Rights and responsibilities
- A right is something you are entitled to, such as freedom of speech. A responsibility is something you are expected to do, such as obeying the law or respecting others' rights.
- Rights can conflict: one person's freedom of speech may conflict with another's right to privacy or freedom from discrimination. Courts balance them.
- Rights have developed over time, from Magna Carta (1215) to the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010.
Sources and types of law
- Statute law is made by Parliament (Acts of Parliament). Common law (case law) is made by judges' decisions, which set precedents for later cases.
- Criminal law deals with offences against society, such as theft or assault. The state prosecutes, and the defendant can be punished. Guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
- Civil law deals with disputes between people or organisations, such as contracts, divorce or compensation. The claimant sues the defendant, and the case is decided on the balance of probabilities.
Rights at different ages
- The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10; in Scotland it is 12.
- At 16 you can leave school (but must stay in education or training until 18 in England), work part-time and consent to medical treatment. At 18 you can vote in general elections, serve on a jury and buy alcohol.
The Equality Act 2010
- It protects people from discrimination because of nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Key terms
- Right
- Something a person is entitled to.
- Responsibility
- Something a person is expected to do.
- Statute law
- Law made by Parliament.
- Common law
- Law made by judges' decisions in cases.
- Criminal law
- Law dealing with offences against society.
- Civil law
- Law dealing with disputes between people or organisations.
- Precedent
- A past court decision followed in later similar cases.
- Protected characteristic
- A characteristic protected from discrimination by the Equality Act 2010.