Subjects:

English Legal System, External LLB Titles

Contents:

1. What is the English Legal System?

2. The function of courts

3. Categories of courts in the English legal system

4. English legal reasoning - the use of case law

5. English legal reasoning - reading statutes

6. The university law school and law students

7. Solicitors, barristers, and other legal actors

8. Judges and judging

9. The civil court in action

10. Alternative dispute resolution

11. Private security and other non-police agencies

12. The public police - uncovering crime and powers of stop and search

13. Arrest and detention

14. Prosecution

15. The magistrates' court

16. The crown court

English Legal System in Context provides a critical overview of the legal system, and establishes a sound theoretical framework within which to analyse the system. It discusses the intricacies of the legal system, showing the blurred distinction between the legal and the non-legal, and the authors provide an insightful contextual analysis of the system and its main protagonists.

As well as the traditional core areas of the English legal system such as the courts, case law, legal professionals, and the civil and criminal proceedings, the authors discuss the police and their powers, the role of the CPS, private policing, the work of non-police agencies, and various methods of alternative dispute resolution. Students will find the coverage of the legal profession of particular interest; this text is distinctive in its detailed examination of the role of law schools and law students in the development of the legal profession.

With a clear, logical structure, and a wealth of references to take the reader further into the subject, this is a perceptive and wide-ranging study that explains and illuminates this fascinating subject.

New to this edition:-

• Revised coverage of criminal justice issues, now including prosecution and arrest, and appeals, to map closer to undergraduate courses
• A critical account of the Woolf Reforms has been added to the civil justice chapters, to ensure the needs of undergraduates continue to be met
• New material on the role of law schools and law students offers key insights into the development of the legal profession, to provide a rounded view of all aspects of the legal system
• Contains a new chapter on alternative dispute resolution, to broaden the reader's appreciation of this central issue