‣ Common law is judge-made law. It is a body of law made up entirely of principles developed organically from individual court cases on a caseby- case basis. As Lord Donaldson said, ‘The common law is common sense under a wig’. Common law cannot be used where there is a statutory alternative, i.e. statute law overrides common law. For those practitioners who worked prior to 2005, this is particularly important. The common law authority to act in the best interests of a person who lacks capacity has been almost entirely replaced by the MCA.

‣ Statute laws are laws passed by Parliament and called Acts.

‣ Judicial interpretation of statute law Judges also interpret the statutes passed by Parliament and make rulings on these.

‣ European Law is a potentially confusing term because there are two distinct types of European law. There is European Law passed by the European Union (EU). These laws tend to make specific requirements of member countries and are binding on those countries. An example is the European Working Time Directive. The other European law, and in relation to clinical decision-making much more relevant, is the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This is incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998. The latter makes some specific requirements of UK national laws (which must be compatible with the ECHR) and also sets a framework for the interpretation of national laws and practices both by the UK courts and individual clinicians.

‣ State compliance with the ECHR is determined by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).