theme c

• people obey the law due to strong religious or moral views or because they’re scared of getting caught and the punishments or because they may fear the shame it would bring upon them and their family
• you’re criminally responsible at age 10
• you can get a part time job at 13
• you can get married, leave school, work full time, buy a lottery ticket and join the armed forces at age 16
• you can drive a car and pilot a plane at age 17
• you can vote in an election, make a will and buy fireworks at age 18
• laws change due to changing societal values and due to scientific or technological developments
• the rule of law is that all residents must obey the law and no one is above the law
• principles which affect the way in which laws are applied

  • innocent before proven guilty
  • equality before the law
  • access to justice
• common law is made by judges who make decisions which must be followed by all other courts
• england and wales have the same legal system but the welsh assembly has passed some laws which apply to only wales
• scotland has its own system of laws courts and parliament
• northern ireland has a similar system to that of england and wales
• civil law covers disputes between individuals or groups
• criminal law deals with offences such as murder theft or drug dealing
• a county court is a local court which has limited powers in civil cases
• a high court deals with civil cases on serious crimes and this may include cases involving over 50,000
• a small claims court hears civil cases involving small amounts of money
• most judges have worked as a barrister for at least 10 years but some can be solicitors
• judges determine the sentence
• senior judges settle arguments on how the law should be interpreted
• magistrates are usually barristers or solicitors with at least 7 years experience
• a jury is made up of 12 adults picked randomly from the public and they choose the verdict
• crown prosecution service advises the police on cases for possible prosecution
• solicitors give legal advice to people who have to go to court
• barristers represent their clients and are qualified to speak in all types of courts
• probation officers supervise offenders in the community when they’ve been sentenced by helping to monitor and support their rehabilitation
• magistrates courts - deals with less serious cases, such as traffic offences and minor criminal offences
• magistrates courts include at least 2 magistrates
• there is no jury in a magistrates court
• magistrates can have a prison sentence of up to six months, fines, community sentences, etc
• a crown court deals with the most serious criminal cases
• judges wear wigs and gown in a crown court
• a jury is present in a crown court
• crown courts and magistrates have to take mitigating factors into account
• tribunals are set up to resolve certain types of dispute such as employment issues
• ombudsman: an official appointed to investigate individuals' complaints against a company or organization,
• mediation avoids legal systems and can be used to resolve disputes through the mediator helping both sides work out the problem in attempt to come to some agreement
• purposes of punishment

  -to punish the offender

  -to protect the public

  -to change the offenders behaviour

  -to ensure that the offender does something to make up for their crime

  -to reduce crime
• a discharge can be conditional or absolute