⇒ Norms, Enforced, By Authority, As supervised by Courts

⇒ John Austin = “Law is a command of a Sovereign Power enforced by coercion”

⇒ All citizens are subject to the law in the same way (as opposed to a ruler being above the law in divine right)

⇒ You are only punished if you have done something wrong and not because you do not like someone

⇒ Everyone should be treated equally by the law (Equality)

⇒ Everyone has individual rights

⇒ France has a codified (i.e. written) constitution where statutes, laws and other procedures are laid out in the Civil Code of France

⇒ The UK has an uncodified (i.e. unwritten) constitution and common law

⇒ Criminal law directly applies sanction to criminal behaviour

⇒ Civil law deals with private issues with no state intervention

⇒ Common law is the part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes

⇒ Statute is laws made by parliament

⇒ Substantive law is the rules we have e.g. shoplifting is a crime

⇒ Procedural law is what we then do with the shoplifter, where they are taken, and how long they can be questioned for, for example (thus, you build procedural law aroudn the substantive law)

⇒ Domestic Law is the law of England and Wales

⇒ International law is the law that governs the relationship between states

⇒ Private law:

• Private law involves the relationship between individuals e.g. contract, family, land
• It is to do with the interest of the individual

⇒ Public law:

• Public law involves the relationship between the individual and the state e.g. constitutional, administrative, criminal law
• It is to do with the interest of the community

⇒ You can usually tell if a case is public or private by looking at the actors → if one is the State it is probably a public case e.g. R v Clarke

⇒ Domestic Law is the law within a state and concerns the internal affairs of the state

⇒ International law regulates the relationship between states (usually by treaties) e.g. treaties on labour rights to ensure workers have same protection abroad as they do at home

• Treaties can be bilateral (one country and another) e.g. trade
• Or multilateral (many countries) e.g. migration paths

⇒ Both Domestic and International law involve public and private law

⇒ Private International Law:

• This is to do with conflicting laws between jurisdictions (usually involving goods, capital and people) e.g. if your ex-wife leaves jurisdiction with your children and therefore have no access to them this will be an issue of private international law

⇒ Public International Law:

• This is to do with the relations of states with one another

⇒ EU founded 1957 by 6 member states who want to trade with each other to lift them out of post war gloom

⇒ Now it is more focused socially and politically

⇒ The member states have surrendered some sovereignty (i.e. pooled sovereignty) to the EU to exercise power over them

⇒ It is a supranational legal framework with its own structure

⇒ The EU can enforce norms on member states and citizens