FLK1 · SQE1 module
Legal System of England and Wales
The Legal System paper tests how courts, precedent and legislation fit together: the civil and criminal court hierarchies, the doctrine of binding precedent, statutory interpretation, and the roles of the different legal professions.
It is foundational rather than glamorous, which is exactly why candidates underrate it. Questions are precise about which court binds which, and about the narrow exceptions to precedent.
What this module covers
- Civil and criminal court structure and appeal routes
- The doctrine of judicial precedent and its exceptions
- Statutory interpretation: literal, golden and mischief approaches
- Sources of law and the legal professions
A real question from this module
Try it before you decide
FLK1 · Legal System of England and Wales
Question
A County Court judge is deciding a claim on which a Court of Appeal decision is directly on point. The judge believes the reasoning is wrong, and notes that the decision conflicts with an earlier House of Lords authority the Court of Appeal did not consider. What should the judge do?
- ADepart from the decision by applying the per incuriam exception, since the earlier authority went unconsidered
- BFollow the decision, since only the Court of Appeal can use the exceptions that let it depart from its own precedent
- CDepart from the decision, since a conflicting House of Lords authority displaces it automatically in any court
- DFollow the decision, but only once both parties formally consent to treat the reasoning as correctly decided
- ERefer the point directly to the Supreme Court for a ruling before the County Court proceeds any further
Show the answer and why
Answer B
The exceptions that let a court depart from an otherwise binding Court of Appeal decision, including per incuriam, belong to the Court of Appeal when reviewing its own past decisions. They are not available to a court lower in the hierarchy, which stays bound regardless of an unconsidered conflicting authority or its own view of the reasoning. That conflict is a ground of appeal, not a basis for a lower court to depart on its own initiative.
Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd [1944] KB 718 (the Court of Appeal’s own exceptions to precedent).