Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

1.7 
Sources of law (England and 
Wales)
There are two sources of law – common law and statute 
law.
1.7.1 Common 
law
Common law dates from the eleventh century when 
William I set up Royal Courts to apply a uniform (com-
mon) system of law across the whole of England. Prior 
to that time, there was a variation in law, or the interpret-
ation of the same law, from one town or community to 
another. Common law is based on judgments made by 
courts (or strictly judges in courts). In general, courts are 
bound by earlier judgments on any particular point of 
law – this is known as ‘precedent’. Lower courts must 
follow the judgments of higher courts. Hence judgments 
made by the Law Lords in the House of Lords form the 
basis of most of the common law currently in use.
In health and safety, the legal defi nition of negligence, 
duty of care and terms such as ‘practicable’ and ‘as 

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Introduction to Health and Safety at Work
6
far as is reasonably practicable’ are all based on legal 
judgments and form part of the common law. Common 
law also provides the foundation for most civil claims 
made on health and safety issues. 
1.7.2 Statute 
law
Statute law is law which has been laid down by Parliament 
as Acts of Parliament. In health and safety, an Act of 
Parliament, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, lays 
down a general legal framework. Specifi c health and 
safety duties are, however, covered by Regulations or 
Statutory Instruments – these are also examples of stat-
ute law. If there is a confl ict between statute and com-
mon law, statute law takes precedence. However, as with 
common law, judges interpret statute law usually when 
it is new or ambiguous. Although for health and safety, 
statute law is primarily the basis of criminal law, there 
is a tort of breach of statutory duty which can be used 
when a person is seeking damages following an accident 
or illness. Breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 
1974 cannot be used for civil action but breaches of most 
of the Regulations produced by the Act may give rise to 
civil actions.