A-Level Law — Legal System, Criminal, Tort & Contract

Sources of law

• Domestic sources: Acts of Parliament (statute), delegated legislation, case law/common law (judicial precedent) and custom. The Welsh and English legal system also reflects the powers of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) to make law for Wales in devolved areas.
• Historical sources: common law and equity (which developed to remedy the rigidity of the common law, providing remedies such as injunctions and specific performance - "equity prevails" over the common law where they conflict).

Civil and criminal justice

• Criminal law (state vs defendant; punishment; proof beyond reasonable doubt) and civil law (claimant vs defendant; a remedy such as damages; balance of probabilities).
• Court hierarchy: Magistrates' and Crown Courts (criminal); County and High Court (civil); appeals through the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court.

Alternative dispute resolution

• Negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration - private, cheaper and quicker alternatives to court, evaluated on cost, speed, fairness and enforceability.

Know the domestic sources and the civil/criminal distinction (parties, aims, courts, standard of proof), and note the Welsh dimension of the modern legal system.

Diagram