What is law, according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute?
A system of rules regulating community conduct, often enforced by a controlling authority through penalties.
What gives law its official authority?
Creation by a state institution or recognition by courts as legally binding.
What does the principle that law applies equally mean?
No one is above the law.
How does law evaluate conduct?
As legal or illegal, and lawful or unlawful.
How are legal sanctions enforced?
Formally by a controlling authority.
What form do moral sanctions take?
Informal social pressure.
Which sources receive priority in civil law and common law, respectively?
Written codes and legislation in civil law; judicial decisions and jurisprudence in common law.
What role do judges generally have in civil-law systems?
They apply existing rules and have a limited interpretive role.
What authority can common-law judges exercise?
They can interpret law and establish new rules.
What happens when a lower-ranking legal rule conflicts with a higher-ranking rule?
The lower-ranking rule must comply with the higher-ranking rule.
What powers does UK parliamentary sovereignty give Parliament over laws?
Parliament can enact, revoke, or alter any law it sees fit.
According to Anthony King’s *The British Constitution* (2007), what is a constitution?
A country’s most important rules and common understandings governing relations among institutions and between institutions and people.
What three matters do constitutions establish, set out, and define?
Government structures, government powers, and the relationship between the individual and the state.
What dual purpose do constitutions serve?
They enable government and limit the exercise of governmental power.
What does legislative power do?
It makes and passes laws.
What does the French Constitution establish, organize, and protect?
It establishes the highest legal principles, organizes public powers, and protects citizens’ rights and freedoms.
How does the French Constitution rank among legal sources?
It is supreme over other legal sources.
Which 2016 case is cited concerning the United Kingdom’s constitutional arrangements?
R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, 2016.
How is the United Kingdom’s constitution documented?
It is not contained entirely in one written document.
How are fundamental UK constitutional rules made?
They are made by Parliament and courts.
How many units does the course contain?
10 units.
How many hours are devoted to introduction to law and legal methodology?
15 hours.
What percentage of the course grade comes from continuous assessment?
50%.
What percentage of the course grade comes from the final exam?
50%.
On what date is the final exam scheduled?
14 December 2026.
How long does the group oral presentation last?
12 minutes.
What is the maximum number of slides for the group oral presentation?
Five slides.
How must students deliver the group oral presentation?
Without reading a script or the slides.
What formal penalties may follow a breach of law?
Fines or imprisonment.
What legal disadvantage may follow a breach of law in a property transaction?
Losing ownership rights.
What sources can create legal obligations?
International covenants and treaties, constitutions, statutes, usages, customs, judicial decisions, and doctrine.
What grounds moral and ethical obligations?
Social codes, religion, and ethical or moral codes.
Who or what authorizes moral and ethical obligations?
Individual and collective conscience.
From what legal tradition did civil law develop, and what influenced it?
Civil law developed from ancient Roman law with Germanic influences.
Where and when did common law originate?
In England from the 11th century.
How does legal reasoning proceed in civil law compared with common law?
Civil law moves from general principles to specific cases; common law moves from fact patterns to rules.
Where did the common-law tradition develop and spread?
It developed in England and spread through its former colonies.
Where did the civil-law tradition spread?
Through continental Europe and its former colonies.
Which bodies and office make up the Parliament that legislates for England and Wales?
The House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the monarch.
What are the two chambers of the French Parliament?
The Senate and the National Assembly.
Which French laws organize public institutions or fundamental rights and require Constitutional Council review?
Organic laws.
What makes community or professional customs and usages obligatory?
Their long-standing practice within the community or profession.
What distinguishes legal doctrine from jurisprudence?
Doctrine comprises scholars’ legal writings; jurisprudence comprises court decisions and interpretations.
What is the rank of Hungary’s Fundamental Law among sources of law?
It is the supreme source of law.
How may constitutions divide powers between central and regional governments?
They may divide powers in federal or unitary systems.
What do Bills of Rights protect?
Fundamental freedoms.
What does the UK Human Rights Act 1998 incorporate?
The European Convention on Human Rights.
What does judicial review of administrative action enable individuals and groups to assert?
Their interests against intrusive state activity.
Which sources comprise the French constitutional block?
The Constitution of 1958, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, the Preamble to the Constitution of 1946, the Environmental Charter of 2004, and the Fundamental Principles Recognized by the Laws of the Republic.
How does the French Constitutional Council use the constitutional block?
It uses it to review new laws.
What do UK constitutional rules govern and define?
They govern the exercise of public power and define state entities’ decision-making authority and powers.
Answer 17 questions on Fundamental Legal Concepts.
1. How are the course’s 10 units allocated across its three subject areas and teaching hours?
2. A student is preparing for the final exam; what format, duration, and scope should they expect?
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