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ASSIGNMENT 1 FRONT SHEET

Qualification BTEC Level 4 HND Diploma in Business

Unit number and title Uni7: Business Law

Submission date 23/09/2020 Date Received 1st submission

Re-submission Date Date Received 2nd submission

Student Name Nguyen Duc Anh Student ID GBH190058

Class GBH0901 Assessor name Nguyễn Lê Thu

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I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand the consequences of plagiarism. I understand that
making a false declaration is a form of malpractice.

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Table of Contents
I. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

II. Different Sources of Law .................................................................................................................................... 4

1. Definition ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

2. Functions ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

a) Establish rules .......................................................................................................................................... 4

b) Protects relations ..................................................................................................................................... 5

c) Education ..................................................................................................................................................... 5

3. Differences ...................................................................................................................................................... 5

Application for Vietnam ............................................................................................................................................. 7

III. Role of Government in Law-making .................................................................................................................. 7

1. Function of Parliament and Government in Making Law ............................................................................... 7

2. Process of Parliament in Law-making ............................................................................................................. 7

3. Court Structure of UK ...................................................................................................................................... 9

IV. Legal Suit/Case Resolved in UK ........................................................................................................................ 10

1. Facts/Backgrounds of the case ..................................................................................................................... 10

2. Legal issue of the case................................................................................................................................... 11

3. Decisions ....................................................................................................................................................... 11

V. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................ 11

References................................................................................................................................................................ 12

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I. Introduction
This report is created with the aim of providing different sources of the law in general and the application of
Law in Vietnam. Besides, this report also gives the role of Government in Law-making including the functions of
Parliament and Government in making Law, the process of Law-making and explains the Court structure of
United Kingdom.

This report has three main contents. The first part is the different sources of Law including the definitions, the
functions of Law and the differences between Case law and Statutory Law. The second part is Role of
Government in Law-making and the third part is about the Legal suit/case resolved in UK.

II. Different Sources of Law


1. Definition
Generally, there are many ways to define law, but the most common definition of law is that law is a system of
rules which a government authority enforces, or law are a set of rules which are legally enforceable by
authorities within a community. Moreover, according to Blackstone, law is identified as “a rule of civil conduct
prescribed by the supreme power in a state, commanding what is right, and prohibiting what is wrong.” (Lewis,
1968).

There are two major law system in the world that are Common law and Continental law. The Common law,
which is applied in the US and the UK, is formed from the Statutory law and Case law. Meanwhile the
Continental law, which is followed by most nations in the world, is created only based on Statutory law.

2. Functions
a) Establish rules
One of the essential roles of law is to set the rules on which society can peacefully settle disputes. In addition,
the law also creates standards on which individuals and organizations can adapt their behavior to suit the set
standards. Besides, based on the law, society can function effectively because there is a stable, but flexible
framework.

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b) Protects relations
Second, laws are created to protect existing relations in society. This role is based on the will of the ruling class
and the current needs of society. This role of the law is enforced by the authorities with powers. Any individual
or organization violating social relations will be handled by the authorities.

c) Education
Finally, the law affects everyone's mind, this educates people's behavior so that all human actions are within the
framework of the law.

To demonstrate the role of the law, for example, according to Article 8, Clause 1 of the Law on Enterprises of
Vietnam 2014 regarding the obligations of an enterprise, the enterprise must meet the conditions when
conducting business with the business condition in accordance with the Law on Investment and maintaining the
satisfaction of such conditions throughout the course of the business. Regarding the role of setting the rules,
this article of the law has created the rule that enterprises wishing to operate in Vietnam must meet the
business conditions specified in the Law on Investment and must maintain that condition throughout the
business process of the enterprise. Regarding the role of relations protection, any business that violates the
guarantee of business conditions means that it has violated the company's relations with the state and will be
dealt with by the authorities. In terms of the educational role, this article of the corporate law changed
enterprises' thinking about ensuring business conditions during their operations. No enterprise will violate the
above rule if they want to continue doing business in Vietnam.

3. Differences
Statutory law is the term used to describe written laws typically passed by a body of law. Statutory laws differ
from regulatory or administrative laws enacted by executive agencies, and common law, or the law established
by prior court rulings (HG.org, 2020).

Case law is the entire set of the courts' written legal decisions that contribute a significant part of the legal rules
that exist in modern society due to stare decisis (Duhaime.org, 2020). Specifically, Case law is the law that is
based on judicial decisions and refers to the collection of precedents and authority set by previous judicial
decisions on a particular issue or topic. The case law concerns unique disputes resolved by courts using the
concrete facts of a case (Cornell Law School, 2020).

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There are two main differences between Case law and Statutory law. The first difference is the state body who
creates these two types of law. Case law is created by the Court meanwhile Parliament creates the Statutory
law. The second difference is the nature of laws. Case law has the form of precedent which is a judgement, or a
decision applied for later suit. On the other hand, Statutory law is codified as Act, Code, and Law.

Case law can be supportive to Statutory law. Specifically, for violations of social relations that are not listed in
the Statutory law, or terms and behaviors that are difficult to quantify, the Court may rely on precedents to
make judgments for similar cases. For example, murder with villainous intentions, barbaric tricks. It is difficult to
define what is "villainous" or "barbaric". Therefore, the Court can rely on Case law to make an appropriate
decision on a similar case.

An example of Statutory law that is applied in a suit is the case of PVN and PVC. On the morning of January 22,
according to the schedule, the Hanoi People's Court continued to hear the case at Vietnam Oil and Gas Group
(PVN) and PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC). In this case, defendant Dinh La Thang was
concluded by the People's Court of Hanoi to commit a crime of intentionally violating the regulations on the
economic management of the state, causing serious consequences (hereinafter referred to as deliberate
wrongdoing). The Hanoi People's Court sentenced the defendant Trinh Xuan Thanh to 14 years in prison for the
crime specified in Article 165, life imprisonment under the crime specified in Article 278, the combined penalty
is life imprisonment. Mr. Dinh La Thang was sentenced to 13 years in prison under the charges specified in
Article 165 (Dung, 2020).

An example of Case law is the case of Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562, the House of Lords held that a
manufacturer owed a custodial obligation to the product's ultimate customer. Mrs. Donoghue and her friend
went to a café. The friend got her a glass of ice cream and ginger beer. The ginger beer came in an opaque
bottle so they could not see the contents. Mrs. Donoghue poured half of the bottle's contents over her ice
cream and drank some from the bottle as well. She then poured the remaining contents of the bottle over the
ice cream after consuming some of the ice cream and a decomposed snail emerged from the bottle. As a result,
Mrs. Donoghue incurred a personal injury. She initiated a lawsuit against the ginger beer manufacturer. Her
claim proved successful. This case established the modern law of negligence, and the neighbor test was
established. That set a binding precedent in Grant v Australian Knitting Mills [1936] AC 85 (Donoghue v
Stevenson, 2020).

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Application for Vietnam
For the illustration of Vietnamese primary and secondary legislation, one of the primary legislations in Vietnam
is The Education Law No 43/2019/QH14. Besides, the secondary legislations of The Education Law in Vietnam is
The Decree No. 84/2020 / NĐ-CP of the Government. This Decree provides details for several articles of the
Education Law.

This Decree helps clarify some provisions of the Education Law. Such as clarifying who is considered, granting
scholarships to encourage learning. Besides, it also clarifies the order of consideration and grant of scholarships
for the regulated subjects.

III. Role of Government in Law-making


1. Function of Parliament and Government in Making Law
In terms of making law, the Parliament has the function of creating the law. Specifically, the Parliament will
establish primary legislation in the forms of Act, Code, and Law. Additionally, the Government has the role of
implementing the law by establishing secondary legislation such as Decree, Circular, and Decision to guide the
implementation of the law.

Primary legislation is Acts of Parliament. Most Acts are Public General Act, which applied in England, Wales, and
Scotland. Secondary legislation is the supplement for primary legislation, known as statutory instruments.

2. Process of Parliament in Law-making

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Proposals for legislation are government proposals. The government may propose legislation to deal with a
specific event in society that suggests a need for legal regulation or function as a statutory obligation to keep
the law under review and suggest observation of reforms.

Before a law is enacted it must first meet the stages of the legislative process. This assignment will define the
parliamentary phases of the legislative process, and the degree to which approval of the House of Lords is often
required.

All laws start as a bill, which is put on a green paper as a proposal given to interested parties who can take it
into account and give their interpretation. Under the Green Paper, there are three distinct kinds of bills known
as Public Bills, Private Member Bills, and Private Bills. Both three bills have different aims, but they are all
proposals.

The first reading is where the bill is read to the House of Commons for the first time. This functions as a notice
or introduction of the proposed bill. An individual will stand up to read it. The second reading follows, and the
proposal is discussed at this stage. The third reading is where the House of Commons re-proposes the bill. At
this point, members discuss and vote on whether the law should be refused or allowed to remain in its original
form. Once the legislation has been determined, the bill then returns to the House of Lords for further review, if
the House of Lords makes any amendments to the bill it will then be referred back to the House of Commons for
further deliberation.

The last stage is called the Royal assent. The Royal assent is required for a bill to become an act. At this stage,
the Queen must give her consent to the bill before it becomes a law.

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3. Court Structure of UK

The UK Court System is divided into two branches: Civil and Criminal. Criminal laws are the rules that apply
when someone commits a crime that result in extremely serious consequences, such as assault, robbery,
murder, arson, rape, and other kinds of crimes. After a person is arrested and charged with a crime, that person
goes to a Criminal Court. Civil court is a court of law that, as opposed to criminal courts, handles several civil
cases. Civil lawsuits include an individual (the plaintiff) filing a case against another person or group that they
claim has in some way harmed them or caused property harm to them. Usually the plaintiff demands damages
(monetary payment) or an injunction.

In Civil court, the first court is magistrates court which handle family disputes for trial. Regarding the family
dispute, if both parties do not agree with the decision of Magistrate court, they can appeal directly to High court
at Family division.

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About the divorce or financial disputes, they are often heard in County court for trial. If both parties do not
agree with the County court’s decision, they can appeal to High court.

The Queen’s Bench division is one of the three divisions of the High Court, with the Chancery Division and
Family division. Judges who hear civil cases in the Queen’s Bench Division deal with common law business –
actions relating to contract, except those specifically allocated to the Chancery Division. They also hear civil
wrongs, known as tort. The Chancery Division undertakes civil work of many kinds, including specialist work
such as companies, patents, and contentious probate. The range of cases heard in the Chancery Division is wide
and varied. The major part of the case-load today involves business or property disputes of one kind or another.
Often these are complex and involve substantial sums of money.

In addition, there are various Tribunals in UK Court System. There are various types of disputes which are heard
in tribunals for trial such as industrial tribunal, landlord and tenant tribunal. Tribunals have their own processes
and rules. In case both parties do not agree with Tribunals, they can appeal to Court of Appeal in Civil division.

In Criminal court, all the cases of minor crime are heard in Magistrate court for trial. If both parties do not agree
with Magistrate court, they can appeal to Crown court. However, regarding the serious crime that results in
serious consequences, it can be heard in Crown court for trial. If both parties do not agree with Crown court’s
decisions, they can appeal to Court of Appeal in Criminal division.

If new or wrong evidence is proven to be used, parties can go to the Supreme Court for appeal. The decision of
the Supreme court is the latest and highest decision which is the final decision (Courts and Tribunals Judiciary,
2020).

IV. Legal Suit/Case Resolved in UK


1. Facts/Backgrounds of the case
The case is Allan Janes LLP v Johal. In this case, the plaintiff is Allan Janes LLP and the defendant is Johal. The
defendant was employed by the claimant as an assistant solicitor in his office in High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire. A partner found after her job came to an end that she was sending emails to the company's
customers seeking work for a new relationship with the second defendant in what appeared to be a violation of
some restrictive contracts in her employment contract. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant had a breach of
certain restrictive covenants in her contract of employment.

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2. Legal issue of the case
The legal issue of this case is that the former employer of Johal began proceedings to enforce the restrictive
covenants. Ms Johal contended that the restrictive covenants were too wide to be enforceable.

3. Decisions
For someone who had been a client of her former employer in the previous 12 months, the court upheld the
restrictive arrangement that prohibited Ms Johal from operating for 12 months. A final injunction that followed
the terms of the restrictive covenant was given. The court dismissed an argument that the provision was
unreasonably large since Ms Johal had only dealt with a small proportion of the firm's customers directly over
the previous 12 months.

The law which was applied by the court to resolve the case is Case law. The precedent which was applied is the
case of Office Angels Ltd v Rainer-Thomas [1991] IRLR 215.

V. Conclusion
In conclusion, after conducting research on laws and legal systems in Vietnam and the UK, and the role of the
Government and the Parliament in law-making, we found the differences of Case Law and Statutory Law and
which part of the state creates these two forms of law, the nature of these two forms of law and how the Case
law supports the Statutory law. In addition, we also clarify the role of the Parliament and the Government in
making laws. Moreover, we also researched specific cases and found out which law those cases applied.

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References
Cornell Law School, 2020. Case Law. [online] LII / Legal Information Institute. Available at:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/case_law [Accessed 16 September 2020].

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 2020. Going To Court. [online] Judiciary.uk. Available at:
https://www.judiciary.uk/you-and-the-judiciary/going-to-court/ [Accessed 19 September 2020]

Duhaime.org, 2020. Glossary Of Legal Terms Beginning With C. [online] Duhaime.org. Available at:
http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/C.aspx [Accessed 16 September 2020].

Dũng, V., 2020. Ngày 7/5, Tòa Xử Phúc Thẩm Vụ Án Ông Đinh La Thăng, Trịnh Xuân Thanh. [online]
vnexpress.net. Available at: https://vnexpress.net/ngay-7-5-toa-xu-phuc-tham-vu-an-ong-dinh-la-thang-trinh-
xuan-thanh-3741566.html [Accessed 16 September 2020].

E-lawresources.co.uk. 2020. Donoghue V Stevenson. [online] Available at: http://www.e-


lawresources.co.uk/Donoghue-v-Stevenson.php [Accessed 16 September 2020].

HG.org, 2020. [online] Hg.org. Available at: https://www.hg.org/statutory-law.html [Accessed 16 September


2020].

Lewis, J. U. (1968) “BLACKSTONE’S DEFINITION OF LAW AND DOCTRINE OF LEGAL OBLIGATION AS A LINK
BETWEEN EARLY MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF LAW,” Irish Jurist, 3(2), pp. 336–351. doi:
10.2307/44025908.

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