What Is English Common Law History

In this lesson you will learn the history and definition of the english common law system.

What is english common law history. The common law was a historically deemed term that meant a law common to the people of england controlled by the royal courts 1 however this essay also considers the development through history of the common law to another understanding as the body of law created by judges and in that sense the law not created by equity or statute 2. Principal elements of english law. Its history and principles r ross perry boston 1897 the common law by oliver wendell holmes jr. Cambridge 1968 is a masterpiece in comparison with which all later efforts pale.

Law and society in england from the norman conquest to. Perhaps its most typical product is english contract law developed continuously since the birth of the common law. Although the common law has historically been the foundation and prime source of english law the most authoritative law is statutory legislation which comprises acts of parliament regulations and by laws in the absence of any statutory law the common law with its principle of stare decisis forms the residual source of law based on judicial decisions. Common law developed through practical experience over time and thus became distinguished from a legal code in which the law was summarized.

The judicial systems decisions and interpretation of statutory law provisions by judges are becoming a part of the common law. Common law is rooted in centuries of english history. The history of english law before the time of edward i pollock and maitland. Hudson the formation of the english common law.

The english common law system is the foundation of several systems of law throughout the world. In another narrower sense common law is contrasted to the rules applied in english and american courts of equity and also to statute law. It emphasizes the centrality of the judge in the gradual development of law and the idea that law is found in the distillation and continual restatement of legal doctrine through the decision of the courts. The common law is one of the two major and successful systems of law developed in western europe and in one form or another is now in force not only in the country of its origin but also in the united states large parts of the british commonwealth and former parts of the empire.

The english common law from which americans borrowed heavily in the colonial period had evolved for centuries in england its principles and rules were extensive and complex and they varied by region and locality.