The English legal system - Gary Slapper

Since the fifth edition of this book in 2001,The English legal System has undergone many major changes. Human rights cases have altered many aspects of criminal and civil law and legal procedure, the Community Legal Service has developed substantially and there have been significant changes to the law of civil liberties. Changes and proposed changes to the criminal justice system have provoked many important debates on juries, sentencing, police bail powers and hearsay evidence, and there have been many significant case decisions. The working practices of solicitors and barristers have undergone considerable change. Sir Colin Campbell's report on judicial appointments has provoked animated discussion about the changes proposed for the process of selecting judges, and the report of Sir Andrew Leggatt's review of tribunals will change the way the tribunal system works. The effects on the legal system of the Ant-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 have been significant.;Cases with an important constitutional and political element such as R v Secretary of State for the Home Department ex p Saad, and R (on the Application of Q) v Secretary of State for the Home Department have been incorporated into the relevant chapters. This new edition digests and assesses all of these changes. It explains what the law is, how the legal system operates and sets the law and system in a social context, presenting a range of critical views on these legal matters. In the preface, the book also charts and comments upon the June 2003 proposals for the UK to abolish the office of the Lord Chancellor and to institute a Supreme Court. The debates are digested in Chapter 1 of the book. Any relevant developments in this area in 2004, as in other areas, will be posted on to the book's companion website.