AQA A-Level Law: Rule of Law, Law Reform, the EU and Civil Justice — Revision Notes

These notes condense six parts of AQA A-level Law (7162) section 3.1 that the main Nature of Law revision notes do not cover in detail: the nature of law, law and justice, the rule of law, law reform, the European Union and the civil courts with other forms of dispute resolution. Section 3.1 is examined on all three papers, so these points earn marks repeatedly. For fuller explanation see the Rule of Law, Parliament, Morality and Justice study guide and the Nature of Law study guide.

Nature of law

Legal rules v other rules: legal rules are made by a recognised authority (Parliament, the courts), apply to everyone in the jurisdiction and are enforced by the state with sanctions. Other rules and norms (etiquette, school rules, religious codes) are enforced by social pressure or the body that made them.

	Criminal law	Civil law
Purpose	Punish and deter wrongs against society	Resolve disputes, compensate
Parties	Prosecution (the Crown) v defendant	Claimant v defendant
Standard of proof	Beyond reasonable doubt	Balance of probabilities
Outcome	Guilty: sentence	Liable: damages, injunction

Sources of law:

• Custom — a local practice recognised as law if it has existed since “time immemorial” (1189), is reasonable, certain and exercised as of right (Mercer v Denne, 1905). Now very rare.
• Statute law — Acts of Parliament, the supreme source.
• Common law — law made by judges through precedent, e.g. murder.

Law and justice

Theory	Key idea	Use in essays
Aristotle	Distributive (fair share) and corrective (righting a wrong) justice	Tort damages as corrective justice
Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill)	Greatest happiness of the greatest number	Can justify sacrificing individual rights
Rawls (1971)	Principles chosen behind a veil of ignorance	Protects the worst off
Nozick (1974)	Justice in holdings: respect fairly acquired entitlements	Opposes redistribution

Does the law achieve justice? For: burden of proof, juries, appeals, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (Criminal Appeal Act 1995) after the Birmingham Six case. Against: miscarriages of justice, cuts to legal aid (LASPO 2012), cost and delay, rigid rules such as the mandatory life sentence.

The rule of law

The specification’s three elements:

1. No person shall be sanctioned except in accordance with the law — Entick v Carrington (1765).
2. Equality before the law — A v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2004).
3. Fairness and clarity — laws should be clear, public and prospective.

Apply to: law making (retrospective War Damage Act 1965 reversing Burmah Oil); the legal system (R (UNISON) v Lord Chancellor, 2017, tribunal fees quashed); substantive law (R v R, 1991; the criminal law principles of maximum certainty and no retrospective liability). Background: Dicey (1885); Lord Bingham’s eight principles (2010); s1 Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

Law reform: the Law Commission

Set up by the Law Commissions Act 1965: a chair who is a senior judge and four other commissioners, supported by legal staff. It researches, consults and publishes reports, usually with a draft Bill.

Function	Meaning	Example
Reform	Changing the law to improve it	Many of its reports have led to new Acts
Codification	Bringing all the law on a topic into one code	A draft Criminal Code (1989) was never enacted
Consolidation	Combining several statutes on one subject into one	The Sentencing Act 2020 (the Sentencing Code)
Repeal	Removing obsolete laws	Statute Law (Repeals) Acts

Advantages: independent of government, expert, consults widely, produces draft Bills, takes a long view. Disadvantages: depends on government and parliamentary time to implement, so many reports are delayed or ignored; codification of criminal law has stalled. The Law Commission Act 2009 requires the Lord Chancellor to report annually to Parliament on implementation.

Law making: the European Union

Institutions:

Institution	Function
Council (of the EU)	Government ministers of member states; adopts legislation with the Parliament
Commission	Proposes legislation, enforces the treaties against member states (“guardian of the treaties”)
European Parliament	Directly elected MEPs; co-legislator with the Council, approves budget
Court of Justice of the EU	Interprets EU law (preliminary references under Article 267 TFEU) and hears enforcement actions

Sources:

• Treaties — primary law; can have direct effect (Van Gend en Loos, 1963).
• Regulations — directly applicable in all member states without national legislation (Article 288 TFEU).
• Directives — bind states as to the result, leaving the method to them; can have vertical direct effect against the state (Marshall v Southampton AHA, 1986); state liability for failure to implement (Francovich v Italy, 1991).

Impact on England and Wales: supremacy of EU law over national law (Costa v ENEL, 1964), applied in the UK in Factortame (1990); purposive interpretation (Pickstone v Freemans, 1988); large areas such as employment, equality and consumer law. After withdrawal under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, retained EU law continued, renamed assimilated law by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 from the start of 2024.

The civil courts and other dispute resolution

Courts: the County Court hears most claims; the High Court has three divisions (King’s Bench, Chancery, Family) for larger or complex claims.

Tracks (Civil Procedure Rules):

Track	Typical value	Features
Small claims	Up to £10,000 (lower limits for personal injury)	Informal, no lawyers needed, costs not usually recoverable
Fast track	£10,000 – £25,000	Strict timetable, trial of about one day
Intermediate track	£25,000 – £100,000 (from October 2023)	Trial up to three days, limited experts
Multi-track	Over £100,000 or complex	Judge-managed, County Court or High Court

Appeals: from a district judge to a circuit judge; from the County Court or High Court to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division), then the Supreme Court, with permission, on points of law of general importance.

Tribunals: the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 created the First-tier Tribunal (organised in chambers by subject, e.g. social security, immigration, tax) and the Upper Tribunal for appeals on points of law. Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal sit outside this structure. Tribunals are cheaper, quicker, specialist and less formal than courts, though legal aid is rarely available.

Mediation: a neutral mediator helps the parties reach their own agreement and does not impose one. Negotiation: the parties, or their lawyers, settle directly. Both are private, cheap and preserve relationships, but depend on willingness to compromise and create no precedent.

Exam traps

• Defining the rule of law with Dicey only and no application.
• Mixing up the Council, the Commission and the Parliament.
• Saying directives are directly applicable — that is regulations.
• Listing Law Commission functions without an example or evaluation.
• Confusing tribunals with mediation, which has no binding decision.

Self-test

1. What makes a custom legally binding?
2. Which EU institution proposes legislation?
3. Give the four functions of the Law Commission.
4. Which track would hear a £40,000 claim?
5. Name the two tiers created by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

Answers: 1. It must have existed since time immemorial, be reasonable, certain and exercised as of right. 2. The Commission. 3. Reform, codification, consolidation and repeal. 4. The intermediate track, if it meets its conditions; otherwise the multi-track. 5. The First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal.

Frequently asked questions

What are the three elements of the rule of law in the AQA specification? AQA A Level Law 7162 names three: no person shall be sanctioned except in accordance with the law, equality before the law, and fairness and clarity.

What is the difference between EU regulations and directives? Regulations are directly applicable in all member states without national legislation. Directives bind states as to the result but leave the method to them; saying directives are directly applicable is a common trap.

What is the difference between a tribunal and mediation? A tribunal makes a decision on the dispute, while in mediation a neutral mediator helps the parties reach their own agreement and does not impose one.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Law Commission? It is independent of government, expert, consults widely and produces draft Bills. Its main weakness is that it depends on government and parliamentary time to implement its reports, so many go unimplemented.