Law is debated in Parliament or it is created by the decisions of judges, called 'precedent'. Then it is written down. It is hot air followed by black and white print; not that easy to understand or use, if you don’t know what they are talking about, and you are not a lawyer.

You need to learn about the law because of the courts; part of the justice system. Complicated rules govern the way they work. You need to know of the structure of the legal system and the processes by which the courts might deal with your issues, but in clear simple terms.

Structure is best illustrated by a plan, and process by flow diagrams. Collectively these are my legal maps; they illustrate the structure and the process, and the relationship between these two elements.

Everything shown here applies to marriages AND civil partnerships.

Click the blue arrow again.

3.12.25.