ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the different ways in which law is made in the UK, and then examines the practical consequences and problems that result. The normal way in which new laws are made in all countries in the world is by legislation, passed by the national assembly/legislature. In a federal country, such as the USA or Germany, there may be both a national legislature and state legislatures each with their own areas of legislative authority. The process begins with the 'executive' - meaning the relevant government minister supported by his civil servants. In the UK the judge was seen as the representative of the soverign. As a result common law systems allow judges, or at least the higher levels of the judiciary, to make law. It is this that distinguishes the common law systems from others. In the civil law system the judiciary has no authority to make law on its own: it is there to apply the law.
