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AS Level law Paper 1 Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

as level law paper 1 cheat sheet

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Judicial precedent

Latin Maxim stare decisis
Stand by what has been decided and not unsettle the establ­ished
ratio decidendi
binding- reason for decision— keeps law accoun­table
obiter dicta
influences law— not binding “other things said”
Binding Precedent
decison from higher court binding lower court
persasive precedent (weaker form of precedent)
Suggest court can be persuade to a decisison
applic­ation
original precedent
no previous decision— judge may apply new rule - create new precedent
distin­gui­shing precedent
existing precedent but does not apply in particular case— creating new case
overruling precedent
precedent before­-IN­CORRECT

Statutory interp­ret­ation

literal rule
interp­ret­ation Of statute as it is. Doesn’t matter if undesi­rable outcome. No consid­eration of intent of parliament
 
strict applic­ation— fisher v bell (offering for sale offensive weapon, just displayed knife- not necess­arily offer “invit­ation to treat”— Whitely v Chappell- person not guilty if impers­onation to vote if man dead
advantage- legal certainty and predic­tab­ility
disadv­antge- absurd and imprac­tical results. Ignores intent of parlia­ment.
Golden Rule
depart literal meaning if result absurd or unjust. Judges get flexib­ility
 
narrow and broad interp­ret­ation
narrow
Adler v George— charged under Official Secrets act (amended later) “in vicinity” also interp­reted in the area too
Broad
Re Sigsworth— murder mom as next in kin to inherit property. Exclude murderes from benefiti
advant­ages— more flexible than literal rule. Keep in mind parlia­mentary intent
disadv­ant­ages— incons­istive and objective. Absurd is also not defined
Mischeif Rule
determine what the “ mischief “ the law is trying to remedy
smith v Hughes
— soliciting towards street from window when statue said no soliciting “on street”- charged for offence using mischief approach keeping parlia­mentary intent
Advantage— flexible parli intent
disadv­antage— judicial law makingm, uncertain limited to context

Purposive approach

legisl­ative intent
interpret laws to reflect purpose of parlia­ment- why was it passed?-
 
sense of broad interp­ret­ation- beyond precise wording. Look at objective
legisl­ative history
Consider materials- parlia­mentary debate­-co­mmittee reports- intent. Helped judges to understand mischeif
broader context
Interp­reting law in light of societal conditions
practical applic­ation
depart from strict literal meaning if fail to achieve legisl­ative purpose
use of extrinsic aid
Hansar­d-E­xpl­anatory notes-­common law- law reform proposals
 
material outside statute
intrinsic aids
inside statute- preambular langua­ge-­hea­din­gs-­titles
the role of judges
more active- not just law enforcers- partic­ipants shaping law
compare with literal approach
R v Secretary of state
human fertil­isation and embryology act 1990-f cloning of embryos permitted? Emerged after passage of cloning technology
Ex parte Smith
1991 prisoner act- prisoner access to fam into
advant­age­-avoid absurd outcomes and justice better alights with parlia­mentary intent­-fl­exible and adaptable
disadv­ant­age—n activist judiciary, their own views- democratic laws making

Statutory Interp­ret­ation

why is interp­ret­ation needed??
ambiguity
words have multiple meanings
Broad terms
E.g. vehicles could be car or bike
drafting errors
esp is rushed legisl­ature
techno­logical changes
changing use of language
Word meaning evolved e.g. “marriage”
 

Parlia­mentary law making

Bills
Drating
done by MPs and govt dept.s or HOL members
Govt bills
drafted by Govt Dept.s
Private members bills
intro by MPs or Lords
Public bill
apply to whole country
private bill
Specific group or org
Hybrid bill
both private and public charac­ter­istics
Actual drafting
first reading
introduced to members of house. Bil’s title and main objectives read out.
Second reading
debate and purpose. Main ideas. Support or oppose
 
voted upon
committee stage
examine bill in detail—by public bill committee
 
MPs can suggest amendments
report stage
amendments reviewed
 
more detail, refinement
Third reading
final l version of bill— discussion and vote on final form
 
bill passed t other house
review stage
Other house— possible ping pong
royal assent
both houses approve bill-f­orm­ality

Advantages of parlia­mentary law making

Democratic legitimacy
laws in parliament democr­ati­cally legit- MPs elected by public. Public has indirect input. Repres­ent­ative democracy
 
Govt bills presented by ruling party
Debate
multiple taxes of debate and review­-both houses
 
structured proces­s-r­educe poorly drafted laws. Committee stage-­det­ailed examin­ation by experts
Accoun­tab­ility and parlia­mentary expertise
Parlia­mentary procee­dings available t public- online- hold MPs accoun­table to consti­tuents

Disadv­antages of Parlia­mentary Law Making

process
cumber­some- time consum­ing-esp in emerge­nci­es-e.g covid legisl­ature
 
contro­versial law takes longer
Partis­anship and Political INfluence
ruling govt priori­tis­ed-­tyranny of the majority- whip system
house of Lords
critisism of lack of democracy- unelected nature- to further limit power
private member bills
very limited parlia­mentary time- very likely to succeed due to lack of support and debate
ping pong effect
back and forth- delays­-di­lution of effect­iveness

Disadv­antages of Parlia­mentary Law Making

process
cumber­some- time consum­ing-esp in emerge­nci­es-e.g covid legisl­ature
 
contro­versial law takes longer
Partis­anship and Political INfluence
ruling govt priori­tis­ed-­tyranny of the majority- whip system
house of Lords
critisism of lack of democracy- unelected nature- to further limit power
private member bills
very limited parlia­mentary time- very likely to succeed due to lack of support and debate
ping pong effect
back and forth- delays­-di­lution of effect­iveness

Influences on parliament

political parties
Manifesto commit­ments have signif­icant impact on- ruling party typically controls legisl­ative agenda- whip MPs into voting
Public opinion
MPs represent consti­tuents- influence health­care, crime, educat­ion­-MPspay attention to keep seat- media effects parliament
Pressure groups
groups seek to influence groups
role of media
powerful in setting public agenda. Raise awareness to issues. In-depth invest­iga­tions
Law Commission
indepe­ndent body that reviews and recommends reforms to the law—id­ent­ifies outdated law-pr­opose changes
 
often done through parliament select commit­tee­s-using evidence based recomm­end­ations

Aids to statutory interp­ret­ation

Internal aids to interp­ret­ation
preamble
legisl­ative intent
section headings and marginal notes
interp­ret­ation clauses
ensure consis­tency
statutory defini­tions
The Companies Act - uses terms director and company specif­ically defined
the context of the statute
e.g. Pepper v Hart 1993 (hol used contextual debates to clear text statute)
External Aids
parlia­mentary materials
e.g. Hansard -what was said during debate- not used as parlia­mentary intent should be derived from law
Explan­atory notes
docs intro into parliament may include insight and summary of bill- help understand mischief of statute
Law Reform Reports (white papers0
typically published before enactment of legisl­ation- importance context e.g. law commis­sions report of rape- helped shape sexual offences law
treaties and intern­ational law
influence e.g. r v milleruksc interp­reted euro commun­ities act to take into account uks clpiance
textbooks and legal commen­taries
Provide judges with influe­ntial context- vital source of context

Delegated legisl­ation con’t

Advantages
disadv­antages
saves parlia­mentary time
undemo­cra­tic­—made by unelected civil servants
expertise— ministers with specific knowledge e.g. bylaws for transport, health, and safety
lack of public­ity-SIs and bylaws are less publicised compared t acts
flexib­ility and spee—DL can quickly pass e.g. covid
risk of abuse— Delegated powers too broad-­misuse
easily update­d—o­rders in council or SLS can plate existing legisl­ature without fully going through parlia­mentary process
Difficult to control
Democratic to extent­-e.g. local authority elected by people
CONTROLS ON DL
parlia­mentary controls
enabling act
sets limit for delegated power - parliament can revoke in case of misuse of
Affirm­ative resolution
some SIs must be approved by parliament within 40 days
negative resolution
SI become law unless rejected within 40 days
 
preamble
legisl­ative intent

Judicial controls over DL

procedural Ultra Vies
DL not following correct procedure
 
e.g. Aylesbury Mushroom Case
Substa­ntive ultra Vires
Content of DL goes beyond given power
 
e.g. R v Home Secret­aryte Fir Brigade Union
wednesbury unreas­onable
DL is plain irrational or unfair