SUMMARY

1 In order to be confident of your ability to understand the way in which English law works, you need a good working knowledge of three legal systems. More particularly, in addition to understanding domestic English law, you need to understand both European Union (EU) law and the law of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

2 The sources of domestic English law are the common law (using this phrase in its broad sense to mean all judge-made law, including equity), together with statute law and delegated legislation.

3 The principal sources of EU law are the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), together with Regulations, Directives and Decisions. The doctrines of direct applicability and direct effect govern the ways in which EU law enters English law.

4 The law of the ECHR, and the operation of the Human Rights Act 1998, are discussed in Chapter 5.