ASSIGNMENT 1 FRONT SHEET

Qualification BTEC Level 4 HND Diploma in Business

Unit number and title Uni7: Business Law

Submission date 19 - 02 - 2020 Date Received 1st submission

Re-submission Date Date Received 2nd submission

Student Name Tran Thu Huong Student ID GBD18535

Class GBD0703B Assessor name Nguyen Phuong Dung

Student declaration

I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand the consequences of plagiarism. I understand that
making a false declaration is a form of malpractice.

Student’s signature Huong

Grading grid

P1 P2 M1 D1

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 Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 4
1. Different sources of law ................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 Definition of Common law and Statutory law ................................................................................. 4
1.2 Function of Common law and Statutory law ................................................................................... 5
a. Function of Common law and Statutory law, role of common law and statutory law in regulating
the society’s relationship .......................................................................................................................... 5
b. Source of law in Vietnam ................................................................................................................ 5
1.3 Main different between Common Law and Statutory Law ............................................................. 6
1.4 Development and recent reforming of UK legal system ................................................................. 6
1.5 Example of the development and reforming UK legal system. ....................................................... 7
2. Role of State in law-making ......................................................................................................................... 8
2.1 Role of Parliament and Government in law-making ....................................................................... 8
2.2 Process to making law of Parliament............................................................................................... 8
2.3 The structure of the UK Court. ...................................................................................................... 10
3. Legal suit/case resolved in UK. .................................................................................................................. 11
3.1 Backgrounds of the case ................................................................................................................ 11
3.2 Holding/ Decision/ Judgment of the court ..................................................................................... 11
3.3 Legal issue of the case ................................................................................................................... 11
3.4 Law which was applied in this case ............................................................................................... 11
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ 12
Reference ................................................................................................................................................................... 13

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Introduction
In this assignment, the different sources of law will be clarified, the role of the government in law
making and how statutory and common law are applied in justice court will be mentioned to point out the
effectiveness of the legal system on recent reforms and developments, provide a coherent and critical
assessment of the legal system, with evidence drawn from a range of different relevant examples. Because
this assignment is learning about UK law, thus theories and examples used in this article will be based on
UK law.

1. Different sources of law

1.1 Definition of Common law and Statutory law
Definition of law is a set of rules that are promulgated and enforced by the government authority to
control the behavior of people in the country, protect their rights and fairness. Each country will have its
own legal system, if there are cases of non-compliance or violations will be subject to penalties from
authority (Toppr-guides, n.d.). There are two types of laws used in the UK, namely Common law and
Statutory law.

Common law Statutory law

Common law is also known as case law, it is Statutory law is a system of principles and
not compiled into rules and statutes but rather rules of law, available in written form and set
is based on legal precedents set by the courts. by the legislature to regulate the behavior of its
The judges relied on the case in the past to citizens. When a bill is passed by both the
make decision and enforce in judgments house of parliament, it becomes statutory law.
rendered by the court. So, when a similar case The statutory law must be followed and
is happened in the future, the court must give forbidden from being governed.
the same judgment as to the previous one.
Sometimes, if some precedents are outdated or
not closely related to the case, the court can
choose to deviate or modify the precedent.
Definition of Common law and Statutory law. Source: (Devcoolidge, 2018) and (Surbhi, 2017)

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 1.2 Function of Common law and Statutory law
a. Function of Common law and Statutory law, role of common law and statutory law in regulating
the society’s relationship

Common law Statutory law

The main function of common law is to The function of the statutory law is to
ensure fair law. When a new case happens, the express the will and protect the interests of
court will review previous similar cases to those who hold the state power, adjust the
make a judgment consistent with the current function and power of state agencies, rights
situation. The second function of the common and obligations of citizens, regulate relations in
law is to create consistency and anticipation for society in order to establish and maintain a
people. Thence, they can know what they certain social.
expect the court decide, they will know what is The role of statutory law in regulating the
right, what is wrong and when they have to pay society’s relationship is to help citizens
damages for what they did. understand their rights and obligations, from
The role of common law in regulating the which they will act to protect society and their
society’s relationship is to create fairness own interests, contributing to stability and
among people. In addition, common law also development of the country.
creates the trust of the criminals with law and
court.
Function of Common law and Statutory law, role of common law and statutory law in regulating the society’s
relationship. Source: (Lac.org.na, n.d.) and (Hg.org, n.d.)

b. Source of law in Vietnam. (Huong, 2017)

Source of law Content

Judicial precedents In principle, Judicial precedent is not considered a source of law.
Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has published documents on how to
resolve cases and related to the training of Judges in interpreting laws.
The Supreme Court has the power to issue a circular on providing law
enforcement instruction to lower courts. This circular is defined as a
source of law.
International To become a source of law, the international treaties must be ratified by
treaties/Conventions Vietnam and applied directly or indirectly to deal with specific cased in
Vietnam. Generally, Vietnam often interprets the international treaties
into domestic laws as a way of implementing international treaties in
Vietnam.
Customary regulations In principle, customary regulations are not defined as a source of law.
Nevertheless, customary regulations will be embraced as a source of
law if they are used to address specific cases in practice.

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 1.3 Main different between Common Law and Statutory Law
According to (Surbhi, 2017), there are some key differences between common law and statutory law:
 Common law, also known as case law, is a legal system in which judges’ decisions in the past as a
basis for similar cases in the future. Meanwhile, statutory law is a formal law, available in written
form and established by the legislature and regulates the behavior of the members.
 For common law, decisions of the judge will be made in a specific case. Vice versa, statutory law
provides the best governance rules of the society.
 Common law based on the documented judicial precedent, which mean that judges will consider
evidences and decisions of the judgments in the past. In contrast, statutory law is relied on the
statutes enacted and imposed by the legislature of the country.
 Common law is a procedural law, which consists of a set of rules regulates the court proceedings
in different lawsuit. In contrast, statutory law is substantive in nature, it stipulates the rights and
obligations of citizens, along with the penalty for non-compliance with the rules.
 Common law may be amended by statutory, while to amend the statutory law, a separate statute
must be established.
1.4 Development and recent reforming of UK legal system
From 2000 to 2015, there were significant changes to the English Legal System, which was divided
into two phase. The first phase were those introduced in the Labor administration led by Gordon Brown
and Tony Blair (2000-2010), second phase were those introduced by the Coalition/Conservative
government led by David Cameron (2010-2015). (Partington, 2015)

Phase 1 Phase 2
 Creating the Legal Services Commission  Abolishing local police authorities
to executive legal aid and pioneer new and replace them with Crime
approaches to provide legal services to Commissioners and elected Police
the poor (2000). (2012).
 Creating the Ministry of Justice to  Creating the National Crime Agency
Events
replace the Department for to replace some other agencies and
Constitutional Affairs (2007). reform the county court (2013).
 Creating the Supreme Court to replace  Establishing the Family Court
the judicial function of House of Lords, (2014).
and establish the Sentencing Council to  Creating a new court to adjudicate
advise on sentencing policy (2009). major international trade disputes
(2015).

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 The change in phase 1 has helped the UK to This phase has more disadvantages than
save a considerable expense. These expenses phase 1. Because lawyer’s finances and
can help other problems of the country such legal aid were cut, many court buildings
as supporting the poor, the homeless and have been closed and the number of legal
contributing to the country’s development. advice agencies has reduced. Many
Besides that, the establishment of new legal lawyers feel disappointed with this change,
agencies can help ease the work of the main and they decided to look for a new job with
agencies, this also helps the agencies to a more stable income. The reduced number
concentrate on a specific area. People can go of lawyers synonymous with the litigations
Effectiveness to the right agency where they want to handle will cost more to hire defense lawyers. The
the problem and legal issues will be resolved reduction in the number of legal advice
in a particular field. The first phase in agencies, in addition to pressure on
changing the legal system of the United lawyers, citizens also difficult to find legal
Kingdom has received the support of all agencies to help them solve their problems.
citizens and they all feel satisfied with the Besides, the construction of a court
government, the objections and difficulties specializing in international commercial
were almost impossible. disputes also helps the United Kingdom
become a place where many businessmen
and corporations look for when they have
business problems and this also gives the
UK a decent amount of money.
The development and recent reforming of UK legal system and their effectiveness. Source: (Partington, 2015)

1.5 Example of the development and reforming UK legal system. (GOV.UK, 2019)
The government has confirmed that it has accepted the proposals of the Low Pay Commission to
increase the rates of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the National Living Wage (NLW) from
April 2019. The rate of compulsory NLW for the workers over 25-years-old will increase from £7.83 to
£8.21 per hour, the biggest cash increase ever in the UK. According to estimates from the Independent
Low Pay commission, around 3 million workers are set to benefit from the increase in NLW and
minimum wage for younger workers.
The introduction of NLW has brought the fastest wage increase for the lowest-income peoples in the
past 20 years, putting more cash into the pockets of those who most need it. Supported by NLW, the
lowest paid earners saw their salaries increase by 8% compared to inflation between April 2015 and April
2018.
The Chancellor also announced plans to expand the scope of the NLW to cover workers over 23-
years-old from April 2021, and for those over 21-years-old within 5 years. This is expected to benefits
about 4 million low-paid workers.

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2. Role of State in law-making
2.1 Role of Parliament and Government in law-making
The role of Parliament: Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the UK. It represents the
interests of citizens, examines and checks the work of the government. Parliament also debates and ratifies
new laws suggested by the government. Because it has the authority to amend, approve or refuse
government bills besides to the introduction of legislation. (Lawteacher.net, 2013)
The role of Government: The government is responsible for developing, implementing the policies
and drafting legislation. The government also has the right to submit a bill for consideration in Parliament.
Nevertheless, the government has no right to amend or supplement laws established by the Parliament. In
addition, the government has a role to establish the secondary legislation to enforce the law.
2.2 Process to making law of Parliament. (Lawteacher.net, 2018) and (Bill (law), 2020)

In the UK system, all statutes began as a bill,

Process to
which is put on a green paper as a suggestion made
making law
of to interested parties who can consider and give their
Parliament
Source:
perception about it. And the law making process
(Bill (law), must to go through 7 stages of the legislative
2020)
process, namely: First Reading, Second Reading,
Committee Stage, Report Stage, Third Reading,
Opposite House, and then finally Royal Assent.
A bill is often introduced by a member of
Parliament in the House of Commons or a member
of the House of Lord. There will be a first reading of
the bill, during this period, the proposals of the bill
will be read out and have minimal discussion but no
voting. Followed by a second reading, at this phase,
the proposals will be debated, and there will be discussions between member of Parliament or Lords. The
third stage is the committee stage, where the bill is scrutinized by an expert group of the House of
Common consist of the member of Parliament, Lord, experts in this field and other people who can affect
the bill. The purpose of this is dive into the details of the bill, have expert opinions on it and be able to
amend it in time. Continuing, the committee reports back to the house, this stage is called the Report

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stage, where amendments are argued and voted. The voting is implemented by members walking through
the door in which they prefer.
At the third reading, the final proposed bill is read out in the house with all amendments and is give
final approval by the House of Lord. In the next stage, the bill is handed over to the opposite house (If the
bill started in the House of Common it will be handed to the House of Lord and vice versa) for approval.
Here, the bill will go through the similar process as before, the amendments that can be implemented, if
amendments are implemented, the bill will be given to the opposite house again, and going through the
similar process, this is repeated until the agreement can be made and both houses are satisfies with the
proposed bill. (If agreement cannot be found between both houses, it is a very rare circumstance, and the
House of Common will have the last say because it is an elected body, while the House of Lord is not.)
The last phase is called the Royal Assent. The Royal assent is required for a bill to become an act. At
this phase the Queen will give consent to the bill for it to become a law. Normally in practice, the Queen
never rejects the bill although she the right to do so. When the assent is granted, the law will take effect
and the date and the time specified in the act, if this is not specified in the act, it will take effect at
midnight on the same day it was granted royal assent.

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 2.3 The structure of the UK Court. (Justcite.com, 2011)

The Supreme Court

The final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for civil case, and criminal case from England, Wales and
Northern Ireland.

Court of Appeal
Civil Division Criminal Division
Hear appeals from the Supreme Court, Hear appeals from the County Court.
and certain cases from county court.

High Court
Queen’s Bench Divisions Family Division Chancery Division
Deal with shipping and maritime Deal with all matrimonial matters. Deal with case relating to
disputes, international or commercial fraud, business disputes,
national business disputes and technology. equity, trust, intellectual property,
patents and copyright.

Crown Court County Court

Resolve indictable criminal cases that have Resolve civil case.

been transferred from the Magistrates’
Court.

Magistrates’ Court Tribunals Service

Resolve summary criminal cases and Hear appeal from decisions on: social
committals to the Crown Court. security, immigration, child support,
education, employment, pension.

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3. Legal suit/case resolved in UK. (In-house law team, 2019)
3.1 Backgrounds of the case
The defendant owned a decommissioned factory, surrounded by fence 7 feet long on barbed wire.
However, there is a small section of the fence that the barbed wire was missing. The plaintiff is a nine-
year old boy, found this spot, and used an adjoining wall as a foothold to widen the fence and enter the
defendant’s factory. After entering the factory premises, he climbed a ladder onto the roof of the factory.
Then he fell down a skylight on the factory roof and sustained serious injuries. The plaintiff asserted that
the defendant must be obligated to take care him under the Occupiers Liability Act (1984) S1 3 B.
3.2 Holding/ Decision/ Judgment of the court
The appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal, and the owner of the factory is not subject to any
compensation. It was thought that S1 3 B of the Occupier Liability Act 1984 required that the defendant
be aware of the plaintiff’s presence, or was actually aware of the facts which would have provided ground
for reasonable belief that the plaintiff was in the vicinity of the danger. The Court of Appeal to consider
the argument that the defendant should be deemed to have constructive knowledge, or imputed knowledge
of facts will give rise to these circumstances.
Given the fact that the factory was no longer in operation, and there was no evidence that the
defendant saw or witnessed any children in that area, thence no duty of care may exist in this
circumstances. In addition, the defendant built a seven-feet fence around the factory, which could be
considered to protect against the danger of individuals falling down to the factory roof, considering the
fact that it is not possible to a 9-year-old boy can manage to scale this fence and no one has ever tried to
climb to the factory roof in any event.
3.3 Legal issue of the case
The legal issue of this case is a boy asserted that he was owed a duty of care by the owned a factory
under the Occupiers Liability Act 1984.
3.4 Law which was applied in this case
For this case, it is has applied statutory law and used Occupier Liability Act 1984.

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 Conclusion
In conclusion, this assignment defined the definition, function and key differences of common law and
statutory law. The source of law in Vietnam is also mentioned to see the difference with the source of law
in the UK. The development and recent reforming of the UK legal system was analyzed to point out the
advantages and disadvantages and could improve if any. Finally, a real example of Swain and Natui Ram
Puri about occupiers liability law was thoroughly analyzed in the assignment.

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Reference

1. Alotrip.com. (2015). Vietnam Law system. [online]

Available at: https://coolidgelawfirmaz.com/common-law-v-statutory-law-criminal-defense-attorney/

Available at: https://www.alotrip.com/about-vietnam-society/vietnam-law-system

2. Bill (law) (2020). Bill (law). [online] En.wikipedia.org.

Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_(law)

3. Devcoolidge (2018). Common Law vs. Statutory Law—What's the Difference? - Coolidge Law Firm.
[online] Coolidge Law Firm.

4. GOV.UK. (2019). Government announces pay rise for 2.8 million people. [online]
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-pay-rise-for-28-million-people.

5. Hg.org. (n.d.). [online] Available at: https://www.hg.org/statutory-law.

6. Huong, P. (2017). Overview of the Vietnamese legal system

7. In-house law team (2019). Swain v Natui Ram Puri [1996] P.I.Q.R. P422. [online] Lawteacher.net.
Available at: https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/swain-v-natui-ram-puri.php

8. Justcite.com. (2011). UK Court Structure | JustCite Knowledge Base. [online]

Available at: http://www.justcite.com/kb/editorial-policies/terms/uk-court-structure/

9. Lac.org.na. (n.d.). [online]

Available at: http://www.lac.org.na/projects/grap/Pdf/Law_4-Common_Law.pdf

10. Lawteacher.net. (2013). Stages of Law Making in the UK. [online]

Available at: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/constitutional-law/stages-of-law-making-in-the-
uk-constitutional-law-essay.php

11. Lawteacher.net. (2018). Stages of Law Making Process in Parliament. [online]

Available at: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/constitutional-law/stages-of-law-making-process-
in-parliament-constitutional-law-essay.php.

12. Partington, M. (2015). Transforming the English Legal System: Recent changes and future prospects.
[online] Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System.

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 Available at: https://martinpartington.com/transforming-the-english-legal-system-recent-changes-and-
future-prospects/

13. Surbhi, S. (2017). Difference Between Common Law and Statutory Law (with Comparison Chart) - Key
Differences. [online] Key Differences.
Available at: https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-common-law-and-statutory-law.html

14. Toppr-guides. (n.d.). Law: Meaning, Definition, Legal Definition of Law by Different Authors. [online]
Available at: https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-law-cs/introduction-to-law/various-definitions-of-law/

15. UK Parliament. (2016). What is Secondary Legislation?. [online]

Available at: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/secondary-legislation/.

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