Core Text: The Legal System, 4th Edition

• Concise critical analysis of the English legal system makes this text suitable for use on a wide range of undergraduate law courses
• Explores the competing themes and underlying tensions facing the legal system in today's society, encouraging students to develop an understanding and awareness of this fundamental subject
• Summary boxes at the beginning of each chapter help students to assess the key learning outcomes quickly and easily, which will aid initial learning as well as revision
• Self-test questions, further reading lists, and useful web site links encourage students to assess their progress, and develop their studies at a more advanced level
• The accessible page layout makes the book easy to use and navigate through

New to this edition

• New material on the Unified Tribunal System is included in Chapter 2 on the organisation of the courts
• Changes to judicial appointments are outlined and comparisons are drawn with the old system to aid students' understanding of the new rules
• The new Supreme Court is explained, compared and analysed in relation to the previous system
• This edition features a slight reduction in the coverage of police powers ensuring that the book matches more closely with the topics covered on undergraduate law courses

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.

Readership: Undergraduates studying the English legal system as part of their degree programme.