Business Law: Sources, Courts and Dispute Resolution
Business law in the ACA exam tests how English law is made, applied and disputed. Expect questions on the hierarchy of courts, judicial precedent, statutory interpretation, delegated legislation and the civil/criminal divide. The exam rewards precise use of doctrine, not general policy discussion.
Sources and precedent
Primary legislation is an Act; delegated legislation is made under an enabling Act and can be ultra vires. Under precedent, a court's ratio decidendi binds lower courts in the same hierarchy; obiter dicta are persuasive only. The Supreme Court may depart from its own previous decisions under the Practice Statement 1966, but rarely. Courts interpret statutes using literal, golden and mischief rules, and purposive approaches; intrinsic aids include long title and headings, extrinsic aids include Hansard only under the Pepper v Hart conditions.
Civil process and ADR
Civil claims are proved on the balance of probabilities; criminal charges beyond reasonable doubt. Pre-action protocols, limitation periods and costs shape strategy. ADR, especially mediation, is encouraged; a party unreasonably refusing ADR may face costs sanctions.
Worked example: A High Court judge states, 'Companies must disclose conflicts because transparency protects shareholders.' This is the ratio if it is the necessary legal reason for the decision. A lower court must follow it. A comment that 'disclosure would also improve ethics' is obiter and not binding.
Traps: treating obiter as binding; confusing persuasive with binding precedent; forgetting that delegated legislation can be invalid if ultra vires; assuming all EU-derived law disappeared after Brexit-retained law continues unless changed.