Sources of law

• In the UK, laws come from:

  Common Law

  • Judge-made law based on past rulings in cases where no statutory law exists.
  • It has existed for a long time and plays a major role.
  • Historically, travelling judges developed consistent rules from their decisions.
  • If a judge makes a decision, it can create a precedent for future cases.
  • Judges follow previous decisions made by higher or equal-ranking judges.
• Legislation

  • Laws passed by Parliament are known as Acts or statutes.
  • This is the most important law-making process in the UK.
  • Most new laws are created by the Government, usually promised in election manifestos.
  • These laws begin as Government Bills.
  • Some laws come from Private Members' Bills proposed by individual MPs – these often tackle important or controversial issues, but few become law due to limited time.
• European Union (EU) Law (Before Brexit)

  • The UK joined the EU in 1973.
  • All EU laws had to be included in UK law.
  • EU law had primacy, meaning it overruled UK laws if they conflicted.
  • UK Parliament could not pass laws that contradicted EU law – this limited Parliamentary sovereignty.
• Brexit and EU Law

  • In the 2016 referendum, many UK voters supported leaving the EU partly to allow Parliament to make its own laws.
  • After leaving, Parliament now decides how to deal with former EU laws.