common law
Precedent-based legal system
Common law is the body of law developed through court decisions and judicial precedent rather than through legislation or statutes.
It originated in medieval England, where judges' rulings accumulated into binding legal principles.
Common law systems, used in the UK, US, and other former British territories, rely heavily on precedent—courts follow earlier decisions in similar cases.
The term also describes an unmarried couple's legal status after long cohabitation: a common law marriage or common law wife.
They've been together fifteen years—basically common law at this point.
Created by courts
- benchShared seating surface
- adjudicationFormal decision on disputes
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
- trialJudicial examination of claims
verdict · judgment · litigation · adversarial · cross-examination · testimony · barrister · solicitor
Not set down formally
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- usageAct of employing something
- cohabitationDwelling together unmarried
- de factoReal though not official
Charter curbing royal authority
- WestminsterLondon's political center
- Henry IIFirst Plantagenet English monarch
- King's BenchHistoric English law court
- ChanceryJudicial division for equity
Inns of Court · Norman Conquest · Anglo-Saxon · Blackstone · Coke · Year Books · royal courts · circuit judges
Actionable civil harm
- contractEnforceable written agreement
- propertySomething owned or inherent
- equityImpartial treatment or ownership value
- trustsBelieves in reliability
negligence · consideration · damages · liability · duty of care · reasonable person · nuisance · trespass
Association of sovereign states
- British EmpireVast colonial domain
- colonial legacyEnduring impact of occupation
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
- CanadaNorthern North American nation
India · United States · Nigeria · Hong Kong · Singapore · South Africa · New Zealand
Legally significant court judgment
- court rulingJudicial decision on case
- legal principleFoundational rule of law
- precedentialEstablishing a standard for future cases
- overrulingNullifying by superior power
judge-made
Created by courts
- benchShared seating surface
- adjudicationFormal decision on disputes
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
trial · verdict · judgment · litigation · adversarial · cross-examination · testimony · barrister · solicitor · advocate
unwritten
Not set down formally
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- usageAct of employing something
- cohabitationDwelling together unmarried
Magna Carta
Charter curbing royal authority
- WestminsterLondon's political center
- Henry IIFirst Plantagenet English monarch
- King's BenchHistoric English law court
Chancery · Inns of Court · Norman Conquest · Anglo-Saxon · Blackstone · Coke · Year Books · royal courts · circuit judges
tort
Actionable civil harm
- contractEnforceable written agreement
- propertySomething owned or inherent
- equityImpartial treatment or ownership value
trusts · negligence · consideration · damages · liability · duty of care · reasonable person · nuisance · trespass · estoppel
Commonwealth
Association of sovereign states
- British EmpireVast colonial domain
- colonial legacyEnduring impact of occupation
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
Canada · India · United States · Nigeria · Hong Kong · Singapore · South Africa · New Zealand
landmark decision
Legally significant court judgment
- court rulingJudicial decision on case
- legal principleFoundational rule of law
- precedentialEstablishing a standard for future cases
- English Lawbarristers, solicitors, solicitor, High Court, Crown Court
- Anglo-American cultureHollywood, Broadway, Shakespeare, Beatles, pub culture
- England originLondon, Thames, Big Ben, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace
- English influenceEnglish language, parliamentary system, cricket, English literature, Shakespeare
- legal fieldscivil procedure, criminal procedure, criminal code, penal code, legal theory
- British lawbarrister, solicitor, Crown Court, magistrates court, barristers
common lawstatutory law
Legislature-made legal rules
statute law · legislation · written law · administrative law · constitutional law
common lawcivil law
Law governing private disputes
Roman law · Napoleonic Code · Justinian Code · religious law
law, common, lawyer, laws, lawful, uncommon, lawless, lawyers, lawmaker