The system of legal normative documents consists of the following: Legislation Constitution, Acts, Resolutions of the National Assembly;... Ordinance, Resolution of the Permanent Commit
Introduction
In modern life, the concept of law is no longer strange to people all over the world However, in reality, not everyone can understand the law as well as the issues related to the law In this article, I will clarify about the different sources of law, the role of the Government in law making, and how written law and case law are applied in legal courts.
Sources of law
The definition of law in general
“The law may be defined as the body of principles recognised and applied by the state in the administration of justice In other words, the law consists of the rules recognised and acted on by courts of justice.” (LawPage, 2021)
The purpose of law
The state's primary function is to uphold justice, safeguard rights, and remedy wrongs This includes establishing a constitutional framework and administrative procedures, providing public services and collecting taxes, regulating the economy through civil and criminal laws, maintaining public order and national security through criminal law, and defining individual rights and responsibilities through civil law Additionally, the state ensures the validity of approved relationships and transactions through laws governing contracts and company formations.
Sources of law in the VN
Legal Normative Documents: The legal normative documents are the primary, fundamental and most important source of law in Vietnam
The system of legal normative documents consists of the following:
Legislation (Constitution, Acts, Resolutions of the National Assembly);
Ordinance, Resolution of the Permanent Committee of National Assembly;
Orders, Decisions of the State President;
Decisions’ of the Prime Minister;
Resolutions of the Justices Council of the Supreme People’s Court and the Circulars of the Chief Justice;
Circulars of the President of the Supreme People’s Procuracy;
Circulars of Ministers or Heads of Ministry-equivalent Agencies;
Decisions of the State Auditor General;
Joint Resolutions of the Permanent Committee of National Assembly or the Government and the central offices of socio-political organizations;
Joint Circulars of the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court and the President of the Supreme People’s Procuracy; those of Ministers or Heads of Ministry-equivalent Agencies and the Chief Justice, President of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, those of Ministers or Heads of Ministry-equivalent Agencies;
Legal documents of Local People Councils and People Committees
International Treaties: In cases where a legal document and a treaty to which the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam is a party, contains different provisions on the same matter, the provisions of the treaty shall prevail
Customs: Customs are norms having the clear content to define rights and obligations of individuals and legal entities in a certain civil relation, which were constituted and iterated over a long time, and were recognised and applied widely in a region or area by an ethnic group or community or in a civil field.
Sources of law in the UK
Made by European Union, if not yet BREXIT
Definition: The law as established in previous court rulings; like common law, which springs from judicial decisions and tradition
The origin of the common law: The United Kingdom lacked a comprehensive legal system before 1066 and the Norman Conquest; instead, the nation's laws were made up of regional customs that applied to different parts of the nation
The term "common law" comes from William the Conqueror, who was the first monarch to combine these accumulated customs and traditions and establish courts and a national legal framework
The judgments of these courts were documented and made public, making it possible for the judiciary to review earlier judgments (precedents) and apply them to the current case
Common Law Countries: Common law is also practiced in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, New
Zealand, and the United Kingdom…
Characteristics of Common Law Systems:
1 The law existed even though it could not be immediately found English law has no boundaries and is always evolving / growing
According to Professor Dworkin, English law is seen as a ‘seamless web’ ie English law has no boundaries and is alwaysevolving or growing English law will never going to stop evolving unless parliament completely codify the entirecommon law As more cases come to court, the judges have an opportunity to extend the legal principles
In essence, the statement that English Law is seen as a ‘seamless web’ suggests that the nature of unwritten law is it hasthe capacity to grow and evolve Judges have the opportunity to include more if the law is unwritten / uncodified
2 Judges cannot look beyond legislation to determine the meaning of statutes, and no consideration ofmorality prevails against parliament
When there is written law (statute), written law will always prevail over common law
3 Another distinctive characteristics of common law culture is that there is jury trials
Jury trials involve the participation of ordinary men in a criminal trial to decide the verdict of the defendant Jury will notdecide on legal matters, their job is to decide on factual matters after being explained what the law is
Judicial precedent, based on the principle of stare decisis, requires lower courts to adhere to legal principles established by higher courts in previous cases This ensures consistency and predictability within the legal system By upholding past rulings, judicial precedent helps maintain stability and prevents conflicting interpretations of the law.
Stare decisis: A legal doctrine in which a decision previously reached by a court is used as authority in all future cases that are based on the same basic circumstances or facts
Every once in a while, common law has outfitted the reason for new legislation to be composed For instance, the U.K quite a while ago had a common law offense of “outraging public decency.” In the last decade, the authorities have utilized this old common law to arraign another meddlesome movement called upskirting: the act of putting a camera in the middle of an individual’s legs, without their consent or knowledge, to snap a picture or video of their genitals for sexual delight or to mortify or trouble In February 2019, the U.K Parliament passed the Voyeurism (Offenses) Act that authoritatively makes upskirting a crime, deserving of as long as two years in jail and the chance of putting an indicted individual on the sex offenders register
Definition: Statute law is a written law created by parliament which begins from choices made in different courts and the country’s written constitution It is the most elevated sort of law which passes acts onto the Houses of Parliament where they banter whether the act should exist or not
Origins of Statutory Law: Statutory laws may originate with national, state legislatures, or local governing bodies Federal laws must be passed by both houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then usually require approval from the President of the United States before they can take effect In rare circumstances, the executive-the president or state governor-may “veto” or refuse to sign the law or reject it When this happens, the legislature-Congress at the federal level-can override the veto with a two/third supermajority of votes
Statutory laws enacted by state legislatures or local governments must comply with the U.S Constitution
In addition, the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution holds that statutory laws enacted by the U.S Congress take precedence over conflicting laws enacted by the 50 state legislatures
Statutory law is in contrast to other types of laws such as common law or regulatory law
Characteristics of Codified Law Systems:
Deeply influenced by Roman law
The legal system is divided into Public Law and Private Law
The legal system appreciates reasoning
The legal system is highly systematized and codified
The legal precedent is not considered as a common and popular form of law as a written law
Public Laws: Public laws are laws intended for general application, such as those that apply to the nation as a whole or a class of individuals
Public law consists of laws aimed at regulating the functioning of society The main areas of public law are constitutional law, administrative law, procedural law, and criminal law
Private Laws: Private Laws affect individuals, families, or small groups of people, and are enacted to assist citizens found to have been injured by government programs or who are appealing an executive agency ruling such as an order of deportation
When operating a vehicle on a highway with a posted speed limit of 55 mph, exceeding the limit to 70 mph constitutes a violation of a traffic law These laws are established and codified by legislative bodies, making them statutory laws Consequently, exceeding the speed limit in this instance would entail violating a statutory law.
Role of Government in Law-making
Secondary legislation, typically identifiable by titles containing "rule," "order," or "regulation," encompasses statutory instruments (SIs) SIs are the most prevalent form of secondary legislation, often referred to by those terms or as "statutory instruments."
The functions of secondary legislation:
1 To fill out the detail of an Act of parliament Many Acts of Parliament only set out the high- level policy direction, leaving much of the technical detail to be provided through secondary legislation later This approach is usually taken for two reasons First, as parliament has already approved the broad shape of the policy and adding such detail is not thought to warrant the same intensive scrutiny as an Act of parliament Second, practically, there is insufficient parliamentary time or capacity to include such technical detail in an Act of parliament
2 To provide flexibility to update the law when necessary In some areas, policy is subject to regular, small changes, which are not thought to warrant a new Act of parliament For instance, if a parent Act establishes a particular benefit, secondary legislation may be used to uprate the benefit each year In some cases, powers to create secondary legislation may have been made with the intention that they would be used for relatively uncontroversial purposes, but later be used to make significant policy change- such as in 2015, when the government attempted to use secondary legislation to make changes to tax credits Some controversial powers known as Henry VIII – powers allow secondary legislation to be used to amend or repeal primary legislation –
3 To respond to urgent situations Some parent Acts provide for secondary legislation to come into effect immediately, allowing the government to rapidly change the law in response to events An extreme example of this part of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which empowers ministers to make emergency regulations in times of national crisis
Distinguish secondary legislation with the first legislation:
1 Act voted and which have become law through parliament
1 Rules and legislation made by the executive branch, for e.g by ministers, local councils and public authorities to whom law-making power has been delegated
2 Tim consuming process, consisting of multiple stages
2 Secondary legislation must be authorised by primary legislation, and conform to boundaries it has laid down.
Role of Parliament in Law-making
Royal commission: An idea that has been generated by a number of individuals or government bodies, such as the Royal Commission (an agency of law reform), a pressure group, a party policy that has been put forward as new legislation, a private member’s Bill or an alternative law reform
Royal commission Green paper White paper Drafting First reading
Royal Assent Publication Implementation Interpretation in court body such as the Law Commission
A White Paper and a Green Paper These are discussion documents that are used to give details of proposed legislation
Drafting: typing the draft of a new piece of legislation This is the drafting of the Bill to make sure that the wording of the proposed legislation is clear
First reading: The bill arrives in the Lords This stage is a formality where the bill name is read in the chamber, which is the introduction of the proposed legislation
Second reading: The main debate on the purpose and key areas of the bill At this stage members discuss any concerns or specific areas where they think changes may be needed There are usually no votes (divisions) at this stage
Committee stage: Detailed line-by-line scrutiny of the text with amendments (suggested changes) Members start at the front of the bill and work through to the end Votes may take place to decide whether to make the changes Any member may take part and there is no time limit
Report: Is of a report This represents the report stage, which informs either the House of Lords or House of Commons of any amendments
Third reading: This reading considers the amended Bill: A ‘tidying up' stage, aiming to close any loopholes A final chance for amendments and votes
House of Lords At this stage the Bill passes to the next House If the Bill started in the House of : Commons, the next House would be the House of Lords
Royal Assent: When both Houses have agreed the text, the bill is approved by Queen and becomes a law or ‘Act of Parliament'
Implementation: Simply states that the legislation is being implemented
Interpretation in court A judge in a court who is reading the legislation, interpreting the rules and : applying them.
The case of 39 Vietnamese people died in a container in Essex, UK
7.1 FACTS/Background of the case
The case of 39 Vietnamese dead in a container in Essex, UK occurred when the police discovered the
, p bodies of 39 Vietnamese citizens who had died in the container of a refrigerated container in Grays, Essex county, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, shortly after 01:40 (local time) October 23, 2019
The truck discovered in Grays, UK consists of two parts The lorry was loaded at a port on the Thames, in Purfleet, a town near Grays, and it was transported from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to the UK around 00:30 on 23 October, and loaded truck about half an hour later It was initially reported that the entire lorry had passed through Holyhead from Dublin Police believe the tractor-trailer traveled from Northern Ireland on Saturday 19 October into mainland England via Holyhead Harbour, on the Welsh island of Anglesey
At the time of discovery of the incident, the driver was a 25-year-old man named Maurice Robinson, working as a heavy-duty truck driver from Northern Ireland, he was arrested at the scene, on suspicion of murder and a number of other problems
The refrigerated truck used for transporting perishable goods, with temperatures as low as -25°C (-13°F), and its airtight container posed a risk of suffocation for those inside The truck was rented in Monaghan on October 15th and its movements were tracked via GPS It crossed borders and sailed between cities in Ireland, Northern Ireland, France, and Belgium from October 16th to 22nd Notably, the container was shipped from Zeebrugge to Purfleet on October 22nd.
The UK Cargo Authority thinks that bringing goods via another route out of mainland Europe to the UK (rather than the most common route from the port of Calais to the port of Dover) could be a conduit escape through border security
Belgian authorities deem it highly improbable that victims entered the container at Zeebrugge The port's general manager asserts that opening the container to admit people is practically impossible.
39 people on the truck and close the container door without being noticed
Who are the 39 bodies in the container, where did they come from, how were they put in the container behind the tractor?
What made those unfortunate people so reckless that they had to be entangled with human traffickers and deliberately embarked on such a dangerous illegal immigration journey?
What does that tragedy say about Britain's border control mechanism? What are the reasons Britain needs to change first to avoid a repeat of similar tragedies?
7.3 HOLDINGS/DECISIONS of the court
British police prosecuted the driver who drove the truck containing the bodies of 39 people He appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on charges of murder, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist illegal immigration and money laundering This driver told port staff that the container was full of cookies so he did not need to turn on the cooling mode Belgian authorities said the victims in this container died from suffocation, not freezing
Three other people arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and belonging to a human-smuggling organization have been released on bail In addition, two brothers from Northern Ireland are also being searched by police on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking
During the trial held at the Old Bailey Criminal Court, defendants Gheorghe Nica and Ronan Hughes, the leaders of the trafficking group, were sentenced to 27 and 20 years in prison, respectively
Meanwhile, defendant Maurice Robinson, the driver of the lorry, was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison for 39 counts of manslaughter and money laundering Another defendant, Eamonn Harrison, who picked up victims in Europe, received 18 years in prison for similar charges
The court applied the common law, a legal system based on precedents established by past judicial decisions, in its ruling This law has been used in cases ranging from manslaughter to conspiracy to engage in illegal immigration, demonstrating its broad applicability in criminal proceedings.
Conclusion
In response to the current complex criminal landscape, it is crucial to identify the underlying causes and conditions that contribute to crime Thorough research and analysis are necessary to inform effective prevention and control strategies By adopting evidence-based approaches, we can enhance crime prevention and suppression efforts, ultimately working towards a society with reduced crime rates.
LawPage (2021) The definition of law, LawPage Available at:https://lawpage.in/jurisprudence/definition- of-law
Chen, J (2022) Common law: What it is, how it's used, and how it differs from civil law, Investopedia Investopedia Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/common-law.asp
Ltd, A.A (2022) Judicial precedent lecture 1, Law Teacher LawTeacher Available at: https://www.lawteacher.net/lecture-notes/judicial-precedent-
1.php#:~:text=The%20doctrine%20of%20judicial%20precedent%20involves%20an%20application,This
%20provides%20consistency%20and%20predictability%20in%20the%20law
Ahmad, N (2020) What are examples of statutory law?, Legal Inquirer Available at: https://legalinquirer.com/what-are-examples-of-statutory-law/
Cydni (2015) Stare decisis - definition, examples, cases, processes, Legal Dictionary Available at: https://legaldictionary.net/stare-decisis/
Longley, R (2022) What is statutory law? definition and examples, ThoughtCo ThoughtCo Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/statutory-law-definition-and-examples-6504056
Ltd, A.A (2022) Primary and secondary legislation, Law Teacher LawTeacher Available at: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/primary-and-secondary-legislation- administrative-law- essay.php#:~:text=Secondary%20legislation%20is%20principally%20made%20in%20the%20form,and% 20passing%20it%20is%20not%20so%20time%20consuming
Primary and secondary legislation (2019) The Lawyers & Jurists Available at: https://www.lawyersnjurists.com/article/primary-and-secondary-legislation/
Secondary legislation: How is it made? - The Institute for Government (no date) Available at: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/secondary-legislation-procedure
VỤ 39 Người Việt Chết ở Essex, anh (2022) Wikipedia Wikimedia Foundation Available at: https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%E1%BB%A5_39_ng%C6%B0%E1%BB%9Di_Vi%E1%BB%87t_ch%E 1%BA%BFt_%E1%BB%9F_Essex,_Anh
Nld.com.vn (2021) VỤ 39 thi thể người Việt trong container: 4 Bị Cáo Lãnh 78 Năm Tù, https://nld.com.vn Available at: https://nld.com.vn/thoi- -quoc-te/vu-39-thi-the-nguoi-viet-trong-su container-4-bi-cao-lanh-78-nam- -20210123114051784.htm#:~:text=%28NL%C4%90O%29%20-tu
%20B%E1%BB%91n%20k%E1%BA%BB%20bu%C3%B4n%20ng%C6%B0%E1%BB%9Di%20trong