework.51

When judges are deciding cases of question about a

Convention right has arisen, the court must follow decisions

of the European Court of Human Rights instead of a conflicting

URL: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/section/2 accessed on 6 March 2014.49 Reference to: J Martin, ‘The English Legal System’ (6th edn Hodder Education, Oxon 2010), p.g. 289.50 Ibid.51 Reference to: mind, ‘ Human Right Act’ URL: http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/legal-rights/human-rights-act/#TheEuropeanConventiononHumanRights accessed on 6 March 2014.

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decision by a UK court, as section 2 of the HRA 1998 states

that the court must follow any judgement, decision,

declaration or advisory opinion of the European Court of Human

Rights.52 This was seen in the case of Re Medicaments (No.2).53

2) Secondary Source of Law

i) Customs

Customs are previously a very important source of law

which had lost it significance now, they are rules of

behaviour which develop in a community without being

deliberately invented. In the case of Tanistry (1608), the

courts had described customs as ' such usage as has obtained

the force of law'.54 Even before the Norman Conquest, the

Anglo-Saxon community are bound by the norm of society and

customs. Customs can be classified into general customs and

local customs. It is very unusual for a new custom to be

considered or recognised as a valid custom by the courts today

52 Reference to: J Martin, ‘The English Legal System’ (6th edn Hodder Education, Oxon 2010), p.g. 289.53 Reference to: Re Medicaments (No.2), Director General of Fair Trading v Proprietary Association of Great Britain (2001). The Court of Appeal refused to follow the decision of the House of Lords in R v Gough (1993) on the test for bias because it was slightly different to decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.54 Reference to: Case of Tanistry (1608) ), Davis 28, 80 E.R. 516.

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but there is some exceptions, such as in the case of Egerton v

Harding (1974)55.

ii) Works of Authority

Works of Authority usually comes in the form of article,

books, journal and even speech which are considered to be

authoritative guides to the UK constitution.56 These forms are

provided to the courts as guidance when a court is unable to

locate a precise or analogous precedent.57 However, such books

are subdivided, depending on when they were written, but only

certain works are actually treated as authoritative source of

law. As seen in the case of Dunlop v Selfridge Ltd58 , definition

of consideration given by Sir Frederick Pollock in his book,

The Principle of Contracts (1876), was approved by Lord

Dunedin. Sometime works of authority also gave criticism to

the law and tender proposed reform to refine the law.

Conclusion

55 Reference to: Egerton v Harding (1974), the court held that there was a customary duty to fence land against cattle straying from the common.56 Reference to: G Slapper and D Kelly, ‘The English Legal System’, (14th edition, Routledge-Oxon, 2013), p.g. 153. 57 Ibid.58 Reference to: Dunlop v Selfridge Ltd [1915] AC 847.

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Law signifies a rule of action in its most general and

comprehensive sense. This term is applied indiscriminately to

all kinds of action; whether animate or inanimate, rational or

irrational. The relationship of European Union and United

Kingdom had originated far in 1972 when United Kingdom joined

the European Union, with the aim to redevelop the scattered

Europe after the Second World War and to secure a larger

single market. Although the English Legal system had recently

been encroached by the Europe Union Act, some protection are

still given by the national act to acknowledge Parliamentary

sovereignty .

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Guangdong Xu, Tianshu Zhou, Bin Zeng, and Jin Shi, Directors’

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Power Corrupts URL:www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely.html accessed on 4 March 2014.

LAWMENTOR, ‘Parent Act’, URL: http://www.lawmentor.co.uk/glossary/P/parent-act/ accessed on 4 March 2014.

Kenneth Estes, ‘The Second Gulf War’, 12 July 2007, ISN, URL: http://www.cfr.org/world/isn-second-gulf-war-1990-1991/p13865 accessed on 4 March 2014.

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House of Lord, ‘Judgment of Boddington v. British Transport Police’ URL: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/ldjudgmt/jd980402/bodd01.htm accessed on 4 March 2014.

Europa (Summaries of EU Legislation), ‘The direct effect of European Law’ URL: http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/institutional_affairs/decisionmaking_process/l14547_en.htm accessed on 5 March 2014.

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Table of Cases

Boddington v. British Transport Police [1998].

Case of Tanistry (1608), Davis 28, 80 E.R.516.

Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562.

Dunlop v Selfridge Ltd [1915] AC 847.

Earl of Oxford’s Case (1616) 1 Rep Ch1.

Egerton v Harding (1974).

Grant v Australian Knitting Mills [1936] AC 85.

Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Lincoln City Council (1998) 4 All ER

513.

Leonesio v. Italian Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry

[1973] ECR 287.

Macarthys Ltd v. Smith [1979] I.C.R. 785, [1981] QB 180.

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NV Algemene Transporten Expeditie Onderneming van Gend en Loos

v. Nederlandse Administratis der Belastingen 26/62, [1963 ECR

1; [1963] CMLR 105].

PROCLAMATIONS 77 ER 1352, (1611) 12 Co Rep 74.

R v Gough (1993).

R v Howe & Bannister [1987].

R v R [1991] UKHL 12.

Re Medicaments (No.2), Director General of Fair Trading v

Proprietary Association of Great Britain (2001).

Tanistry (1608).

Van Duyn v Home Office [1975] Ch 258 ECJ.

Young v. Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd [1944] KB 718.

Table of Statutes

Act of Settlement 1701.

Bill of Right Act 1689.

Companies Act 2006.

Defamation Act 2013.

European Communities Act 1972, Section2(4).

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Human Right Act 1998.

Judicature Act 1873-1875.

Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006.

Local Government Act 1972.

Magna Carta of 1215.

Statutory Instruments Act (SIA) 1946.

29