common law
What does common law mean?
Common law, also known as case law, is a body of unwritten laws
based on legal precedents established by the courts. Common
law draws from institutionalized opinions and interpretations from
judicial authorities and public juries. Common laws sometimes
prove the inspiration for new legislation to be enacted.
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What are some examples of common laws?
Common law examples include all cases in which the court makes decisions based on stare decisis, which means that judges look to legal precedents to decide cases. This can be seen often in countries whose legal systems are largely based on common law, such as the United States and Australia.
Is the US common law?
The American system is a “common law” system, which relies heavily on court precedent in formal adjudications. In our common law system, even when a statute is at issue, judicial determinations in earlier court cases are extremely critical to the court's resolution of the matter before it.
What are the pros and cons of common law?
Pros and Cons
The benefit of a common law system is that you can be confident of what will happen in your case if a similar case has been heard before. The drawback is that if you have an unusual case, there is nothing to stop a judge creating a new law and applying it to your case.May 5, 2010