INTRODUCTION TO COMMON
LAW AND LEGAL ENGLISH
WHY STUDY COMMON LAW AND LEGAL ENGLISH?
Why bother?
- You need to understand the basics of the system and some areas of substantive
law if you are going to work in a job beyond local Belgian or other national civil law
systems. This is true for work in the areas of law, finance, banking and
consultancy.
- We will study this through the English Legal System.
REMEMBER THIS IF IN DOUBT
‘Some [students] even have the misguided belief that the study of the institutions and
processes of our law does not carry the intellectual challenge of other legal subjects. Yet
a failure to understand the English legal system will make much of what the student
learns of those other subjects either incomprehensible or misleading.’ SH Bailey, M
Gunn, D Ormerod and J Ching, Smith, Bailey and Gunn on the Modern English Legal
System (4th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2002) p 1
COMMON LAW? ENGLISH LEGAL TERMINOLOGY?
COMMON LAW
Common law has several meanings :
1. Law developed by judges in the 11th and 12th century to form a ‘common’ law for
the whole country (as opposed to the situation prior to the Norman conquest).
2. The rules (substantive and procedural) developed by judges; ‘judge-made law’
“common law abortion” means that you take no legislation into consideration
(because what legislation do you choose) vs. “abortion in England” means legislation
in England
3. Legal systems based on the English legal system; ‘common law systems’ (as
opposed to civil law systems).
4. Law used in common law courts prior to the reorganization of the court structure
in 1873-75 (as opposed to Equity in the Chancery courts).
EU countries with a common law system are:
1. Republic of Ireland
2. Malta (mixed system with common law)
3. Cyprus
Common law vs. common law system
Common law systems= systems that use common law
1
,Common law and equity (EXAMEN question)
THE LEGAL SYSTEMS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of four nations, with
distinct legal systems for:
• England and Wales
• Northern Ireland
• Scotland
There are four nations and three legal systems
Three legal systems: England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland
Scotland is NOT a common law system
In briefing note: preferably don’t use Scotland
GREAT BRITAIN
Great Britain consists of
• England
• Wales
• Scotland
Scotland is around one third of the land mass of the UK. The largest local council is the
Highlands and Islands, and the land mass of the Highlands is slightly smaller than the
land mass of Belgium.
THE SYSTEM OF THIS COURSE
England and Wales
England and Wales: is the reason the world has countries with common law systems
ENGLISH LEGAL TERMINOLOGY
This course is not a language course.
Terminology is inherent to the course.
English legal terminology can be tricky as English is not a phonetic language so coming to
class can help (e.g. Re Dalziel, Sir Menzies Campbell, stare decisis,…)
COURSE CONTENT
Development of the system
How the system works
Specific subjects
2
, • areas of law
• recent developments
• policy issues
Policy issues tend to change each year:
- This year we will talk about: Tommy Robinson= leader of a big fascist party in
England, he’s at the core of certain legal court cases
ASSESSMENT
You will receive a single grade for this course. That grade will be arrived at based on two
elements – a written briefing note which you will submit in advance, and an oral
exam during which you will be asked questions on aspects of the course, and possibly on
your briefing note. You have to answer all questions correctly. The two elements are not
marked separately, and NO PART OF THE ASSESSMENT IS A FORMALITY.
Any information about the assessment that does not come from Prof. Dr. Cailin Mackenzie
should not be believed and should not be passed on to other students.
Briefing note on a subject you choose yourself (no subject on Scotland): Pick something
you are interested in!
- Needs to be a national topic (no EU law or international law) so choose England,
Wales etc.
- Be ready to discuss briefing note at the exam (may or may not be questions
about)
- Footnotes are necessary! (footnotes or you FAIL) + critical opinions
- Read an article then you have to quote the article (websites, articles, legislation)
- Should be primary sources
- She checks footnotes (so know your footnotes!!)
BRIEFING NOTE
• It is not a paper or essay – DO NOT BASE YOURSELF ON AN ONLINE DEFINITION
• It should be approximately 1000 words (excluding footnotes), which is around two
sides of A4, Font Verdana 10
• It cannot be simply narrative, or a summary.
• It cannot be a summary of a lecture.
• References as per OSCOLA guide on Canvas.
• No footnotes/references = automatic fail.
• Deadline: 12 December, 9 am for electronic copy. Hard copy to be handed over at
lecture DO NOT LEAVE AT FACULTY.
• Can’t be narrative (don’t give a list or summary)
• needs critical analysis of some kind (comparing to Belgium for example)
3
, • Opinions are allowed but need to be backed up through sources + footnotes
• References by OSCOLA guide on Canvas (consistency): use page numbers and
clear references to articles
EXAMINATION
The examination for this course is an oral in English. It will be conducted online. It is an
exam of understanding not memory.
You will have submitted a briefing note in advance of the exam and during the exam you
will be asked about the content of that note, and then you will be asked questions about
other topics of the course. You will not be given time to prepare.
The grade is based on both the briefing document and the performance during the oral,
there are no separately graded elements.
Use info on slides and your own notes (you can use chat gpt after lecture if some things
are unclear)
4 sections exam:
1. Briefing note
2. Statuary, precedents
3. Crime, systems
4. policy issues?
SOURCES OF LAW
NO FORMAL LIST OF SOURCES
• Unlike continental legal systems, there is no formal list of sources.
o You can’t go to one place and find the law
• The source is caselaw and custom as developed in the common law.
o The source is caselaw (judge made law)
• The most important source of new rules today is legislation.
o Top of the pyramid: legislation, this is the most important source of the
newest rules
o Primary source is legislation: because it’s made by the Parliament
• ‘Recent’ addition: European law as a source of legal rules.
THE ORIGINAL SOURCE IS REASON
• The source of legal rules is equity, reason and good sense (Lord Mansfield 1773)
o Equity= there may not be any rules yet, but people will be invited to court
to find a solution to their problem
4
LAW AND LEGAL ENGLISH
WHY STUDY COMMON LAW AND LEGAL ENGLISH?
Why bother?
- You need to understand the basics of the system and some areas of substantive
law if you are going to work in a job beyond local Belgian or other national civil law
systems. This is true for work in the areas of law, finance, banking and
consultancy.
- We will study this through the English Legal System.
REMEMBER THIS IF IN DOUBT
‘Some [students] even have the misguided belief that the study of the institutions and
processes of our law does not carry the intellectual challenge of other legal subjects. Yet
a failure to understand the English legal system will make much of what the student
learns of those other subjects either incomprehensible or misleading.’ SH Bailey, M
Gunn, D Ormerod and J Ching, Smith, Bailey and Gunn on the Modern English Legal
System (4th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2002) p 1
COMMON LAW? ENGLISH LEGAL TERMINOLOGY?
COMMON LAW
Common law has several meanings :
1. Law developed by judges in the 11th and 12th century to form a ‘common’ law for
the whole country (as opposed to the situation prior to the Norman conquest).
2. The rules (substantive and procedural) developed by judges; ‘judge-made law’
“common law abortion” means that you take no legislation into consideration
(because what legislation do you choose) vs. “abortion in England” means legislation
in England
3. Legal systems based on the English legal system; ‘common law systems’ (as
opposed to civil law systems).
4. Law used in common law courts prior to the reorganization of the court structure
in 1873-75 (as opposed to Equity in the Chancery courts).
EU countries with a common law system are:
1. Republic of Ireland
2. Malta (mixed system with common law)
3. Cyprus
Common law vs. common law system
Common law systems= systems that use common law
1
,Common law and equity (EXAMEN question)
THE LEGAL SYSTEMS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of four nations, with
distinct legal systems for:
• England and Wales
• Northern Ireland
• Scotland
There are four nations and three legal systems
Three legal systems: England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland
Scotland is NOT a common law system
In briefing note: preferably don’t use Scotland
GREAT BRITAIN
Great Britain consists of
• England
• Wales
• Scotland
Scotland is around one third of the land mass of the UK. The largest local council is the
Highlands and Islands, and the land mass of the Highlands is slightly smaller than the
land mass of Belgium.
THE SYSTEM OF THIS COURSE
England and Wales
England and Wales: is the reason the world has countries with common law systems
ENGLISH LEGAL TERMINOLOGY
This course is not a language course.
Terminology is inherent to the course.
English legal terminology can be tricky as English is not a phonetic language so coming to
class can help (e.g. Re Dalziel, Sir Menzies Campbell, stare decisis,…)
COURSE CONTENT
Development of the system
How the system works
Specific subjects
2
, • areas of law
• recent developments
• policy issues
Policy issues tend to change each year:
- This year we will talk about: Tommy Robinson= leader of a big fascist party in
England, he’s at the core of certain legal court cases
ASSESSMENT
You will receive a single grade for this course. That grade will be arrived at based on two
elements – a written briefing note which you will submit in advance, and an oral
exam during which you will be asked questions on aspects of the course, and possibly on
your briefing note. You have to answer all questions correctly. The two elements are not
marked separately, and NO PART OF THE ASSESSMENT IS A FORMALITY.
Any information about the assessment that does not come from Prof. Dr. Cailin Mackenzie
should not be believed and should not be passed on to other students.
Briefing note on a subject you choose yourself (no subject on Scotland): Pick something
you are interested in!
- Needs to be a national topic (no EU law or international law) so choose England,
Wales etc.
- Be ready to discuss briefing note at the exam (may or may not be questions
about)
- Footnotes are necessary! (footnotes or you FAIL) + critical opinions
- Read an article then you have to quote the article (websites, articles, legislation)
- Should be primary sources
- She checks footnotes (so know your footnotes!!)
BRIEFING NOTE
• It is not a paper or essay – DO NOT BASE YOURSELF ON AN ONLINE DEFINITION
• It should be approximately 1000 words (excluding footnotes), which is around two
sides of A4, Font Verdana 10
• It cannot be simply narrative, or a summary.
• It cannot be a summary of a lecture.
• References as per OSCOLA guide on Canvas.
• No footnotes/references = automatic fail.
• Deadline: 12 December, 9 am for electronic copy. Hard copy to be handed over at
lecture DO NOT LEAVE AT FACULTY.
• Can’t be narrative (don’t give a list or summary)
• needs critical analysis of some kind (comparing to Belgium for example)
3
, • Opinions are allowed but need to be backed up through sources + footnotes
• References by OSCOLA guide on Canvas (consistency): use page numbers and
clear references to articles
EXAMINATION
The examination for this course is an oral in English. It will be conducted online. It is an
exam of understanding not memory.
You will have submitted a briefing note in advance of the exam and during the exam you
will be asked about the content of that note, and then you will be asked questions about
other topics of the course. You will not be given time to prepare.
The grade is based on both the briefing document and the performance during the oral,
there are no separately graded elements.
Use info on slides and your own notes (you can use chat gpt after lecture if some things
are unclear)
4 sections exam:
1. Briefing note
2. Statuary, precedents
3. Crime, systems
4. policy issues?
SOURCES OF LAW
NO FORMAL LIST OF SOURCES
• Unlike continental legal systems, there is no formal list of sources.
o You can’t go to one place and find the law
• The source is caselaw and custom as developed in the common law.
o The source is caselaw (judge made law)
• The most important source of new rules today is legislation.
o Top of the pyramid: legislation, this is the most important source of the
newest rules
o Primary source is legislation: because it’s made by the Parliament
• ‘Recent’ addition: European law as a source of legal rules.
THE ORIGINAL SOURCE IS REASON
• The source of legal rules is equity, reason and good sense (Lord Mansfield 1773)
o Equity= there may not be any rules yet, but people will be invited to court
to find a solution to their problem
4
