Which description best summarizes the main sources of UK law and their roles?

• A. EU law is the sole source of UK law
• B. Equity has no role in remedies
• C. Legislation creates rules; case law develops rules; equity provides remedies; EU law historically influenced, now limited after Brexit
• D. Administrative guidelines govern all cases

Answer: (C)

Understanding the main sources of UK law and how they function helps explain why this option fits best. Legislation, created by Parliament, sets binding rules that apply across the law. When legislation is unclear or needs adapting to specific circumstances, judges interpret and apply it through case law, building a body of precedents that shapes how rules are understood and used in future cases. Equity operates alongside the common law as a distinct framework focused on fairness, providing remedies that ordinary law may not offer—think injunctions, specific performance, and equitable trusts—where strict legal rights alone would not achieve just outcomes. The role of EU law has evolved since Brexit: it used to have primacy and a broad direct effect on UK law, but its influence is now limited, with retained EU law still in force only to the extent Parliament and the courts determine. Administrative guidelines do not govern all cases as binding law; they help guide conduct and interpretation but do not replace statutes, case law, or equity as the primary sources of legal rules.