The Legal System provides an overview of the institutions, personnel, and procedures that make up the legal system in England and Wales. Current changes are explained and critically evaluated, and the text explores a number of key competing themes and underlying tensions which run through the legal system. These are identified in the first chapter and then illustrated through concise exposition and practical examples in the following substantive chapters. Brief summaries at the beginning of each chapter enable students to assess the key points of study quickly and easily. Meanwhile further reading lists, useful web site links, and self-test questions at the end of chapters allow students to research the subject in more depth, and to test their understanding of this important area of study. This is an ideal introduction to the subject; the concise volume successfully combines key principles with thought-provoking questions, and points the way for further study and more in-depth analysis.

Author Biography

Kate Malleson is Professor of Law at Queen Mary, University of London. Professor Malleson has published widely in her area of expertise, namely the legal system and the judiciary, and from 2002-2005 she was case notes editor of the Modern Law Review. She has recently been awarded AHRC funding for a three-year research project from 2006-2009 on the selection process of the international judiciary. In 2003-5 she was a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Select Committee assisting it in its review of the provisions of the Constitutional Reform Bill. She was a Member of the Fawcett Commission on Women which reported in 2004. Richard Moules is a Newton Trust lecturer and fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he supervises students in constitutional and administrative law. His research interests are in the fields of administrative law, human rights, planning and environmental law and civil procedure. He is also a member of the Landmark Chambers Centre for Environmental Law.