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The Rule of Law Notes
Page: The Rule of Law
British Value – The Rule of Law: Understanding Laws, Their Purpose and Persuasion
A ‘Fair Society’
What do you think makes a ‘fair society’? (Consider the concepts learned in the previous slides.)
Do you have similar or different ideas to your peers?
Where do you think people’s ideas about ‘fairness’ come from?
‘A fair society refers to any society where a principle of distributive justice […] has been agreed, and is thereafter enforced [through laws]’
What is ‘The Rule Of Law’…?
Laws (and the rules that go with them), tell us what we can and cannot do.
Laws help to uphold the values of freedom, equality, democracy, etc. and help us to live more harmoniously with one another.
A law is a rule made by Parliament. The task of Parliament is to make new laws and discuss topics that are of importance to the citizens it serves.
Do you Understand Laws, Their Purpose and Persuasion…?
Knowing what the laws of the land are is obviously important in terms of influencing the way we behave (including what not to do) and how to interact as human beings.
Knowing what the laws are is one thing… understanding them is another.
Persuasion From an Early Age
From a young age, we are taught to understand the importance of having laws and know that they should protect us and influence our behaviour.
Alongside this learning is the understanding that there are consequences for breaking laws and rules.
Due to the previously mentioned British value of ‘Democracy’, children are given a voice and a vote from an early age, directly helping them to develop fair rules (‘laws’) for their own classroom and for their whole school.
‘… pupils should understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law.
… [schools] should support the rule of English civil and criminal law and schools should not teach anything that undermines it… Pupils should be made aware of the difference between the law of the land and religious law’.
Extracted from: ‘Promoting Fundamental British Values as part of SMSC in Schools’, Introduction, p. 4, Departmental Advice for Maintained Schools, Department for Education, 27th November 2014
The Law Must Apply Equally to all People, Irrespective of Their Background
How do individuals choose between good/evil, right/wrong, etc. Through religious or moral or cultural or spiritual beliefs and values…?
Everyone living, working in and visiting England is affected by the making and changing of laws. Parliament, therefore, must put a lot of time and thought into the laws of the land.
The citizens of Britain have a responsibility to bring ideas for new laws to Parliament.
Bills, Parliament and the Law
Ideas for new laws are called ‘bills’. Bills are discussed thoroughly by Lords in the House of Lords and by MPs in the House of Commons.
These discussions are known as ‘debates’. Parliamentary debates are broadcast daily.
Both MPs and Lords need to agree on a bill before the final say that goes to the monarch.
The Royal Assent
If the monarch (the King) signs the bill – gives the royal assent – this is what turns the bill into an actual Act of Parliament.
Acts of Parliament define laws.
The majority of laws in England are made this way.
Basic
Aspects of the Criminal and the Civil Justice Systems
Once the laws of the land have been agreed, they must be upheld!
The British courts system is made up of the civil justice system, the criminal justice system and Parliament.
The legal system of any society is its foundation. The British system works to uphold the rule of law and promote freedom and equality, and strives to achieve justice and protect the security of the United Kingdom.
Tip
Criminal Justice System: This system deals with crimes seen as crimes against the state. The victim of a crime reports the crime to the police. This is investigated and, if this results in an arrest and sufficient evidence is established, then a prosecution will be pursued to the criminal courts.Tip
Civil Justice System: The civil justice system concerns itself with civil disputes and also acts to establish whether or not an offender has caused actual harm to the victim. The
Executive and the Judiciary
In order to maximise independence and to ensure that no one individual has all powers or powers over any of the existing offices of power, there exists something called ‘separation of powers’. This means, in the UK, a separation between the executive (Crown and government) and the judiciary (judges in courts of law, including lay magistrates).
… major institutions of state should be functionally independent and that no one individual should have powers that span these offices. The principal institutions are usually taken to be the executive, the legislature and the judiciary
Standard Note, Introduction, p. 2, in The
Separation of Powers,
parliament.uk, 15th August 2011
Who
Holds Whom to Account…?
The police, the army and other public bodies in the UK are equally subject to UK laws and the rule of law as everyone else. It is the Executive who holds such public bodies to account. They are accountable to the Crown and Parliament.
The judiciary and courts remain independent from the above. The general public and businesses are held to account through the judicial system.
Research Task
Find out more about how a bill becomes a law at https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/ and watch the YouTube video below.
Activity
Think/discuss/write about the following questions:
- Can human rights be temporarily suspended if you break the law?
- When might this happen? Can you give examples?
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