The Different Types of Law



The law is the set of rules that a country or society is governed by. This is essential in the modern day world, for if people could just do as they pleased on a regular basis then it would be very difficult for people to co-exist with each other and countries to maintain healthy relationships.


Within the law there are many different sub categories that deal with separate types of disagreements. Some of the categories that law is segregated by are commercial law, property law, criminal law, employment law and tort law. 

 Solicitors

When disputes cannot be resolved between the two parties the matter is usually taken to court. This means that people or businesses will have to find a solicitors to represent them as the law is the same throughout the country, it doesn’t matter if you hire solicitors in Surrey or solicitors in Scotland, they will still have to abide by the same set of proceedings when representing you in a case. Therefore it is worth looking at a company who specialise specifically in the area of law that you will be contesting to ensure that you have the best chance of winning your case. 

Commercial Law

 Commercial law, also known as business law, applies to the rights, relations and conduct of persons or businesses involved in transactions. Some of the main things that commercial law can deal with are the manufacture and sale of goods. This can also be used to regulate business contracts so there is a base set of rules that all businesses have to abide by when conducting transactions. Having these sets of rules in place allows business to undergo large transactions far easier than if they were allowed to make up their own set of rules. The reason this could be a potential issue is that larger companies could manipulate the law to suit their own needs and in some cases bully smaller companies into agreeing to their demands.

Commercial law also covers the hiring of new employees into a business. This section of the law is vital to ensuring that the best fit person is selected for a job role regardless of ethnicity, gender or religious beliefs, preventing discrimination in the workplace.

Employment Law

 Employment law is one of the most disputed sections of the law at the moment. It deals with the treatment of employees and employers in the workplace. Some of the most hotly debated issues at present time are redundancy, dismissal, equal opportunities and pay.

A good example of equal opportunities being contested at the moment is the number of black managers being given a chance to manage professional football clubs. There are 92 professional football clubs in the English League, yet fewer than 5 managers are black. If you compare this number to the 25% of black ex-players who complete the coaching badges, then you can see that there is a possibility that some applicants who have the skills are being overlooked on the basis of ethnicity. One of the solutions to this problem is to adopt the ‘Rooney Rule’ that was brought into the NFL in the USA, stating that a business has to interview at least one candidate of ethnic origin if they have the required qualifications for the role. 

Another example of employment law coming into play recently is the London Underground workers using trade unions in order to strike a deal with TFL over extra pay during the Olympic period. This shows the power of trade unions in employment law because as representatives of a group of workers they can demand certain changes with a lot more authority than if it was a single employee asking the business for a pay rise. The solution to this dispute was the TFL agreed to the demands and on average gave each employee a £500 to £800 bonus depending on the number of hours they worked. However, sometimes this is not the case and some disputes end up in a courtroom. 

Tort Law

Tort Law is needed when one person’s action unfairly causes another human grievance and allows the victim to recover their loss.  Negligence is where one person breaks a duty of care to another person.

 There are 3 main examples where a person can break a duty of care towards another person:

·         Product: This is where a manufacturer has to show a duty of care to the people who will be receiving the final product. Therefore they have to ensure that the product is of an acceptable quality.

·         Land: This deals with people trespassing on land and damaging property.  In addition, it also deals with the duty of care an owner of a premises has to provide for the personnel who enter it. In cases of these instances, the courts have to decide whether or not the accused is a trespasser, licensee, or invitee

·         Business: Businesses have to show a duty of care to other businesses and employees otherwise a contract can be declared void.  The Business Judgement rule states that businesses have to carry out their operations and decisions in good faith, even if the business decision turns out to be the wrong one.

      A great example of a tort law case in the court was the Donoghue vs. Stevenson case, which took place in 1932. Mrs. Donoghue purchased a bottle of beer from beer manufacturer Mr. Stevenson, however shortly after fell ill due to a snail being in the beer bottle which went unseen due to the bottle being opaque. Mrs. Donoghue tried to sue Mr. Stevenson for negligence for damages caused. As there wasn’t a formal contract put in place when Mrs. Donoghue purchased the bottle from Mr. Stevenson, she couldn’t sue him for damages of breach of contract, however the court felt that she had a valid case. The judges ruled that Mr. Stevenson, when selling the bottle of beer to Mrs Donoghue, owed her a duty of care due to the manufacturer not checking the product before it was supplied to the customer.


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