Common Professional Examination (CPE) EU Law and Legal System Skills Syllabus

EU Law and Legal System Skills syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for EU Law and Legal System Skills in Common Professional Examination (CPE), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   The English Legal System

   3 topics

   • Sources of English Law
     • Legislation, case law and subordinate legislation
   • The Court Structure and Hierarchy
     • Civil and criminal court systems
   • The Legal Profession and Funding of Justice
2. 2

   Doctrine of Precedent and Statutory Interpretation

   3 topics

   • Judicial Precedent
     • Ratio decidendi and obiter dicta
     • Binding and persuasive authority; distinguishing and overruling
   • Statutory Interpretation
     • Literal, golden and mischief rules; purposive approach
     • Rules of language and aids to construction
   • Interpretation under the Human Rights Act 1998
3. 3

   Foundations of EU Law

   3 topics

   • Institutions of the European Union
     • Commission, Council, Parliament and Court of Justice
   • Sources of EU Law
     • Treaties, regulations, directives and decisions
   • The UK's Relationship with EU Law
     • Retained EU law and the post-Brexit settlement
4. 4

   Substantive and Constitutional EU Principles

   3 topics

   • Supremacy and Direct Effect
     • Direct and indirect effect of directives
     • State liability (Francovich)
   • Preliminary References
     • Article 267 TFEU procedure
   • The Internal Market
     • Free movement of goods and persons
5. 5

   Legal Research and Skills

   3 topics

   • Legal Research Methods
     • Using primary and secondary legal sources
   • Legal Writing and Analysis
     • Case analysis and problem-question technique
   • Legal Citation and Referencing

EU Law and Legal System Skills flashcards for Common Professional Examination (CPE)

19 of 50 cards from the EU Law and Legal System Skills deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the two principal categories of sources of English law, and what is the distinction between them?

   Primary (legislative) sources and secondary (persuasive/explanatory) sources. Primary sources include legislation (statutes and delegated legislation) and case law (common law and equity), which create binding legal rules. Secondary sources include textbooks, journals and legal dictionaries, which explain or comment on the law but have no binding authority.

2. Distinguish between common law and equity as sources of English law.

   Common law developed from the decisions of the royal courts and provides remedies primarily in the form of damages (available as of right). Equity developed in the Court of Chancery to mitigate the rigidity of the common law and provides discretionary remedies (e.g. injunction, specific performance, rescission, rectification). Since the Judicature Acts 1873-1875 both are administered in the same courts, and where they conflict, equity prevails.

3. What is the difference between primary legislation and delegated (secondary) legislation?

   Primary legislation is an Act of Parliament (statute) passed through Parliament. Delegated (secondary) legislation is law made by a body (e.g. a minister) under powers conferred by a parent/enabling Act; forms include statutory instruments, byelaws and Orders in Council. Delegated legislation can be challenged in the courts on grounds of ultra vires, unlike primary legislation.

4. List, in order, the main stages a Bill passes through in each House before becoming an Act of Parliament.

   First Reading, Second Reading, Committee Stage, Report Stage, and Third Reading; the Bill then goes to the other House for the same stages, followed by consideration of amendments, and finally Royal Assent.

5. What is the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty as classically formulated by A.V. Dicey?

   Parliament can make or unmake any law whatsoever; no Parliament can bind its successors; and no body, including the courts, can override or set aside an Act of Parliament.

6. Set out the hierarchy of the criminal courts in England and Wales from lowest to highest.

   Magistrates' Court, then the Crown Court, then the High Court (Divisional Court of the King's Bench Division) / Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), and finally the Supreme Court.

7. Set out the hierarchy of the civil courts in England and Wales from lowest to highest.

   County Court and the High Court (King's Bench, Chancery and Family Divisions) at first instance, then the Court of Appeal (Civil Division), and finally the Supreme Court.

8. What are the three Divisions of the High Court and what is the main jurisdiction of each?

   King's Bench Division (contract, tort and general civil claims, plus supervisory/judicial review work), Chancery Division (trusts, probate, land, company and insolvency matters), and the Family Division (matrimonial and child-related matters).

9. Which court replaced the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the UK's final court of appeal, and when?

   The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which began work on 1 October 2009 under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

10. What is the difference between a court of first instance and an appellate court?

    A court of first instance is where a case is heard and decided initially, with findings of fact and law on the evidence. An appellate court reviews decisions of lower courts, usually on points of law (and sometimes fact), and does not normally re-hear evidence.

11. What is the distinction between a barrister and a solicitor in the English legal profession?

    Solicitors are generally the first point of contact for clients, handle day-to-day legal work, advise and conduct litigation, and traditionally instruct barristers. Barristers specialise in advocacy and providing specialist opinions, are usually instructed via a solicitor, and have full rights of audience in all courts. The professions are increasingly fused (e.g. solicitor-advocates with higher rights of audience).

12. Explain the difference between Legal Aid and a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) as means of funding litigation.

    Legal Aid is state funding for those who qualify on means and merits, available for limited categories of case (greatly restricted by LASPO 2012). A Conditional Fee Agreement ("no win, no fee") is a private arrangement where the lawyer charges nothing (or a reduced fee) if the case is lost, and a normal fee plus an uplift/success fee if it is won.

13. What is a Damages-Based Agreement (DBA) and how does it differ from a CFA?

    A DBA is a funding arrangement where the lawyer's fee is calculated as a percentage of the damages actually recovered by the client. It differs from a CFA, where the fee is based on hours worked plus a success fee uplift rather than a share of the award.

14. State the doctrine of judicial precedent (stare decisis) and the two elements into which a judgment is divided.

    Stare decisis means "to stand by what has been decided": courts are bound to follow the legal reasoning of decisions of higher courts in similar cases. A judgment divides into the ratio decidendi (the binding legal principle on which the decision rests) and obiter dicta (other remarks, which are merely persuasive).

15. Define ratio decidendi and obiter dictum.

    The ratio decidendi is the legal reasoning or principle necessary for the decision in the case; it is the binding part of a precedent. An obiter dictum is a statement made "by the way" not essential to the decision; it is only persuasive, not binding.

16. What did the Practice Statement [1966] 1 WLR 1234 establish regarding the House of Lords (now Supreme Court)?

    It allowed the House of Lords (and now the Supreme Court) to depart from its own previous decisions when it appears right to do so, recognising that too rigid adherence to precedent could lead to injustice and improper development of the law.

17. List the three exceptions in Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co [1944] under which the Court of Appeal may depart from its own previous decisions.

    (1) Where there are two conflicting previous Court of Appeal decisions, it may choose which to follow; (2) where its own previous decision, though not expressly overruled, conflicts with a later Supreme Court/House of Lords decision; and (3) where its previous decision was given per incuriam (in ignorance of a relevant statute or binding authority).

18. Distinguish between overruling, reversing and distinguishing a precedent.

    Overruling: a higher court in a later, different case declares a legal principle in an earlier case wrong. Reversing: a higher court changes the decision of a lower court in the same case on appeal. Distinguishing: a court avoids following a precedent by showing the material facts of the present case differ from those of the earlier case.

19. Explain the difference between a binding precedent and a persuasive precedent.

    A binding precedent is one which a court must follow because it is the ratio of a higher court (or, in some cases, its own previous decision). A persuasive precedent is one a court may consider and choose to follow but is not obliged to, e.g. obiter dicta, decisions of lower courts, Privy Council decisions, and decisions of courts in other jurisdictions.

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