Inglese giuridico

Common law

Common law is a system of judge-made law which has continuously developed over the years through customs and judicial decisions.

Judicial precedent

Judicial precedent is the doctrine by which decisions of courts in previous cases are considered as a source of law which will influence or bind courts in later similar cases.

Equity

Equity is a system of legal doctrine which originally evolved to mitigate the strictness of the common law.

• Created by the Lord Chancellor
• Developed by the Court of Chancery

Acts of Parliament / Statute

Acts of Parliament or Statute is the primary legislation, meaning laws passed by Parliament.

Delegated or secondary legislation

Delegated or secondary legislation is law made by government ministers with the authority of Parliament.

European law

European law concerns mainly with economic and social matters because the original aim of the Community was economic integration to create a common market.

Sources of EU law

• Treaties
• Regulation and directives
• General principles

National law

National law is the law which applies within a country, with each country having its own national law.

• Public or private

Constitutional law

Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationships of different entities within a state, namely the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.

Human rights

Human rights form a crucial part of a country's constitution and govern the rights of the individual against the state.

• Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Administrative law

Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government as well as the relationships with them.

Criminal law

Criminal law, sometimes referred to as penal law, refers to certain forms of behavior for which the state prosecutes the offender and reserves punishment.

Private law

Private law, usually called civil law, concerns relationships between legal persons (legal persons: individuals and corporations, their rights, and their duties).

Public law

Public law concerns the state including regulatory statutes, penal law, and other laws of public order.

• Deals with relationships between both natural persons and organizations and the state

International law

• Public international law
• Private international law
• Supranational law

Public international law

Public international law is the body of legal rules, laws, or legal principles that govern the rights and duties of nation states in relation to each other.

• Sources: custom, legislation, treaties
• Concerns relations between states

Private international law

Private international law refers to the rights and duties of private individuals and business entities of different sovereign states.

• Concerns relations between individuals and business entities

Supranational law

Supranational law refers to regional agreements where the laws of a nation state are not applicable when conflicting with a supranational legal framework.

• The European Union law is the first and only example of a supranational legal framework

1992 Maastricht Treaty

The 1992 Maastricht Treaty led to the formation of the European Union.

European Union

The European Union consists of three communities:

• European Coal and Steel Community
• European Community (Treaty of Rome)
• European Atomic Energy Community Treaty

Key features include:

• Free circulation of goods, capital, people, and services within the EU
• Application of a common external tariff on all goods entering the market
• Free movement of persons
• Monetary union – Eurozone (1999) with 17 members
• European Central Bank

European sources of law

• Primary law
• Secondary law
• Supplementary law

Secondary law

• Regulations – are binding on all member states and have direct effect (they automatically become law in member states)
• Directives – are binding on member states as to their result but do not bind individuals until they have been transposed into national law
• Decisions – are binding on those to whom they are addressed

European Union institutions

• European Parliament – half of the EU’s legislature
• Council of the European Union – half of the EU’s legislature
• European Commission – executive
• European Council – gives directions to the EU

European Court of Justice

The European Court of Justice is the judicial branch of the EU.

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the highest court, which exercises the judicial function of Parliament.

Its judicial functions were abolished by the Supreme Court of Judicature in 1873, transferring its functions to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

• Court of Appeal: Deals only with appeals from other courts or tribunals
• Civil Division
• Criminal Division
• High Court of Justice: Functions both as a civil court of first instance and a criminal appellate court for cases from the subordinate courts
• Queen’s Bench Division
• Chancery Division
• Family Division
• Crown Court: Is a criminal court of both original and appellate jurisdiction

Inferior courts

• Magistrates’ courts
• Family proceedings courts
• Youth courts
• County courts

Magistrate courts

Magistrate courts are the lowest courts of first instance with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction.

County courts

County courts are statutory courts with a limited civil jurisdiction to hear smaller civil cases.

Tribunal

A tribunal is a body of persons with the power to decide claims or disputes.

Coroners’ courts

Coroners’ courts sit to determine the cause of death in situations where people have died in potentially suspicious circumstances, abroad, or in certain cases.