Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The judiciary is independent , and legal principles like fairness , equality before the law , and the right to a fair trial are foundational to the system.
Legal systems of the world. The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four major legal traditions: civil law, common law, customary law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and so incorporates individual variations. [1]
English and Welsh law can be described as having its own legal doctrine, distinct from civil law legal systems since 1189. There has been no major codification of the law, rather the law is developed by judges in court , applying statute , precedent and case-by-case reasoning to give explanatory judgments of the relevant legal principles.
The primary contrast between the two systems is the role of written decisions and precedent as a source of law (one of the defining features of common law legal systems). [42] [15] While Common law systems place great weight on precedent, [90] civil law judges tend to give less weight to judicial precedent. [91]
Thus, common law is declaratory, and this is often retrospective in effect. For example, see Shaw v DPP [1] and R v Knuller. [2] In the search for justice and fairness, there is a tension between the needs for, on one hand, predictability and stability, and "up-to date law", on the other. [3] There is a hierarchy of courts, and a hierarchy of ...
The title page of the first book of William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1st ed., 1765). The Commentaries on the Laws of England [1] (commonly, but informally known as Blackstone's Commentaries) are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarendon Press at Oxford between 1765 and 1769.
Civil law is sometimes referred to as neo-Roman law, Romano-Germanic law or Continental law. The expression "civil law" is a translation of Latin jus civile, or "citizens' law", which was the late imperial term for its legal system, as opposed to the laws governing conquered peoples (jus gentium); hence, the Justinian Code's title Corpus Juris Civilis.
History of English law is the history of the legal system and laws of England. Coverage of the history of English law is provided by: Fundamental Laws of England; History of English land law; History of English contract law; History of English criminal law; History of trial by jury in England; History of the courts of England and Wales