What makes a legal rule different from a social or moral rule?

A legal rule is created or recognised by the state and enforced through the courts with a sanction or remedy attached, whereas a social or moral rule relies only on conscience and informal disapproval.

Define the term sanction as it is used in the study of legal rules.

A sanction is the consequence the state attaches to breaking a legal rule, such as a fine, imprisonment, or an order to pay damages.

State the purpose of the criminal law.

The criminal law defines conduct the state forbids and punishes those who commit it, in order to protect the public and mark the conduct as unacceptable.

State the purpose of the civil law.

The civil law regulates disputes between private parties and seeks to compensate or restore the injured party rather than to punish the wrongdoer.

Who brings a criminal prosecution, and who brings a civil claim?

A criminal prosecution is normally brought by the state through the Crown Prosecution Service, while a civil claim is brought by the claimant who has suffered the loss.

WJEC AS-Level Law 603-1978-1

Law Making in Wales and the UK

Topic overview Legal rules, sources of law and the rule of law Parliamentary sovereignty, the separation of powers and the Royal Prerogative The composition and role of Parliament The legislative process at Westminster The Senedd and law making in Wales The devolution settlement and the role of the Supreme Court Influences on law making and law reform

Delegated Legislation

Topic overview The nature and authority of delegated legislation Statutory instruments By-laws and Orders in Council Delegated legislation in Wales and the devolution settlement Parliamentary controls on delegated legislation Control by the courts and judicial review Reasons for delegated legislation and its advantages and disadvantages

Statutory Interpretation

Topic overview The need for statutory interpretation The literal rule The golden rule The mischief rule The purposive approach and European influence Rules of language, presumptions and intrinsic aids Extrinsic aids, the Human Rights Act 1998 and evaluating the approaches

Judicial Precedent

Topic overview The doctrine of precedent and stare decisis Ratio decidendi and obiter dicta Binding and persuasive precedent The hierarchy of the courts in England and Wales The Supreme Court and the Practice Statement Overruling, reversing and distinguishing Advantages and disadvantages of precedent

The Civil Courts and Dispute Resolution

Topic overview Civil liability, civil claims and the civil process The structure and jurisdiction of the civil courts Appeals in civil cases Juries in civil cases Tribunals Arbitration Mediation, conciliation and negotiation

The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts

Topic overview Classification of offences and the criminal process The magistrates' courts and the Crown Court Appeals in criminal cases The jury at trial: verdicts, secrecy and the coroner's jury Criticisms of and alternatives to the jury system The aims and theories of sentencing Sentencing powers and the sentencing of youths

Legal Personnel and the Judiciary

Topic overview Barristers: training, role and rights of audience Solicitors: training, role and work Legal executives and paralegals Regulation of the legal professions and the fusion debate The judiciary: hierarchy, role and selection Judicial independence, the rule of law and the constitutional position Lay magistrates and district judges

Access to Justice and Funding

Topic overview Access to justice and the development of legal aid Civil legal aid: scope and services Means testing, merits testing and the statutory charge Criminal legal aid and the Public Defender Service Conditional fee agreements and private funding Advice agencies and other sources of help Evaluating access to justice after the 2012 reforms

Tort: Rules and Theory

Topic overview The nature and origins of the law of tort Categories of tort and the interests protected Fault and strict liability Corrective justice and the economic justification Retributive and distributive justice in tort Theories of justice and the balancing of interests Criticisms of the tort system Reform and alternatives to tort

Tort: Negligence

Topic overview Duty of care and the neighbour principle The Caparo test and the modern approach Breach of duty and the reasonable man Factors affecting the standard of care Causation in fact and in law Remoteness of damage and the thin skull rule Psychiatric injury: primary and secondary victims

Tort: Occupiers' Liability

Topic overview Occupiers, premises and visitors The common duty of care under the 1957 Act Child visitors Skilled visitors, contractors and warnings Liability to trespassers under the 1984 Act Comparing the two Acts Evaluating occupiers' liability

Tort: Remedies

Topic overview The purpose of damages in tort Special and general damages Mitigation and contributory negligence The form of a damages award Injunctions Other remedies and the limitation of actions Evaluating remedies in tort

Law Making in Wales and the UK

7 subtopics
21 things to know
AS Unit 1

What Law Making in Wales and the UK covers

Law Making in Wales and the UK is examined in AS Unit 1, The Nature of Law and the Welsh and English Legal Systems. It covers legal rules, sources of law and the rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty, the separation of powers and the Royal Prerogative, the composition and role of Parliament, the legislative process at Westminster, the Senedd and law making in Wales, the devolution settlement and the role of the Supreme Court and Influences on law making and law reform.

Where it is assessed

AS Unit 1

The Nature of Law and the Welsh and English Legal Systems.

Check the WJEC specification ↗

The 7 subtopics

Each one has its own page. WJEC AS Law students sit this topic in the first year.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Explain the difference between a legal rule and a legal principle.

Key term

Give three of Lord Bingham's requirements of the rule of law.

Key term

Explain how the rule of law restrains Parliament in practice even though Parliament is sovereign.

Numbers

How did the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 make Welsh law differ from English law?

Key term

Explain what is meant by the single jurisdiction of England and Wales.

Evaluation

Give two criticisms of the Law Commission's effectiveness.

Key term

What did Ellen Street Estates v Minister of Health (1934) settle about entrenchment?

Key term

Name the three elements that together make up Parliament.

Key term

What is a green paper?

Numbers

What did Laws LJ hold in Thoburn v Sunderland City Council (2002) about constitutional statutes?

Key term

How are members of the House of Commons chosen?

Key term

What is a white paper?

Key term

What did the Government of Wales Act 1998 create?

Key term

Distinguish a conferred powers model of devolution from a reserved powers model.

Key term

Distinguish a sectional pressure group from a cause pressure group.

Numbers

What was decided in R (Jackson) v Attorney General (2005)?

Numbers

Describe the composition of the House of Lords.

Key term

Distinguish a public bill from a private bill.

Numbers

When did the Welsh legislature gain the power to pass primary legislation?

Numbers

Which Act moved Wales to a reserved powers model, and when did it take effect?

Numbers

Give one example of a pressure group campaign that produced legislation.

Take Law Making in Wales and the UK further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Criminal law vs Civil law
Criminal law: punishing conduct the state forbids. Civil law: compensating a private party for loss.
Beyond reasonable doubt vs Balance of probabilities
Beyond reasonable doubt: the standard of proof for a criminal charge. Balance of probabilities: the standard of proof for a civil claim.
Parliamentary sovereignty vs Separation of powers
Parliamentary sovereignty: the rule that Parliament may enact any law and no court may override it. Separation of powers: the principle that legislative, executive and judicial functions should rest in different hands.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What makes a legal rule different from a social or moral rule?
Model answer
A legal rule is created or recognised by the state and enforced through the courts with a sanction or remedy attached, whereas a social or moral rule relies only on conscience and informal disapproval.
2
Define the term sanction as it is used in the study of legal rules.
Model answer
A sanction is the consequence the state attaches to breaking a legal rule, such as a fine, imprisonment, or an order to pay damages.
3
Explain the difference between a legal rule and a legal principle.
Model answer
A legal rule dictates a definite outcome once its conditions are satisfied, while a legal principle states a broad value, such as that nobody should profit from their own wrong, which a court weighs against competing principles.
4
State the purpose of the criminal law.
Model answer
The criminal law defines conduct the state forbids and punishes those who commit it, in order to protect the public and mark the conduct as unacceptable.
5
State the purpose of the civil law.
Model answer
The civil law regulates disputes between private parties and seeks to compensate or restore the injured party rather than to punish the wrongdoer.
6
Who brings a criminal prosecution, and who brings a civil claim?
Model answer
A criminal prosecution is normally brought by the state through the Crown Prosecution Service, while a civil claim is brought by the claimant who has suffered the loss.

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Law Making in Wales and the UK

Delegated Legislation

Statutory Interpretation

Judicial Precedent

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Roles v Nathan ( ).

196319411945

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AThe defendant owed the victim a duty of care and breached it.

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Law Making in Wales and the UK revision questions

Is Law Making in Wales and the UK examined at AS in WJEC Law?: Yes. It sits in AS Unit 1, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
What does Law Making in Wales and the UK cover in WJEC AS-Level Law?: 7 subtopics: legal rules, sources of law and the rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty, the separation of powers and the royal prerogative, the composition and role of parliament, the legislative process at westminster, the senedd and law making in wales, the devolution settlement and the role of the supreme court and influences on law making and law reform. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Law Making in Wales and the UK organised?: By the WJEC 603-1978-1 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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