The key skill for journalists when it comes to law is to learn to recognise the risk. For example recognising when something could libel someone as they could then sue you. People with reputations are more likely to sue.
I have made a diagram to illustrate the hierarchy of criminal and civil courts -
There are many sources of law but the main ones are as follows -
- Common law tradition - This comes from ancient law.
- Statute law - This is when the government actions new laws.
- EU law adding to British law.
Court reporting used to be a big part of journalism but is becoming less and less popular. I found the following article about how court reporting is a dying trend, which makes for a very interesting read -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/oct/19/court-reporting-dying-art-lawyers
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