Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs Tomassi and I'm gonna be working for with you on your citizenship lesson today.

Hopefully you're settled, you've got everything you need for the lesson, and if that's the case, then we'll get started.

Title of today's lesson is, "How does International Law impact the Law in the UK?" This is part of the unit on synoptic, how do different ideas and concepts in citizenship interconnect.

Hopefully by the end of lesson today, you're gonna be able to explain the link between international law and law in the UK.

there are three key words to look out for in this lesson today.

They will be in bold, so if you ever need to refer back to them, you can always refer back to them here.

The first is law.

Now law is rules usually made by parliament that are used to order the way in which a society behaves.

The second key word is treaty.

This is a formal agreement or contract between countries or groups of people, often about peace, trade or other important matters.

And finally, the third key word is sovereign.

Sovereign is a self-governing state.

The UK is a sovereign country.

So we'll make a start with the first of three learning cycles in how does law work in the UK? Aisha says here, "How can you define laws?" What do you think about that? How would you define laws? Do you think of something like this? So laws are actually a set of rules and that all citizens must follow and they're punishable by law if broken.

The reason laws are needed in society is to ensure there's justice, fairness, safety and clarity.

Maybe could you think of a couple of examples of laws and then maybe you could link them as to why they're needed.

Are they needed for justice, fairness, safety, or clarity? What do you think? Did you manage to think of some? And that leads us into Aisha's next question.

Aisha says, "Why do we need laws?" So as you were starting to think about some of those laws and how they're clarified, did you think about why they're needed? So laws are needed because they help to protect the public, they could settle disputes, they could ensure people are treated fairly, change behaviour or even things like responding to science, technology or changing values.

So as changing attitudes and values shift, laws might change too.

Aisha says now, "What makes the legal system fair and democratic?" Well, what do you think about this one? First of all, thinking about fairness and then what's, "Democratic" Mean? What do you think? So there are principles of law to ensure that the legal system is fair and democratic.

Have you heard of this before? If you have, could you think of what these principles of law look like in the UK? So in the UK this is things like rule of law.

You might know that the rule of law is nobody is above the law, so everyone must follow it regardless of their position.

This includes people like the king and the prime minister as well.

Everyone has to follow the law.

The next one is presumption of innocence.

So a person is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Right to a fair trial.

So trials must be public, fair and impartial.

So they're not taking sides.

Equality before the law, everyone's treated equally.

And access to justice.

So everyone has the right to legal advice.

In the UK, legal aid exists, so even those that might not be able to afford it can get legal representation.

Can you match each example to the correct principle of law? So you've got one side, a person is treated as guilty on social media before their trial takes place.

Someone gets free legal support because they cannot afford a lawyer.

A senior politician is investigated for breaking lockdown rules.

The judge refuses to accept evidence that was obtained illegally.

So the top one there is presumption of innocence.

Obviously in this case, the presumption of innocence hasn't happened on social media, but what you might have in cases like this is to ensure like, the jury is locked down so that they're not influenced by any high profile media cases to ensure that the person on trial has that presumption of innocence.

And the next one there is access to justice.

So that's the free legal support.

Senior politician is a rule of law, and a judge refuses to accept evidence is a right to a fair trial.

So in the UK, law comes from two main sources.

Any ideas what those sources are? This is legislative law.

So this is the law that's made by the UK Parliament and it provides clear written rules for society, ensuring clarity, fairness, and justice.

What was the other way then? Did you know this one? The other way is common law.

Now this is the law made through judges through court decisions.

So this ensures that justice can still be applied in unique cases where there's no precedence or existing legislation to follow.

So if it's needed, it will make sure that people are still protected.

So both types are equally effective and important and they work together to keep the legal system fair and effective.

Now, common law plays a vital role.

It allows judges to use their legal expertise to fill gaps when no legislation exists.

To give you an example, murder is a punishable offence under common law rather than legislation.

Now legislation can take a long time pass through parliament, whereas common law can be applied quickly so it can help in those situations.

It can also support justice by then ensuring there's protection for people that have been wronged even when there's no legislation.

So new legal decisions made by judges ensure that justice can still be provided and the precedent ensures these rules are applied in future cases and it maintains that consistency.

It would follow the same pattern each time.

Circle the correct word.

Is it common or legislative law that's created by judges through decisions in court cases, common or legislative law that is made by parliament and written down as official rules, common or legislative law that is written clearly so everyone knows what the rules are, and common or legislative law that allows judges to deal with situations where no written law exists.

How did you get on? The first one is common laws, that's created by the judges.

A way to remember it, legislative is parliament, legislative is written clearly, and common law allows judges to deal with the situations.

So remember it's connecting that common law to the judges in the court system and legislative to UK parliament.

Now this moves us onto the first task.

So Aisha says here, "I keep mixing up common and legislative law.

I struggle to remember the difference between them." Create a revision resource with images to clearly explain to Aisha the difference between common and legislative law.

Take your time with this.

Now, you might want to prepare yourself something that would help and support you as well for leading up to your GCSE.

And if that's the case, you might wanna tailor it to the way that works for you.

Obviously take your time, when you're ready, unpause and then we'll go through the feedback together.

How did you get on with that? Now, as I said, you could have done it so that it's suitable for you and a way that you are able to remember it.

This gives you a bit of idea just to make sure you've got those clear differences of which is which.

So legislative law there is made by UK parliament, it's written down acts in parliament, laws written by law makers.

Common law is the one made by judges in courts.

It's based on decisions in previous cases and legislation.

Common law fills the gap when there is no written law.

Hopefully that difference makes sense and you've got that because it will come up later in the next learning cycles.

If that's the case, we're gonna move on.

So we're gonna move on now to look at what is international law.

Now, not all countries make laws the same way as we do in the UK.

Maybe if you've ever visited or you know about other countries, you might know how some different countries do things.

So there are different systems of law making across the world.

Now, some of these are created between the countries to address global issues.

This is known as international law.

So international law affects different countries and it'll be the agreements they make between them.

So we're talking about multiple countries now, not just one.

So unlike national laws, international laws rely on cooperation.

Can you think why? So because these countries have got to work together to come to some form of agreement, which leads us onto mutual agreement.

And what's also really important is that countries must choose to follow them.

If countries have their own national laws that are law abiding, any international laws that they agree to, they are choosing to follow, they do not have to put in place.

So this is something that's really important to make sure you reach that mutual agreement and you can cooperate, because at the end of the day it's a choice.

It's not by force.

So international law is often created through treaties, conventions and agreements.

These happen between the countries.

They're shaped and supported by powerful international bodies.

Can you think of any international organisations that might be really important around the world? So this could include agencies such as the United Nations, the UN, the European Court of Human Rights, the ECtHR, the World Trade Organisation, WTO.

So Izzy says, "What laws do the UN create?" Have you got any idea about this one? Maybe start by thinking about what the UN does and then you might know some of the things they have created.

So the UN works to promote peace, security, human rights and development across the world.

They create international treaties that influence countries.

So things such as the Universal Declaration of human rights, you might have heard of that.

The UN convention on the rights of children.

UN climate agreements.

So things like the Paris agreement.

Now, each of these are examples of international laws.

Izzy says now, "How does the UN influence laws?" So the UN influences laws by holding annual COP summits to unite countries on climate action.

At COP21 in Paris in 2015, 196 parties adopted the Paris Agreement.

So those countries chose to take part in the Paris Agreement.

And what it is is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.

It sits under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

This means all those countries that have signed and ratified it have committed to the aims and doing their part to tackle climate change.

True or false, the Paris Agreement is a legally binding treaty that commits all ratifying countries to climate action.

That is true.

Now Izzy says, "What laws does the ECtHR influence?" If you remember, this is the European Court of Human Rights.

What do you think the laws might be about? And the important one with this is it is a court.

Think about what the courts might do.

It doesn't create laws but it protects people's rights across Europe.

It was established to make sure that countries follow the European Convention on Human Rights and agree to the follow the rights it sets out and to respect the decisions made by the court.

Izzy says here, "The WTO helps countries trade fairly, but does it actually create new laws?" What do you think about this one? Now, in this case, it doesn't create new laws in individual countries, but it does produce agreements that member states must follow, and these are to do with international trade and that acts as a form of international law, 'cause if you remember, international law has formed part of treaties, conventions and agreements, so the WTO sits in that third part, which is agreements.

For example, the general agreement on tariffs and trade makes global trade fairer by reducing tariffs and trade barriers between countries.

Can you match the international organisation to how it impacts or creates international law? So you've got the first one there, interprets and applies international laws on human rights.

Second one sets rules for global trade for agreements like GATT.

And third one creates international treaties or charters to guide cooperation.

And then you've got your different organisations on the right, UN, WTO and the ECtR.

Did you manage to get them? So that first one there is the European Court of Human Rights.

The second one is a World Trade Organisation, and the third one is the United Nations.

Brilliant work if you've got that.

Now, in terms of synopticity as well, this is really good to know about because yes, we're talking about law and international law in this lesson.

However, the international organisations do also come up in the GCSE, and these are ones that you would be expected to know about.

So if you didn't know much about them, you might want to, after this lesson, also find out about each of these organisations as well.

And you can also use them as case studies in anything on law.

So we're gonna move on to the second task for today.

Sam says here, "International law means that one global government makes rules that all countries must follow even if they disagree." Sam's statement is incorrect.

Can you correct the mistakes and give an example of international law to help Sam to understand how it works? Take your time with this one.

And as we were saying earlier, maybe your example, you might want to link to a specific organisation 'cause that will give you good examples that I can use in my GCSE as well.

When you're finished, if you unpause and then we'll have a look for feedback.

How did you get on with that? You might have taken some extra time just to find out a little bit more about those international organisations.

So you maybe have got some different agreements or treaties conventions as well.

Hopefully you realise that Sam's statement is not quite right.

So your response could have looked a bit like this.

There is not one global movement.

International law is made through agreements between countries such as treaties and countries choose to sign and follow these agreements.

For example, the Paris Climate Agreement is an international law where countries around the world take action on climate change.

Each country works together to help the planet, but they voluntarily join this agreement.

International law works because countries cooperate, not because they're ruled by one government.

And now we'll move on to the final learning cycle, which is, "How does international law impact the UK?" You can start thinking about this from what we've looked at what law in the UK is and what international law is, maybe you can start to think about the links between the two.

So the UK is a sovereign state, which means it's a self-governing state.

And what that means is the country has the power to make its own laws and decisions without outside control.

It's done itself.

The UK can choose to enter or to leave international agreements.

This means when the UK signs international treaties, it creates obligations under international law and it is choosing to enter those international agreements.

By doing that, you then abide by those rules.

Something to note here is the international laws don't automatically become part of UK law.

The parliament decides whether and how to incorporate that international law into the UK domestic law.

It gives parliament control over which international rules actually apply within the UK and how it works.

A bit of an example, the UK chose to leave the European Union to regain more control over its laws and borders 'cause when it was part of the European Union, one of the agreements was that it abide by European law as well.

True or false? Sovereignty means that another country or organisation is in charge of making your laws.

That's false.

Can you think why? It's self-governing, so it means that country has the full right and power to govern itself.

It makes its own laws and decides on how it's run.

It decides which international laws to sign up to and how to incorporate them into its own legal system.

Aisha says now, "How can international law impact the UK?" So what do you think? Do you think there are examples of where it has impacted the UK? If you thought yes, then actually yes then that's true.

The UK has chosen to follow international laws by choice and it's due to its relations with certain international organisations.

What these choices can do is help to shape the UK by aligning them with global standards, court decisions where judges refer to international treaties and legal cases, and government actions such as policy changes or treaty actions.

If you did manage to think some examples, great, we're gonna have a look at some now and you can see if they matched or were the same.

Some of the international laws that have impacted the UK include the Paris Climate Agreement.

Do you remember we looked at that in the previous learning cycle? And this requires the UK to cut carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

Well done if you've thought of this one, the UN convention on the rights of children.

It shapes laws protecting children's rights and welfare in the UK and the UDHR forms a basis for many human rights protections in UK law.

Which international agreements have helped shape the UK's human rights protections? A, Paris climate Agreement.

B, UN Convention on the rights of the child.

C, Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

It's B and C.

Now, international law is based on cooperation, so the idea of working together.

This is because it's voluntary.

So sometimes these treaties require countries to change their existing laws or policies to meet the rules set by the agreement.

This can cause a bit of a debate because it's about how much control countries should keep over its laws, which is the sovereignty versus the benefits of global cooperation and getting that balance right.

To give you a bit of an example, when we spoke about the UK leaving the EU earlier, this ensured its sovereignty as it no longer had to comply with all EU regulations.

However, the UK still does choose to follow many international agreements because cooperating globally can bring benefits such as trade opportunities, security partnerships and tackling global issues.

So there are lots of benefits of working with international organisations, and it's managing that to make sure it is right for that country.

Now, just before we move on to the final task, we are gonna just clarify, we're just gonna really go over those synoptic links and make sure they are clear.

So international law influences UK law through treaties, agreements and actions of international organisations.

When the UK takes part, it may need to adapt its laws, policies or court decisions to meet international standards.

This highlights how the UK's legal system and international law are closely linked.

While the UK remains sovereign, its decision to follow international law shows a balance between national control and global cooperation.

So that's really showing you how they link together.

You might wanna use this as we go into the final task.

Can you circle the correct word? The UK leading the EU to regain control over its borders and laws is an example of global cooperation or sovereignty? The UK works with the UN to promote peace and human rights is an example of global cooperation or sovereignty? First one is sovereignty and the second is global cooperation.

So as I said, we're gonna go into the final task now.

So this task says the UK should always prioritise its sovereignty over global cooperation when making laws.

Mark an X on the line below and explain why.

So obviously you've got agree one end, disagree the other.

Have a think about where you sit with this one.

Always remember as well when you are working towards the GCSE, it's really good to see both sides of the argument and then reach a conclusion.

So you might want to jot down some reasons why you might agree with this statement and why you might disagree.

And then see which argument is stronger to see which side you lean towards.

Then make your X and then obviously write your paragraphs properly out then.

So you might wanna take some time, do some planning for it.

Once you're ready, unpause and we'll have a look through the feedback.

Good luck and give it a good go, 'cause these are great practises for those longer essay questions in the GCSE.

Now, how did you find that? As I said, you might have agreed, you might have disagreed.

It doesn't matter as long as you're showing you can argue both sides and reach a conclusion.

So if you did choose to agree, you could have said something like this.

I agree with this statement because sovereignty means that the UK has the power to make its laws and decisions without being controlled by other countries or international organisations.

This control is important 'cause it allows the UK to protect its national interests and respond quickly to the needs of its own citizens.

For example, the UK chose to leave the EU which allowed it to regain full control over its laws and borders.

While being part of the EU meant following many shared rules, leaving allowed the UK to decide its own trade policies and immigration laws without having to comply with EU regulations.

This shows how prioritising sovereignty lets the UK make decisions that it believes are best for its people.

However, it is still important for the UK to cooperate internationally when necessary, but ultimate control should always lie with the UK to protect its independence.

Did you think of something like that? Now, if you didn't, maybe you chose to disagree, you could have said something like this.

I disagree with this statement because whilst sovereignty means the UK has control over its own laws, global cooperation is important for solving shared problems and maintaining good relationships with other countries.

For example, the UK is part of the Paris Climate Agreement, an international treaty where countries agree to reduce carbon emissions.

Even though the UK is a sovereign state and could ignore this, it chooses to follow it 'cause climate change is a global issue that requires cooperation.

This shows that the UK balances its sovereignty with international responsibilities.

And again, there maybe if you chose to argue both sides, you might have had little bits of each of this and then reached a conclusion as well.

Now, that brings us to the close of today's lesson.

We're just gonna do a summary and then we'll finish off.

So to summarise, we are looking at how does international law impact law in the UK? Well, the UK is a sovereign state creating and enforcing its own laws.

Law in the UK is made up of legislative and common law.

International laws made through treaties and agreements with international organisations, for example, WTO or the UN.

International law is voluntary and countries choose to sign it and follow it.

The UK can choose to follow international law, which may shape UK law and court decisions.

For example, the UDHR influences human right laws in the UK.

Hopefully you've managed to see now that they do interconnect and how they interconnect.

Remember we were saying as well that it's really good to know those international organisations 'cause they do come up in the GCSE and if you can link them in as well, then you've hit another synoptic link.

So well done for today.

Hope you've got a better understanding and enjoy the rest of your day.