Advantages and Disadvantages English Law System

Focus on others arises as criminal and civil misconduct is not only a wrong against a private individual affected by the incident but is also an immoral act against others. To further understand the English law system, there is the need for focus on its branches and this forms the focus of this paper as it seeks to elaborate on the two branches of the English Law System as well as the efficacy of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Branches of the English Law System The English law system is based on the Idea of precedence that is its courts' systems use precedential decisions and provisions of the stare decisis doctrine to evaluate their practicability in applications to current similar cases. The idea of precedence even extends to the two branches of the legal jurisdiction covering England and Wales; civil and common law.

In fact, according to Jones, (2013, p. The main focus of criminal law is the role of the courts, the classification of behaviors deemed criminal, andthe applications of common law and applicable laws (criminal statutes). In criminal law, individuals with their own legal personalities as well as legal persons can both be persecuted and the person being accused of committing a crime is called the defendant while the accuser is known as the claimant. Nonetheless, the defendant until proven guilty, consequently, there are defenses for that actual act of doing a crime, Actusreus and the intention to do it, mensrea. For instance, through a claim of a deranged state of mind or automatism, the applicability of mensrea is negated. Besides that, the prosecuting body in criminal law is the Crown Prosecution Service who takes charge of seeking justice after the police pass a criminal file.

On the other hand, the attempt by the pilot to take his or her life and in the process, that of others would warrant criminal prosecution. Besides that, both criminal and civil law provides for appellate jurisdiction where losing parties can seek justice further. In criminal law, a case can be appealed through the court ranks say from lower courts( magistrate, county) to higher courts ( The Crown court, High court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme court). Differences between Criminal law and Civil Law Criminal law focuses on settling offenses committed by person and prosecution is done by the state through the Crown Prosecution Service while civil law focuses on settling disputes between persons and the claimant sues the defendant. Another difference lies in the purpose of either system; civil actions are geared towards compensation and prevention, on the other hand, criminal procedures seek to establish the guilt of the defendant and sentences such as life imprisonment may be given during convection.

Nonetheless, the use of ADR provides an effective approach to solving disputes fasters and its efficacy has been highlighted by the establishment of London as the center for global commercial conflict resolution. Eliminates conflicts between parties to a conflict Direct communication between parties in a conflict complicates resolution as in many cases it is characterized by finger pointing and hostile comments. Nonetheless, through mediation, a form of ADR, the mediator helps to avoid such a situation and guide the warring parties to an amicable solution; an agreement which is not optimal to either party but is acceptable to both. Consequently, it has applicability in replacing conventional court systems. Reduces the length of legal processes While plea bargaining is a controversial issue with pundits claiming that it amounts to injustice, convincing defendants to take an early plea reduces the complexity and length of legal processes.

Furthermore, negotiation works by allowing the warring groups to benefit themselves by persuading the others to act in a way that favors them. Arbitration Arbitration is a fully voluntary process as the arbitrator is chosen by the parties to the conflict rather than the state. Nonetheless, typical arbitrators are conflict negotiation experts, such as a private judge who imposes a resolution and this is in line with contract law as parties to that future disputes will be solved through arbitration. Fact Finding Although it is not widely used, neutral fact-finding acts as a complementary practice to conventional ADR forms such as mediation and negotiation as it entails determining and clarifying facts leading to the dispute. Furthermore, the approach is effective in solving complex and factual conflicts as a neutral third party is tasked with an investigation.