Part 1Introduction to law
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1 Identify four sources of legal change and explain
what objectives these organisations are seeking to
achieve.
2 Describe the relationship between Parliament and
the judiciary in respect of Acts of Parliament.
3 Explain the differences between the following pairs:
(a)MP and MEP;
(b)ratio decidendiand obiter dicta;
(c)a Bill and a statute;
(d)ECSC and EEC;
(e)Orders in Council and byelaws;
(f )a binding precedent and a persuasive precedent;
(g)the golden rule and the mischief rule;
(h)the Council of the European Union and the
Commission;
(i) a regulation and a directive;
(j)the European Community and the European
Union;
(k)the European Convention on Human Rights and
the European Union Charter of Fundamental
Rights.Self-test questions/activities
1 (a)‘As I see it, that balance is this: Parliament enacts
statute law and the judges interpret it. Statute law is
necessarily expressed in words, Parliament decides
upon these words. The judges say what those words
mean.’ Lord Denning, The Closing Chapters(1983)
Discuss critically the role of judges in the
interpretation of statutes.
(b)Smoking (Prohibition) Act 2004
An Act to promote public health by prohibiting
smoking in public buildings.
Section 1 It shall be an offence to smoke tobacco
products in –
(a) an aircraft, train, ship or other vessel, or public
service vehicle;
(b) a cinema, theatre, concert hall or other place
normally used for public entertainment;
(c) all or part of a licensed premises, or place of
work.
Section 2 There shall be displayed at all times at
all premises to which members of the public have
access, a sign indicating clearly that smoking is
prohibited.
Discuss whether the Act has been breached in
each of the following situations:
(i) Dylan is arrested while smoking a cigarette at
an open air rock concert and charged with an
offence under s 1(b). He claims that the Act is
intended to deal with smoking in buildings and
does not apply to smoking outside.
(ii) Charles is arrested while smoking a pipe in
a pub. He claims that he is smoking a herbal
mixture which does not contain tobacco and
is not therefore covered by the Act.
(iii) Sharon and Tracey, who are students, are
arrested while smoking cigarettes in the college
café. They believe they should not be convicted
because they were unaware that smoking was
prohibited in the café because the college
authorities had failed to display a ‘no smoking’
notice in accordance with s 2 of the Act.2 How has Britain’s membership of the European
Community affected the English legal system?3 What are the advantages and disadvantages of
the doctrine of judicial precedent?Specimen examination questions