English Legal History

1
English Legal History

• Romans
• Julius Caesar invaded in 55 BC and again in 54 BC
• No permanent settlement but gave account of the
  rule of the Druids
• Claudius invaded in 43 BC, defeated the Celts and
  stayed
• Roman Britain did not include Wales or Scotland
  beyond Hadrians Wall
• Latinized Britons restricted to the Southeast

2
Saxon Invaders

• By the 4th Century AD Romans withdrew leaving
  Romanized Britons to the mercy of the Saxons
• Various kingdoms emerge in the 5th and 6th
  Centuries AD
• Mercia, Wessex, and Northumbria

3
Danes (Vikings)

• Initially, Vikings restricted activities to raids
  along the coast.
• Population pressure caused migration to British
  Isles, Normandy, and other places
• Danes invaded and occupied much of Engle-land
• Danegeld

4
Norman Conquest

• Battle of Hastings 1066
• William the Conqueror
• Ordered Domesday book to inventory kingdom
• Introduced the feudal system to England and Welsh
  marches
• Court system
• Baronial courts
• Shire courts

5
Henry II

• Keep in mind that Henry not only ruled England
  but also most of Western France
• Separation of Church and Kings Courts
• A result of the far flung empire, Henry wanted
  more control over secular matters
• Wanted to wrest power away from the barons in
  secular matters

6
National Justice System

• Assize system
• Judges covered the country riding circuits
• Juries
• Development of the common law by English judges
• Principle of stare decisis
• Writ system

7
Curia Regis and other Royal Courts

• Court of the Exchequer
• Kings Bench
• Common Pleas

8
Common Law and Equity

• Rigidity of the C/L gave rise to appeals to King
  who delegated power to Chancellor
• Equity designed to give a remedies that C/L
  couldnt
• C/L restricted to money damages
• Equity
• Injunction (positive and negative)
• Specific performance

9
Examples of Equitable Maxims

• He who comes to equity must come with clean hands
• He who seeks equity must do equity
• Equity may be used as a shield not a sword.

10
Wales

• Act of Union with Wales, 1536
• Extended English law throughout the Principality
  not just restricted to the marches
• Reduced power of the marcher lords

11
Magna Carta

• First Magna Carta 1215 at Runnymeade
• Push back by barons to restore rights lost to the
  crown under Henry II and Richard I
• Statement of grievances against the crown
• Deals with rights of barons not commoners
• Pope declared it void on King Johns insistence
• Subsequent documents extracted from King

12
Glorious Revolution

• 1688, James II deposed. Crown offered to William
  and Mary as joint rulers
• Restricted role of the monarch
• Increased powers of Parliament
• Hereafter Parliament controlled succession

13
Act of Settlement of 1700

• With no Protestant Stuart heirs, Parliament
  settled on the Elector of Hanover as the next
  monarch after Queen Annes death.
• George I became King

14
Act of Union with Scotland 1706

• Since Queen Anne was the last Protestant Stuart
  and was Queen of England and Queen of Scotland,
  Parliament passed the Act of Union to merge
  Scotland with England and Wales to maintain
  control after Annes death
• Although merged, Scotland retained its separate
  legal system

15
20th Century

• End of Empire
• British Commonwealth
• European Union (European Communities Act 1972)

16
Sources of English Law

• Legislation
• Case law (Common law and Equity)
• European Community legislation

17
Parliament

• Three elements
• Monarch in Parliament
• House of Commons
• House of Lords

18
Legal Profession

• Barristers
• Training
• Advocates (Juniors and QCs)
• Do not deal directly with public
• Solicitors
• Training
• Office practice
• Retain Barristers

19
Judiciary

• House of Lords (12 Law Lords)
• Court of Appeals
• Civil and Criminal Divisions
• High Court
• Family, Chancery, and Queens Bench Divisions
• County Court and Crown Court
• Magistrates Courts