Essential GCSE Law
Kenny Chin
- 190 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Essential GCSE Law
Kenny Chin
About This Book
This book is part of the Cavendish Essential series. The books in the series are designed to provide useful revision aids for the hard-pressed student.
They are not, of course, intended to be substitutes for more detailed treatises. Other textbooks in the Cavendish portfolio must supply these gaps. The Cavendish Essential Series is now in its second edition and is a well established favourite among students. The team of authors bring a wealth of lecturing and examining experience to the task in hand. Many students who have studied or are studying law find the experience 'painful'. One of the main complaints is that there is so much to learn and so many cases to remember.
This book is written based on both A Level and GCSE Law Syllabus. For students who progress to higher level, this book can also be used as a basis for them to develop their own personal law revision notes.
Frequently asked questions
Information
Moral rules | Where moral and legal rules meet | Pure legal rules |
ā Be honest | ā Stealing | ā Some traffic regulations |
ā Do not be selfish | ā Assault and battery | ā Many company laws |
ā Act on oneās promise | ā Breach of contract | ā Rules regarding the validity of a will |
ā Murder |
- To reflect the values and public opinion of the people in the society Public attitude can change, brought about by education, material prosperity, new ideas, experience of problems and contact with foreign countries. In a democratic society, law is constantly changing to reflect the changes in values and opinions of the majority and, sometimes, to protect the rightful interests of the minority.
- To overcome problems When a problem occurs which harms innocent people frequently and becomes serious, new law has to be introduced to prevent it from happening again. For an example, when stalking became more widespread in the mid-1990s, many victims (including the late Princess Diana, amongst many high profile celebrities and ordinary people) suffered disappointment because the courts found it difficult to convict stalkers under the law at that time. There was an outcry against such anti-social behaviour and public opinion demanded that new law be introduced to stop stalking at early stages. The government picked up this public view and brought about the Protection From Harassment Act 1997, which provides opportunities to convict a stalker long before serious harm is done. Because late payments caused detrimental effects on many small businesses, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 was enacted to confer statutory entitlement to businesses to charge interest of 8% above base rate against late payments. The first phase was introduced in November 1998, enabling small businesses to charge interest against big companies. At a later stage, the law will ultimately be applicable to all businesses.
- To cure āinjusticeā The courts are bound to follow established legal principles, but, sometimes, they experience situations when they have to decide matters which may be legally correct, but surely unjust. Such a problem can arise from obsolete previous judgments or from badly drafted legislation. In the circumstances, new law or regulations are required to overrule them. For instance, the Wills Act 1837 provided that there should be at least two witnesses to a will and a gift contained in the will to a witness would fail. The purpose was to have at least two witnesses who could testify as to the authenticity of the testatorās signature and, if a witness was a beneficiary, there might be a conflict of interest and the witness may not acquire any benefit under the will. However, in Re Bravdaās Estate (1968), there were three witnesses and the third witness was also a beneficiary. Although the purpose of the 1837 Act was fulfilled, the court was bound to follow the rule to decide that the third witness could not benefit from the gift. The Act which gave rise to this unjust situation was quickly amended by the Wills Act 1968, which provides that, as long as there are two witnesses who are not beneficiaries, it is sufficient. Any further witnesses who are beneficiaries can keep their gifts.
- To improve social systems and to meet current needs Much business law, welfare law, criminal justice law and financial legislation (for example, the Chancellor of the Exchequerās budgets) provid...