English for the Legal Profession
II. Subsidiary sources of English law
Custom
Customs are social habits, patterns of behavior. Some laws are originally based upon them. For example, the law of contract and most international laws.
Books of authority
On the Continent the writings of legal authors form an important source of law. In England, in accordance with the tradition that the law is to be sought in judicial decisions, later the writings of the judges became an independent source of law.
III. The difference between “written law” and “unwritten law”
“Written” law signifies any law that is formally enacted, whether reduced to writing or not. “Unwritten” law signifies all unenacted law. For example, as will appear, judicial decisions are often reduced to writing in the form of law reports, but because they are not formal enactments they are “unwritten” law.
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English for the Legal Profession
Chapter 4 State and government of the UK
Composition and Formation of the UK
The UK (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is a constitutional monarchy and a unitary state,(君主立宪制的中央集权国家) which is made up of the island of Great Britain (including England, Scotland and Wales) and of Northern Ireland. The common language is English.
Edward I launched a war between England and Welsh and later made Welsh part of England by Treaty of Union in 1536 and 1542.
England and Scotland were first linked by personal union of the Crowns of both countries when James VI of Scotland succeeded to the throne of England (as King James I) in 1603 after the death of Elisabeth. But the political unification of the two countries was only effected more than 100 years later