Download Britain and the European Union

Britain and the European Union
In/Out Referendum
Preamble to Synopsis of Study
The English Monarchy and Anglo-Saxon Constitutional Law
There is no doubt, however, that the fourth recension is associated with the abbey church of
Westminster and that the interests of the monks are safeguarded in the rubrics. It would be
absurd to suppose, on the other hand, that the abbot of Westminster could, of his own
volition, introduce changes into any essential part of the office, and, in especial, could
introduce changes into the coronation oath, which affected, not only the clergy and the king’s
religious duty, but also the laity and the secular obligations of the king.
What direct evidence, however, have we of an additional promise? It may be well to begin
with the twelfth century. If we were to accept without question a frequently printed letter of
Alexander III, we might believe that the oath administered to the young King Henry in 1170
omitted any reference to maintaining ‘the liberty of the Church’ but included an additional
promise to maintain unimpaired the ancient customs of the realm, ‘whereby,’ as the pope
says, ‘the authority of the Church is imperilled.’
The fact that there is no direct borrowing from the Latin of the third recension of the office
suggests that we are to given a complete rendering of the words actually spoken and, if so,
there was no additional promise on this occasion. That John actually took an oath to
maintain the rights of the Crown is (so far as I am aware) only once suggested and then by
an enemy, although there were certainly occasions when, if John had indeed sworn to do so,
he might well have called the fact to mind.
..... though they did urge that no king could dispose of his kingdom without the assent of his
barons. We seem justified in concluding, therefore, that the oath is an invention, which either
was not deemed plausible enough to pass muster in a serious legal argument or was
fabricated at a later stage. ….. We may place it, therefore, alongside the parallel statement
of the interpolator of the Laws of Edward the Confessor and regard both as testimony to a
current idea that a king was not only bound to maintain the rights of the Crown but also
should swear to do so at his coronation.
But having said this, perhaps we should still ask whether any other oath attributed to Henry
III could be construed as an oath to maintain the rights of the Crown.
But this makes it all the more certain that, when Edward II says he has sworn to maintain the
rights of the Crown and to recall any rights that have been alienated, he is not, by intention
or mistake, asserting what is not true.
If the laws of St Edward had reference to a definite work that passed under that name, what
of the laws and customs granted by other ancient kings? They are all grouped together, as we
find them grouped in manuscripts that give us collections of Anglo-Saxon laws.
It may be that doubts as to its meaning were unnecessary, and that the question, whether the
king bound himself only to observe the laws the commonality had chosen in the past or
whether he pledged himself for the future also, was making a false distinction. For the king
was the supreme lawgiver and no new law could be promulgated, no amendment or
clarification of established law could be enunciated without his authority. On the other hand,
it was a recognised principle of English law that no major change could be effected without
the advice of the magnates.
Given the problem, the solution seems obvious. If, as a condition of his coronation, the king
can be made to take an oath to observe the laws chosen by the commonality, he cannot use
the argument of Edward I. As the bishop of Rochester explained in 1327, unless the king
swears to maintain the laws chosen by his people, he will not be crowned. In other words,
there will be a contract, affirmed by the oath, from which the king cannot recede.
Therefore, the king is prayed to accept and execute the award of the people, seeing that he is
bound by his coronation oath to maintain the laws that the people choose.
….. While this clause is both retrospective and prospective, it is imprecise in that it does not
define any particular legislative process by which the will of the commonality is to be
ascertained, but it does protect them from the arbitrary rescission of rightful laws to which
they have assented and inferentially from arbitrary law-making against their will.
These selected passages are taken from ‘The English Coronation Oath’ SPECULUM:
A Journal of Mediaeval Studies by H. G. Richardson. There is no copyright notice on this publication.
Excerpt taken from Immigration 19.06.15
http://s358616779.websitehome.co.uk/pdf/Immigration%20Excerpts%20(2).pdf
National/Legal systems
The contemporary legal systems of the world are generally based on one of three basic
systems: civil law, common law, and religious law, or combinations of these. However, the
legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and so incorporates individual
variations.
Civil law is the most widespread system of law around the world. It is also sometimes known
as Continental European law. The central source of law that is recognized as authoritative is
codifications in a constitution or statute passed by legislature, to amend a code.
However, some of these legal systems are often and more correctly said to be of hybrid
nature:
Napoleonic to Germanistic influence (Italian civil law)
Germanistic to Napoleonic influence (Swiss civil law)
The Swiss civil code is considered mainly influenced by the German civil code and partly
influenced by the French civil code
A (summarised) list of countries that base their legal system on a codified civil law follows:
Argentina: Inspired by the Napoleonic code
Belgium: The Napoleonic Code is still in use, although it is heavily modified (especially
concerning family law)
Bolivia: Influenced by the Napoleonic Code
Chad: Civil law system; based on native customs and practices with Soviet and German
influence. Based on French civil law.
Chile: Using elements, of the Spanish law on the one hand, and of other Western laws,
especially of the French one, on the other. The influence of the Napoleonic code
Costa Rica: Influenced by the Napoleonic Code and the Spanish Civil Code of 1889 (from its
1851 draft version)
Dominican Republic: Based by the Napoleonic Code
Estonia: Largely influenced by German civil law
France: Based on the Napoleonic code (code civil of 1804)
Germany: The Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch of 1900 ("BGB"). The BGB is influenced both by
Roman and German law traditions
Guinea: Based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree
Greece: The Greek civil code of 1946, highly influenced by traditional Roman law and the
German civil code of 1900
Guatemala: In general, it follows the tradition of the Roman-French system of civil
codification.
Haiti: Influenced by the Napoleonic Code
Hungary: Based on codified Roman law, with elements of the Napoleonic civil code
Iceland: Based on Germanic traditional law
Italy: Based on codified Roman law, with elements of the Napoleonic civil code; civil code of
1942 replaced the original one of 1865
Latvia: Based on codified Roman law with strong German traditions in civil and
administrative law and procedure. Elements of French legal system are also common in
Latvian law
Luxembourg: Influenced by the Napoleonic Code
Mexico: The origins of Mexico's legal system are both ancient and classical, based on the
Roman and French legal systems
Mongolia: Civil Code of 2002 based on German BGB
Netherlands: Influenced by the Napoleonic Code
Paraguay: The Paraguayan Civil Code in force since 1987 is largely influenced by the
Napoleonic Code and the Argentinian Code
Portugal: Influenced by the Napoleonic Code and later by the German Civil Law
Romania: Influenced/inspired by the Napoleonic Code and other French-inspired codes
Russia: Heavily influenced by German norms in 1700-1800s. Socialist-style modification in
1900s, and Continental European Law influences since 1990s
Spain: Influenced by the Napoleonic Code
Sweden: Scandinavian-German civil law. Did not adopt elements of Roman law. It is also
interesting that the Napoleonic Code had no influence in codification of law in Scandinavia.
However, neither Sweden, nor any other Nordic state created a civil code of the kind of the
Code Civil or the BGB.
Vietnam: Communist legal theory and French civil law
Common law
Common law and equity are systems of law whose sources are the decisions in cases by
judges. Common law developed in England, influenced by Anglo-Saxon law and to a much
lesser extent by the Norman conquest of England, which introduced legal concepts from
Norman law, which, in turn, had its origins in Salic law. Common law was later inherited by
the Commonwealth of Nations, and almost every former colony of the British Empire has
adopted it (Malta being an exception). Common law is currently in practice in Ireland, most
of the United Kingdom (England and Wales and Northern Ireland)
Nigeria operates largely on a common law system, but incorporates religious law.
European Union (Laws of Treaties)
In the European Union, the Court of Justice takes an approach mixing civil law (based on the
treaties) with an attachment to the importance of case law. One of the most fundamental
documents to shape common law is the English Magna Carta, which placed limits on the
power of the English Kings. It served as a kind of medieval bill of rights for the aristocracy
and the judiciary who developed the law.
Antigua and Barbuda: Based on English common law
Australia: Based on English common law
The Bahamas: Based on English common law
Bangladesh: Based on English common law
Barbados: Based on English common law
Belize: Based on English common law
British Virgin Islands: Based on English common law
Canada: Based on English common law
Cyprus: Based on English common law as inherited from British colonisation, with civil law
influences, particularly in criminal law
Dominica: Based on English common law
England and Wales (UK): Primarily common law, with early Roman and some modern
continental European influences
Fiji: Based on English common law
Gibraltar: Based on English common law
Grenada: Based on English common law
Hong Kong: principally based on English common law
India: Based on English common law
Ireland: Based on Irish law before 1922, which was itself based on English common law
Israel: Based on English common law from the period of the British Mandate (that includes
laws from Ottoman Empire time). Also incorporating civil law and fragments of Halakha and
Sharia for family law cases
Jamaica: Based on English common law
Kiribati: Based on English common law
Myanmar: Based on English common law
Nauru: Based on English common law
New Zealand: Based on English common law
Northern Ireland (UK): Based on Irish law before 1921, in turn based on English common
law
Pakistan: Based on English common law with some provisions of Islamic law
Saint Kitts and Nevis: Based on English common law
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Based on English common law
Singapore: Based on English common law, but Muslims are subject to the Administration of
Muslim Law Act, which gives the Sharia Court jurisdiction over Muslim personal law, e.g.,
marriage, inheritance and divorce
Tonga: Based on English common law
Trinidad and Tobago: Based on English common law
Tuvalu: Based on English common law
Uganda: Based on English common law
United States: Federal courts and 50 states use the legal system based on English common
law
Cyprus: Based on English common law (Cyprus was a British colony 1878-1960), with
admixtures of French and Greek civil and public law, Italian civil law, Indian contract law,
Greek Orthodox canon law, Muslim religious law, and Ottoman civil law
Jersey: The Bailiwick of Jersey's legal system draws on local legislation enacted by the States
of Jersey, Norman customary law, English common law and modern French civil law
Malta: Initially based on Roman Law and eventually progressed to the Code de Rohan, the
Napoleonic Code with influences from Italian Civil Law. English common law however is
also a source of Maltese Law, most notably in Public Law
Puerto Rico: (U.S.) Based on Spanish law; influenced by U.S. common law after 1898
(victory of the U.S. over Spain in the Spanish-American War of 1898 and cession of Puerto
Rico to the U.S.); federal laws (based on common law) are in effect because of federal
Supremacy Clause
Quebec (Canada): After the 1763 Treaty of Paris awarded French Canada to Great Britain,
the British initially attempted to impose English Common Law, but in response to the
deteriorating political situation in the nearby Thirteen Colonies, the Quebec Act was passed
in 1774, which allowed a mix of English Common Law and customary civil law, based on the
Coutume de Paris. Codification occurred in 1866 with the enactment of the Civil Code of
Lower Canada, which continued in force when the modern Province of Quebec was created
at Confederation in 1867. Canadian federal law in force in Quebec is based on common law,
but federal statutes also take into account the bijuridical nature of Canada and use both
common law and civil law terms where appropriate
Scotland (UK): Based on Roman and continental law, with common law elements dating
back to the High Middle Ages.
Seychelles: The substantive civil law is based on the French Civil Code. Otherwise the
criminal law and court procedure are based on the English common law. See Seychelles
Legal Environment.
Sri Lanka: An amalgam of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law and Customary
Law
Vanuatu: consists of a mixed system combining the legacy of English common law, French
civil law and indigenous customary law
Data: Wikipedia
Excerpt taken from Immigration 06.06.15
http://s358616779.websitehome.co.uk/pdf/Immigration%20Excerpts%20(2).pdf