Vets and the law is a very complicated issue. The law is very complicated and there are a lot of different organisations involved. I for one always forget which organisation I'd report 'x' to if I had to for instance. There are a wide range of organisations which include VMD, DEFRA, AHVLA, and many others. Trading standards, your local authority, every single organisation seems to play a part in public health.
The common law or case law is the law developed by judges through decisions of court and similar tribunals as opposed to civil law which is set on statutes (written law set down by legislation, as opposed to common and regulatory law by the judicary) adopted through the legislative/parliamentary processes/and or regulations issued by the executive branch on base of the parliamentary statutes.
To make it clearer:
In the common law system, law is interpreted and, thus, "written" by judges hearing the cases. Their decisions become the 'rule of law' for all future cases that are factually similar. The civil or codified law is law that is written into statute or code books and are strictly interpreted by the courts of that country.
In a country which uses civil law, the legal system is based upon legal principles and codes usually rooted from the laws and legal system of the Roman Empire. Any updates to the legal code must be made through legislation or other lengthy processes. Therefore, judges must make rulings based only on these codes and statutes, only analyzing past judicial interpretations of the law for advice. This process allows for a stabler and more representative legal system. France, Germany, and Spain are modern examples of countries who use civil law.
On the other hand, a country which uses common law has a legal system based primarily upon past judicial opinions. These judicial opinions are interpretations of legislation, which are considered more as a guide than as literal requirements such as under civil law. Thus, common law systems acquire their laws over time and may have their laws altered by single rulings. This practice allows for a more flexible and expeditious legal system bypassing the often reluctant and slow-moving legislative system. Because it was developed in England, modern examples of countries which use common law are typically former English colonies such as Australia, India, Canada, and the United States.
On the other hand, a country which uses common law has a legal system based primarily upon past judicial opinions. These judicial opinions are interpretations of legislation, which are considered more as a guide than as literal requirements such as under civil law. Thus, common law systems acquire their laws over time and may have their laws altered by single rulings. This practice allows for a more flexible and expeditious legal system bypassing the often reluctant and slow-moving legislative system. Because it was developed in England, modern examples of countries which use common law are typically former English colonies such as Australia, India, Canada, and the United States.
Legislation comes from a series of bodies:
- World Trade Organisation.
- EU origin.
- OIE.
- Home origin.
- Local rules and by laws.
WTO-> The only global international trade organisation- rules of trade between nations.
Harmonisation of Sanitary Health Standards is through the following organisations under the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement:
- Animal Health- OIE.
- Food Safety- FAO (food and agriculture organisation) Codex Ailmentarius Commission
- Plant Health- FAO International Plant Prevention Convention.
This sets the basic trade rules for the safety of animal health, veterinary public health and plant health.
OIE- World organisation for animal health. Transparency, scientific information, sanitary safety, promotion of veterinary sciences, food safety and animal welfare.
EU- embodies and defends the general interests of the european union. Powers of implementation, management and control. Planning and implementing common policies, executing the budget, and managing community programmes. Ensures european law is applied.
Regulations are binding and are directly applicable to all member states. Directives binds member states to the results to be achieved and have to be transposed into the national legal framework but leave margin for the form and means of implementation. Decisions are fully binding to those they are addressed to. Reccomendations & opinions are non binding declaratory instruments.
Act of Parliament-> law enacted by parliament. 3 readings. Orders are made under acts. A white paper is a proposal and a green paper is to stimulate discussion.
Legislative Process
- Consultation based on policy proposal (takes 3 months).
- Ministerial submission as part of consultation.
- RIA.
- Passed to legal for keying and clearance.
- Ministerial submission summarising consultation.
Resolutions
Negative- 90% legislation. House of commons agreement only over 40 days. No-one says 'no.'
Affirmative- both houses. 21 days. Everyone says 'yes.'
Difficulties arise because other countries generally use permissive legislation whereas the UK uses prohibitive legislation so there is difficulty transposing into the GB legal system.
Main Legislation used by Animal Health:
- Animal Health Act 1981- amended. Defines notifiable disease. 38 diseases. Mentioned earlier in my notifiable diseases blog. Also outlines why diseases are notifiable.
- European Communities Act 1972.
- Animal Welfare Act 2006 (including one for Scotland).
- Welfare of Animals at Transport 2006.
- Zoonosis Order 1989.
- Food Standards Act 1999.
Enforcement
- Legislation defines offences and punishment.
- Enforcers identify non compliers and deal with them.
- Enforcement is not just prosecution, but is a series of options.
- Local Authority Staff for enforcement.
- Decision to prosecute based on proportionality and public interest.
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