LW 2600 Lecture 2 – Facts & Law, Law Report

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    LW 2600 Lecture 2Facts & Law, Law Report

    September 8th

    , 2014

    Outline

    Facts Distinguished from Law

    Common Law: The Anatomy of a Law Report

    Matters of factsA question of fact must be answered by reference to:

    1. Facts2. Evidence

    3. Inferences arising from those facts.

    ***Answer to question of fact = Finding of fact, this will usually depend on particularcircumstances or factual situations.

    ***The rules of evidence (govern when, how, for what purpose a legal case may beplaced before a trier of fact for consideration) will serve as a guideline to prove the facts.

    Some important rules involve relevance, privilege, witnesses, opinions, expert testimony,

    hearsay, authenticity, identification and rules of physical evidence.

    3 situations to agree on facts:

    1. Agreement: Parties to a dispute agree some or all the facts between themselves;

    these facts can be admitted or proved without challenge.2. Judicial noticeno requirement of proof because the facts are so well known it

    would be weird to need to prove it

    Case Example:Bridlington Relay Ltd. v. Yorkshire Electricity Board [1965] 1 All ER

    264:reception of TV broadcast is a common feature of English domestic life (generallyspeaking, something is used for)

    3. Court will receive evidence on disputed matters before deciding on matters of

    facts.

    Matters of Facts Vs. Question of Law

    Matter of FactsFact are established by the tribunal of factor trier of fact

    Jury Trial: split responsibility between jury and judge

    o Role of a jury in a jury trial (as opposed to the trial judge who will be thetrier of law)

    o

    Judge gives direction to jury (who are not legal professionals, use common

    sense and previous life experience to determine which version of the facts

    to believe and to apply these facts stipulated by the judge) Non-jury trial: the judge sits both as a fact-finder and as the trier of law.

    Magistrate: magistrate sit alone in trial = finder of law and fact in this case Appellate courts: do not consider appeals based on error of facts

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    o Appeal courts only consider the laws (the laws that the judge direct the

    jury to follow), not the facts (generally no appeals on the jurys

    interpretation of the facts, the only way to challenge it is on the basis oflaw)

    Judicial review: a court can only review the legal correctness (the process) rather

    than the merits (what was decided), if the government decision makes a decisionin certain way (tribunal), it will only be overturned if they involve the matter oflaws, not the matter of facts

    Why do we only allow appeals on questions of the law not the facts?The trier of facts at the trial courts is in the best position to assess the evidence. A witness

    will not repeat their statement twice at the appeal court because that would not be good

    evidence.The witness is best at the appellant court only makes decision based on the

    paperwork.

    ***Questions of fact are capable of proof or disproof, by reference to a certain standard

    of proof (factual level of certainty); this will depend on the nature of the matter. (Civillaw? Criminal Law?)

    Balance of probability in civil matters (contracts, torts, family law etc.): the

    standard of proof may require that a fact be proven to be "more probable than

    not", that is there is barely more evidence for the fact than against, as establishedby a preponderance of the evidence

    Case Study:Miller v. Minister of Pensions [1947] 2 All ER 372: it need not needto

    reach certainty, but it must carry high probability. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt doesnot mean proof beyond the shadow of a doubt. The law would fail to protect the

    community if it admitted fanciful possibilities to deflect the course of justice. I fthe

    evidence is so strongas to leave only a remote possibilitywhich can be dismissed

    with the sentence off course it is possible but not in the least probable the case isproved beyond reasonable doubt, but nothing short of that will suffice. Lord Denning

    Beyond reasonable doubt: In criminal matters: the standard of proof require truth

    to be established beyond reasonable doubt(judge or jury has a reasonable doubt,they MUST acquit the accused

    Case Study: Woolmington v DPP [1935] UKHL 1

    Question of Law:must be answered by applying relevant legal principles= Legal

    reasoning. Requires legal skills acquired in law school and through many years of

    practice so it is always resolve by the judge In a jury trial, the decision is split between the jury and the judge In a bench trial, judge will carry out both functions

    ***An answer to question of law = conclusion of law

    To illustrate the difference:Question of fact: Did Mr. and Mrs. Jones leave their 10 year-old child home alone with

    their baby for 4 days?

    Question of law: Does leaving a baby with a 10-year old child for 4 days fit the legaldefinition of child neglect?

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    Reasons of the classification fact law

    1. The doctrine of binding precedent(stare decisis: decisions of higher courts is binding

    in lower courts) applies only to propositions of law; matters of fact (need to be proven)

    have to be established in each case and cannot be derived from another case. Proof of facts: Agreement, judicial notice, rules of evidence/argument For questions of law: we can look at previous cases (we sometimes only need one

    case to prove the law)

    Case Study Qualcast(Wolverhampton) Ltd v Haynes [1959] 2 All ER 28.: thepurpose of classifying matters of facts and laws is to avoid multiplicity => judges may

    be crushed under the weight of [their] own reports Lord Denning, Lord Somervell Rules of precedent (follow higher courts previous decisions): allow us to act

    uniformly and makes the law predictable for the public

    2. Classification of matters as a matter of law may:

    Serve practical desire to avoid multiplicity of authorities; establish uniformityof decision-making across a large number of similar cases.

    Distinguishing Facts from Law Cases

    1. Brutus v Cozens [1972] 2 All ER 1297:

    Facts:anti-apartheid activists ran onto the Wimbledon tennis match court with apolitical demonstration

    Question:whether the protestors behavior was insulting behavior whereby a breach

    of peace was likely to be occasioned

    Decision: magistrate acquitted the demonstrators, House of lords held that whetherthe behavior was insulting is based on the question of facts in specific cases, not a

    question of laws so it shall not be appealed -> the meaning of ordinary English

    Language is not a question of law Lord Reid

    2. Energy Conversion Devices Incorporateds Applications[1982] FSR 544: Facts: late filing of patents Court will not amend the Patent Cooperation Treaty Rule because that is for the

    Parliament to do, no court of law has any authority to amend the meaning of

    primary or secondary legislation in any case

    3. R v Spens [1991] 4 All ER 421: London city code on takeovers and mergers: authority in the UK to regulate

    mergers and acquisition; it is a contractbetween all the companies on the London

    stock exchange The interpretation of contracts (agreement between parties) are normally

    questions of facts, however, the code in this case closely resemble legislation and

    has a key regulatory role in the financial districts of London Any inconsistent of the code of different judges would be disastrous for business

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    Interpretation of the code should be from judges (will be legally binding and

    apply in the future to give consistency) which makes it a question of law

    4. British Launderers research Association v Central Middlesex[1949] 1 All ER 21(Lord Denning):

    It is important to distinguish between primary facts and conclusions, all facts =questions of facts Inferences of facts (ex. If we find a knife in a person and a person running away,

    we can draw the inference that the person running away killed him, we cant prove

    that but we can use inference) If the inference was made by the juror *reasoning on common sense, it is a matter

    of fact, if it interpreted by a professional *reason on a question of law, the

    conclusion is a conclusion of law

    5. Edwards v Bair stow[1955] 3 All ER 48 Facts: The classic case on review of decisions applying the law. Bairstow seized

    an opportunity to buy a spinning plant at the low price of 12,000; he sold it assoon as he could at a profit of 18,000. His tax liability depended on whether the

    venture was an adventure or concern in the nature of trade.

    Question: whether the sale was an adventure of trade, what does trade mean? Decision: Commissioner found that it is not an adventure of trade, the decision

    was appealed but the question is whether it can be said that the meaning of trade

    is a matter of fact or a matter of law House of Lords held that the adventure in the nature of trade for the purposes of

    the income text legislation was a question of law.

    In Hong Kong, how do we decide what is matters of law and facts? Jurisdiction

    Procedural Law: Legal procedures to be used in the case (questions of law)

    Interpretation of legislation/ordinances (question of law) Questions about the nature of burden of proof

    **If the judge misdirects the jury on the correct laws to apply, the decision can be

    overturned.

    Summary: There is an import distinction between matters of law and matters of fact.

    However, there is very little in the way of principle offering reliable guidance as to how

    the distinction should be drawn. When facts have to be proved, the degree of proof,

    which is required, varies according to the circumstances of the case.

    Sources of Law in Hong Kong

    In Hong Kong1. Legislation = literary sources of statute book

    2. Decisional Law = law reports

    3. Chinese customary law = observation and evidence of traditional human practice Primary Sources: actual printed ordinances in statute books

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    Secondary Sources: analyzed or digested by authors, this is not the law, so it

    should not be trusted

    Law Reports History of Law Reporting: important for an open and transparent system (Read

    out his or her judgment in a publicly open court, the parties who are affected bythe decision will be present to hear the decision, better if can be written, we needto be able to access previous decisions for references to precedents)

    Law reports (arranged by court, subject matter)

    o Yearbooks - titled by the monarch

    o Nominate Reports (private law reports)

    o Law Reports (ICLR: compiled all reports in English reports from 1220-1866) Unreported Judgments: magistrate cases are unreported in Hong Kong since they

    are not thought to have precedential values Specific/general

    Examples: All England reports (general) or Tax cases (specialized:

    family/construction etc.)

    In Hong Kong: Hong Kong Law Reports (1905), prior to that, the only way was

    to look at English Newspapers; we also have some general law reports and

    specific ones (HK public, family, etc.) Decisional law: judges interpet statues, find and formulate common laws and

    equity

    Judicial decisions have precedential value for resolving future similar disputes to

    make sure everyone is treated equally and to have predictable judgments

    Structure of a Law Report

    Most of these components are found in every law report (not all). These are:

    1. Names of the parties2.

    Description of the parties to the case (ex. Plaintiff, defendant, state, accused,

    appellant, respondent)

    3. Court in which the case was heard (ex. Court of Appeals, Privy council)4. Court Registry Reference (matter type and the number, number of different

    appeals may be held together and will be differentiated)

    5. Name of the judge(s) and their titles6. Date of the hearing

    7. Catchwords/Index Headings (whether case is relevant to your research)

    8. Headnotes: includes summary of the facts, how the court came to their decision,

    and the outcome of the case. Sometimes the case history will be present here(devised by law reporter who summarizes)

    9.

    Citation: note the difference between the law report series citation and the

    relatively new for of neutral citation. Multiple citations are also possible.

    10.Representation (who were the lawyers representing the casebarristers, seniorcouncil (SC), solicitors (firms name resulted), government (solictors)

    11.Cases/legislation/text cited in this judgment

    12.Judgment by each judge (often more than one because the judges will disagreewith each other)

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    Analysis of the facts

    Discussion of relevant law to the facts Applying laws to fact

    13.Paragraph letters or paragraph numbers []

    14.The Reporter (down at bottom, last page, reporter who compiled the report)

    Anatomy of a Law ReportWhat you will not find labeled in the law report is the ratio decidendi of the case.

    The ratio decidendi (the reason-the rationale for of the decision) is highly

    significant and will be discussed in great detail later in this course. For now it is sufficient to say that the ratio decidendi is the essence of why the

    case was decided as it was. It is the principle, which the case establishes. Nonetheless, we will try to identify the ratio inBolton v Stone(in addition to the

    various reporting features).