LAW501: Critically assess the different sources of the law in England and Wales To what extent have external sources affected its development: Business Law Essay, RUL, UK

QUESTION:

 Critically assess the different sources of the law in England and Wales. To what extent have external sources affected its development?

OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this written assignment is for you to provide a comprehensive description of the main sources of law for the legal system of England & Wales. You should identify not only the internal sources of law, but also assess the effect of external sources of law.

TASKS:

You should assess the principal sources of law within England and Wales, namely, statute law, the common law, the European Convention on Human Rights (“the ECHR”) and also the impact of law which originated from the European Union (“the EU”). You should identify which of these sources are internal and which are external. A detail description of the nature and effect of each source should be provided. You will be expected to appreciate that since Brexit, EU law is no longer a new source of law. Credit will be given for identifying any other relevant sources of law, such as equity and/or international law, but you should be aware of the parameters of the overall word count.

When describing each of the main sources, you should analyze the institutions relevant to each source and the mechanism by which law is created. An example would be how the operation of judicial precedent creates the common law. Another example would be the role of parliament in the enactment of statute law.   Credit will be given to a description of how different sources of law engage with each other, particularly the interaction between statute law and the common law. An example of such interaction would be the role of the common law in statutory interpretation. When describing external influences, you should describe how external sources are implemented within the England & Wales legal system.

You are encouraged to provide a critical analysis of the sources in your assignment. However, you should remember that this is a law assignment and not a political assessment. You should therefore avoid providing critical political analysis. You are additionally expected to provide a conclusion that addresses both parts of the question and assesses the extent to which external influences have affected the development of English law.