The English Legal System

The English Legal System combines comprehensive and thorough coverage of the main topics covered on English legal system courses with a lively and engaging style to capture students' attention and provide them with a firm foundation for their study of law. This book enables students to first understand all of the key areas of the English legal system, and then to engage with the subject fully for themselves. The law is not just presented but critiqued, with a range of learning features which encourage students to actively engage with contentious issues and difficult questions. Everyday examples help students to apply their knowledge of the law in a practical way, while questions for reflection help students to analyse, evaluate, and think critically.

Aided by a clear structure, arranged in five parts, students will be able to fully grasp the processes involving in making and reforming the law.

Digital formats and resources

The eighth edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources.
- The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks
- The online resources that support the book include:

Podcasts - guide students through the book and accompany the questions for reflection in the textbook
Self-test questions - allow students to test understanding
Web links - provide opportunities to take learning further
Practical activities - help students to put their knowledge into practice
Glossary - outlining the key terms related to the English legal system

Alisdair Gillespie, Head of Department and Professor of Law, Lancaster University,Siobhan Weare, Lecturer in Law, Lancaster University

Part I: Sources of Law
1. The English legal system
2. Domestic sources of law: parliamentary material
3. Domestic sources of law: case law
4. International sources of law
5. Human Rights Act 1998
Part II: The Courts and the Practitioners
6. The structure of the courts
7. The structure of the tribunals
8. The Judiciary and their appointment
9. Judicial independence
10. The legal professions
11. Funding access to justice
Part III: The Criminal Justice System
12. The investigation of crime
13. Pre-trial matters
14. Those in court
15. The trials
16. Criminal appeals
Part IV: The Civil Justice System
17. Civil litigation
18. Remedies and appeals
19. Alternative Dispute Resolution
Part V: The Future
20. The future in a post-Covid world