The origins of common law legal systems date back many centuries. In fact, during the Middle Ages in England, the common law system as we know it today got its start. Common law is still widely used in many nations today, including the United States, Canada, India, and Australia, for the resolution of legal issues.
Common law legal systems are still in place, but many people are unaware of their existence or operation. Let’s begin with the fundamentals.
Common law: what is it?
Common law can be defined as a “body of law” that is derived from court rulings rather than from laws or regulations. However, common law is frequently more intricate than that.
A legal precept known as stare decisis—a Latin expression that loosely translates to “to stand by things decided”—lays the foundation of common law. In actuality, stare decisis is simply a fancy way of expressing that when handling instances that are comparable in the future, judges and courts must adhere to previous judgments and rulings, or caselaw.
For instance, if a court renders a decision based on a certain set of facts, it must abide by that decision in the future when it comes to rule on the same or a closely related matter. Similarly, rulings from higher courts, such as the supreme court of a jurisdiction, usually have binding effect on lesser courts within that same jurisdiction.
Is common law the only kind of legal framework in use today, though? No, it’s not. In fact, a civil law system is another one that is utilized in many nations.
What distinguishes civil law from common law?
Common law and civil law are the two primary legal systems in use today across the globe. What makes a difference? Civil law systems mostly rely on rules and statutes, whereas common law systems base their decisions on case law and prior legal authority.
In particular, the civil law legal system, which has its roots in continental Europe, is based on an extensive body of statutes that specify everything from the process for resolving claims to the penalties for transgressions. In a nutshell, civil law systems specify exactly how judges must rule in a variety of particular cases. Even in situations when the facts are identical, rulings made by civil law courts are not enforceable by common law systems.
Is civil law or common law used in the United States?
Common law legal systems are found in many nations, including the United States, whose common law regulations were first derived from English common law.
In actuality, common law laws are in place in every state in the union, with the exception of Louisiana. Due to its system’s continued reliance on the French civil code, which existed prior to the United States acquiring it in the early 1800s, Louisiana is the only state with a civil law system. In a similar vein, the civil law system of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that was a Spanish colony for hundreds of years, is derived from the Spanish civil code. The United States is a common law nation other from that.
It is also important to remember that there isn’t a single pure common law system in the United States. Courts must take into account the numerous codified statutes that the United States and its numerous common law states have.
But, regardless of whether a court is using common law or applying a statute, one thing remains constant in U.S. common law legal systems: the principle of stare decisis. Consequently, even if a common law court is interpreting a statute and not applying common law, prior court decisions interpreting that same statute are precedent and therefore binding. This is a very big difference from civil law legal systems in which a judge’s decision interpreting the text of the code are not binding in later cases involving different parties.
Advantages of the Common Law
There are advantages and disadvantages to the common law and civil law legal systems, there is no doubt about it. However, the following are some advantages and benefits of common law systems:
1.] Constancy and steadiness.
Because everyone involved is aware that the final decision will be based on prior caselaw rather than on arbitrary, subjective opinions, common law encourages stability and consistency.
2.] Effectiveness.
Common law systems allow judges to make rulings by simply following prior cases, which means that court cases can be resolved considerably more quickly and affordably for all parties.
3.] Flexibility in the face of uncertainty.
There’s just no way for legislators to foresee all the scenarios in which judges might need to apply their statutes and regulations. Legislation cannot, in fact, address every potential issue or situation. However, in common law systems, judges have the authority to decide cases that legislators had not initially intended.
4.] Adaptability.
Another way to characterize common law’s flexibility is its ability to adapt to societal changes. Common law systems do not require legislators to enact amendments to legislation and codes, which might take a very long time or never happen at all, in contrast to civil law systems. Common law allows higher courts to reject earlier rulings as “bad law,” and they sometimes do so without waiting for legislative action.
How is common law research conducted?
The first thing you should frequently look at in common law legal systems are previous court rulings and decisions. After all, you have to know how they’ve handled similar circumstances in the past if you want to know what might be binding right now. This implies that you must look up pertinent caselaw, or prior court decisions. But how can I complete that task as quickly and easily as possible?
Finding pertinent case law used to be a laborious, time-consuming procedure that frequently required spending long hours in the law library combing over innumerable case reporters and practice manuals. All you could hope for was that one day, you would find the one ideal case, one where the facts matched and the court decided precisely how you wanted it to.
As you may imagine, this method of looking up case law wasn’t very effective. You don’t have time to waste because you are already so busy.
Thankfully, caselaw research is now quicker and easier than ever thanks to legal technology. In reality, a lot of the research work that used to take hours or even days may now be completed in minutes with the use of modern legal technology.
For instance, you may rapidly filter caselaw by fact pattern, motion type, outcome, and much more with Westlaw Precision, the most sophisticated legal research tool on the market today. These are chores that would have taken much longer in the past. Additionally, Westlaw Precision makes it easier for you to determine whether a case is still “good law” for a cause that matters to you.
It’s now simpler than ever to locate cases that not just fit your facts and legal issue, but are also determined in the manner you desire thanks to these kinds of legal technology developments. In a common law legal system, success depends critically on locating pertinent, up-to-date case law.