MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY

GROUP ASSIGNMENT
SUBJECT: LEGAL ENGLISH

TOPIC: SOURCES OF ENGLISH LAW

Class : 4725

Group : 03
Members : Trần Thu Hà
: Nguyễn Trần Phương Linh
: Vũ Thị Tú Trang
: Bùi Ngọc Vy

Hanoi, 2023

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 BIÊN BẢN XÁC ĐỊNH MỨC ĐỘ THAM GIA VÀ
KẾT QUẢ THAM GIA LÀM BÀI TẬP NHÓM

Ngày: 08/02/2023 Địa điểm: Trường đại học Luật Hà Nội

Nhóm số: 03 Lớp: 4725 Khóa: 47
Tổng số thành viên của nhóm: 04
Có mặt: 04
Vắng mặt: 0 Có lý do: Không lý do:
Nội dung:

Tên bài tập : Sources of English Law

Môn học : Tiếng Anh nói
Xác định mức độ tham gia và kết quả tham gia của từng sinh viên trong việc thực hiện bài
tập nhóm số: 03. Kết quả như sau:

Đánh giá Đánh giá

của SV SV của GV
STT Mã SV Họ và tên ký GV
A B C tên Điểm Điểm ký
(số) (chữ) tên

1 472503 Trần Thu Hà X

2 472516 Nguyễn Trần X
Phương Linh
3 472525 Vũ Thị Tú Trang X
4 472527 Bùi Ngọc Vy X

Hà Nội, ngày … tháng …. năm 2023

NHÓM TRƯỞNG
Kết quả điểm bài viết: ............................
- Giáo viên chấm thứ nhất:.……………...
- Giáo viên chấm thứ hai:.……………….

Kết quả điểm thuyết trình:…………….

- Giáo viên cho thuyết trình:…………….

Điểm kết luận cuối cùng:………………

- Giáo viên đánh giá cuối cùng:…………

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 Contents
I. Common Law and Case law:..............................................................................4
1. What is Common Law and Case Law?............................................................4
2. Their Characteristics:.......................................................................................4
a. Common law:...............................................................................................4
b. Case law:..................................................................................................4
3. An example on using case law as one of the main sources of English law:.....5
II. Legislation:........................................................................................................5
1. What is Legislation?........................................................................................5
2. Legislation Characteristics:.............................................................................5
3. How is Primary Legislation made?..................................................................6
III. EU Law:..........................................................................................................6
1. What is EU law?..............................................................................................6
2. EU law Characteristics:...................................................................................7
IV. European Convention on Human Rights ( ECHR ):........................................8
1. What is ECHR?..................................................................................................8
2. ECHR Characteristics:.......................................................................................9
V. References list..................................................................................................10

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 1. Common Law and Case law:
1. What is Common Law and Case Law?
- Common law is a body of unwritten laws based on legal precedents
established by the courts. Common law influences the decision-making
process in unusual cases where the outcome cannot be determined based on
existing statutes or written rules of law. In this sense, common law stands in
contrast to the legal system derived from civil law, now widespread in
continental Europe and elsewhere.
- Case law is a law that is based on judicial decisions rather than law based
on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. CaThe caseaw concerns unique
disputes resolved by courts using the concrete facts of a case. By contrast,
statutes and regulations are written abstractly. Case law, also used
interchangeably with common law, refers to the collection of precedents and
authority set by previous judicial decisions on a particular issue or topic. In
that sense, case law differs from one jurisdiction to another.

2. Their Characteristics:
2. Common law:
- There may not be written or defined constitutional laws and regulations in
the case of common law.
- Legal judgments or judicial rulings are final and conclusive.
- The court or by legislation appeals to the rulings of the highest court.
- There is wide freedom of contract. Only a small number of clauses are
legally implied in the contract by law. On the surface, anything not
specifically prohibited by law is allowed.

3. Case law:
- Contains arguments to clarify provisions of the law with different
interpretations; analyzes and explains legal issues and events and points out
principles, handling lines and legal regulations to be applied in a particular
case.
- Be normative.
- Valuable for guiding the uniform application of law in adjudication, ensuring
that cases with the same circumstances and legal facts must be handled
equally.

3. An example on using case law as one of the main sources of English law:
The precedent is named Entick v. Carrington.

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It was about an author and schoolmaster John Entick who were suspected of writing
a libelous pamphlet against the government. In response, the secretary of state sent
Nathan Carrington, along with a group of other king’s men, to search Entick’s
house for evidence. Entick then sued the men for trespass.

The court decided that the secretary of state did not have the legal authority to issue
a search warrant, and therefore Carrington had trespassed. This case reflects the
principle that “no man is above the law” – not even the secretary of state. To this
day, law enforcement agencies may only do what the law allows.

4. Legislation:
5. What is Legislation?
- Legislation is a law or a set of laws that have been passed by Parliament. The
word is also used to describe the act of making a new law.
- Legislation consists of Acts of Parliament or Statute.
- There are two main types of legislation in the UK :
o Primary legislation - Acts of Parliament or Statutes.
o Secondary legislation Statutory Instruments ( SIs, which are often
called Codes, Orders, Regulations, and Rules ).

6. Legislation Characteristics:
- Primary legislation:
o Set out the core principles of the law in question and provide for
subordinate legislation to cover more detailed rules. The primary and
subordinate legislation must then be read together to understand the
full picture.
o Specify who can make the subordinate legislation, and what things the
subordinate legislation may provide for.
- Secondary legislation:
o It is used to fill in the details of Acts ( Primary legislation ). These
details provide practical measures that enable the law to be enforced
and operate in daily life.
o It can be used to set the date for when provisions of an Act will come
into effect as law, or to amend existing laws.
o It isn’t passed by Parliament but by other bodies like government
ministers, local authorities, or other regulatory agencies.

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 7. How is Primary Legislation made?
- Before proposals for laws, known as Bills, are introduced into Parliament, there is
often consultation or discussion with interested parties such as professional bodies,
voluntary organizations, and pressure groups.

- Bill can be introduced by the government or by individual MPs or members of the

House of lords. The stages of examining Bills are the same in both the House of
Commons and the House of Lords, but the rules and the way each House works
during these stages are different. Each House can make changes to the contents of
the Bill but any changes that are made must be agreed to by both House before it
can become a law or act of parliament, a.k.a Primary Legislation.

- In certain cases, a Bill may be passed without the approval of the Lords, if the
Commons pass the same Bill in two successive years or if the Bill is about taxes or
public expenditure.

- Some Bills apply to the whole of the UK. However, Bills may apply to one or
more constituent parts - for example, only to England and Wales. Law-making
powers in some subjects rest with the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, and
the Northern Ireland Assembly, rather than the UK Parliament.

8. EU Law:
1. What is EU law?
- EU law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European
Union.
- EU law is based on the treaties and regulations of the European Union.
- It is also designed to ensure that the countries of the European Union abide by the
same laws and regulations.

2. EU law Characteristics:
- The European Union (EU) is a supranational organization that has been
established to promote economic and political cooperation between its member
states. It is composed of 28 countries, and its law is one of the sources of UK law.
EU law has several distinct characteristics that set it apart from other sources of law.

First, EU law is based on the principle of supremacy. This means that EU law takes
precedence over the laws of individual member states. This is an important principle
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that ensures that the EU can achieve its objectives and that its decisions are binding
on all member states.

Second, EU law is based on the principle of direct effect. This means that EU law is
directly applicable in the member states and that individuals can rely on it in court.
This is an important principle that ensures that EU law is enforced in the member
states.

Third, EU law is based on the principle of uniformity. This means that EU law is
applied uniformly across all member states. This ensures that the EU can achieve its
objectives and that its decisions are applied equally in all member states.

Fourth, EU law is based on the principle of subsidiarity. This means that the EU
should only take action when it is necessary and when it is more effective than
action taken at the national level. This is an important principle that ensures that the
EU does not interfere in the affairs of its member states unnecessarily.

Finally, EU law is based on the principle of proportionality. This means that the EU
should only take action that is proportionate to the objectives it is seeking to
achieve. This is an important principle that ensures that the EU does not take action
that is disproportionate to the objectives it is seeking to achieve.

- In conclusion, EU law has several distinct characteristics that set it apart from
other sources of law. These characteristics ensure that the EU can achieve its
objectives and that its decisions are binding on all member states. They also ensure
that EU law is applied uniformly across all member states and that the EU does not
take action that is disproportionate to the objectives it is seeking to achieve.

- EU law has been a source of law for the UK both before and after Brexit.
o Before Brexit, EU law was based on the principle of supremacy,
which meant that it took precedence over the laws of individual
member states. This meant that EU law was directly applicable in
England and that individuals could rely on it in court. EU law was
also based on the principles of direct effect, uniformity, subsidiarity,
and proportionality, which ensured that the EU was able to achieve its
objectives and that its decisions were applied equally in all member
states. This ensured that EU law was enforced in England and that the
EU did not take action that was disproportionate to the objectives it
was seeking to achieve.

o After Brexit, the UK is no longer bound by EU law. However,

England has agreed to incorporate a large number of EU laws into its
legal system. This means that many of the principles of EU law, such

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 as the principles of supremacy, direct effect, uniformity, subsidiarity,
and proportionality, will continue to be applied in England. This
ensures that England continues to benefit from the principles of EU
law, even though it is no longer a member of the EU. England has
also agreed to continue to recognize the jurisdiction of the European
Court of Justice, which means that it will continue to be bound by the
rulings of the court. This ensures that England will continue to be
subject to the same standards of justice as the other EU member
states.

3. European Convention on Human Rights ( ECHR ):

1. What is ECHR?
- It’s a convention that protects the human rights of people in countries that belong
to the council of Europe. So far, all 47 members state of the council has signed the
convention.
- The idea for the creation of the ECHR was proposed by Winston Churchill in the
early 1940s while the Second World War was still raging across Europe. Then it
was developed to ensure that governments would never again be allowed to
dehumanize and abuse people’s rights with impunity, make sure the atrocities
committed would never be repeated, and safeguard people’s fundamental rights.
- During the summer of 1949, The European Convention on Human Rights was
formally drafted by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Over 100 members of
parliament from across Europe assembled to draft the charter, but mainly by British
lawyers. The United Kingdom was the very first nation to ratify the convention in
March 1951.

2. ECHR Characteristics:
- The ECHR came into force on September 3, 1953. Following the Convention, the
UK created an Act that has similar traits to the ECHR. It was the 1998 Human
Rights Act. The human rights contained within this law are based on the European
Convention on Human Rights articles. The Act “gives further effect” to rights and
freedoms guaranteed under the European Convention. Until 1998, the only way UK
citizens could bring a legal challenge relying on their rights under the ECHR was to
go to the European Court of Human Rights, and this process could be lengthy and
expensive. The Human Rights Act (HRA) allows the rights guaranteed by the
ECHR to be enforced in UK courts – increasing everyone’s access to justice in this
country.

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- The convention consists of 59 Articles protecting basic human rights with 16
protocols. The “European Convention on Human Rights” sets forth several
fundamental rights and freedoms and prohibits unfair and harmful practices. More
rights are granted by additional protocols to the Convention.

- The Convention secures :

o Right to life ( Article 2 )
o Prohibition of torture ( Article 3 )
o Prohibition of slavery and forced labor ( Article 4 )
o Right to liberty and security ( Article 5 )
o Right to a fair trial ( Article 6 )
o No punishment without law ( Article 7 )
o Right to respect for private and family life ( Article 8 )
o Freedom of thought, conscience and religion ( Article 9 )
o Freedom of expression ( Article 10 )
o Freedom of assembly and association ( Article 11 )
o Right to marry and start a family ( Article 12 )
o Right not to be discriminated against in respect of these rights
( Article 14 )
o Right to protection of property ( Protocol 1, Article 1 )
o Right to education ( Protocol 1, Article 2 )
o Right to participate in free elections ( Protocol 1, Article 3 )
o The abolition of the death penalty ( Protocol 13 )

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4. References list
1. James Chen (2022) Common Law: What It Is, How It's Used, and How It
Differs From Civil Law, Investopedia
2. Andrew D.E. Lewis, Mary Ann Glendon, Albert Roland Kiralfy (2022)
Common Law, Britannica
3. Thomson Reuters (2022) Common Law: Defining what it is and what you
need to know
4. Branka Vuleta (2022) What is Common Law ?, Legaljobs
5. The Wex Definitions Team (2022) Case Law, Cornell Law School
6. Wallstreetmojo Team, Common Law, WallStreetMojo
7. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2018) Legislation, Britannica
8. UK Parliament, Legislation – Glossary
9. UK Parliament, What is Secondary Legislation?
10. Cours Droit (2020) The legislation : Source of English Law, Cours de droit
11. Llywodraeth Cymru Welsh Government (2021) Understanding legislation
12. Udo Bux / Mariusz Maciejewski (2022) Sources and scope of European
Union Law¸ Fact Sheets on the European Union, European Parliament
13. Professor Suzanne Rab, Serle Court (2022) Legal Systems in the UK
( England and Wales ): Overview, Thomson Reuters Practical Law
14. Equality and Human Rights Commission (2017) What is the European
Convention on Human Rights ?Law Educators (2021) European Convention
on Human Rights ECHR, Youtube
15. Law Guru Anurag Rishi (2021) European Convention on Human Rights /
Human Rights / Law Guru, Youtube
16. Catherine Casserley (2018) Human Rights Act 1998: Additional Information,
Britannica

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