Judges who Follow the Law

Essay # 6703

A discussion of English law in the important areas of judiciary discretion and Parliamentary Sovereignty, including case studies.

2,505 words () | 12 sources | MLA | 2002 United Kingdom

Paper Summary:

Development of the roles of the English judiciary and the legislature. Includes observations of the impact of the Human Rights Act and subsequent loss of sovereignty to Strasbourg. Full dissection of the relationship between statute and the Common Law and the part that morality/justice should play in the law courts. Theoretical questions from legal theoreticians such as Dworkin and Hart discussed.

From the Paper:

"Answering this question involves discussing: what other forms of law (apart from statutory text) judges should refer to; which form of law takes precedence; how a judge should interpret a statute, especially if it is unclear or ambiguous; and what he is to do if he cannot operate within the bounds of existing statutory texts. These issues induce us to look at the use and scope of a judge s discretion. A consideration of the use of the word MUST is also needed. Must a judge operate in a certain way? Or are there merely guidelines as to how he should operate?"