.jpg)
English law, also calledcommon law, is the legal system ofEngland andWales. It is generally divided intocriminal law andcivil law. It spread to many parts of the formerBritish Empire includingAustralia,Canada (exceptQuebec which usescivil law), theUnited States (exceptLouisiana which uses civil law) andNew Zealand, and many other countries.[1] There are about 80 countries worldwide that use mainly common law systems.[2] About 150 countries use thecivil law system.[2]
Englishlaw isunique in that it is based on applyinglegal precedent to present and future decisions made byjudges.[1] A judge must follow pastlegal decisions made by highercourts but not necessarily those made by lower courts.[1] English law is not based on aconstitution and there is nocodification of laws.[3] However, there areunofficialpublications that provideorganizedlists of current laws.[3]Parliament has the power to create laws which areautomatically consideredvalid and may not bereviewed by the courts.[3] Only Parliament has the power to change a law.[3]
Written in about602, theLaw of Æthelberht (Athelbert of Kent) is the oldest example ofAnglo-Saxon law,[4] or of law in any Germanic language. Anglo-Saxon law was based onAncient Germanic law which was a system of laws based onkinship.[5] The kinship group was responsible for the acts of their members as well as for their protection. Wrongs against another were paid byWeregild, a value placed on everyperson and piece ofproperty.[5] By the10th century these had changed into a system ofhundreds.[5] No longer based on kinship, theyorganized themselves to protect others in the hundred and to enforce the laws.[5] A hundredsmann was in charge of a hundred and was responsible to see that alldisputes were settled.[5]
In1066, theNorman conquest of England brought with it many changes in the law.[6] While much ofAnglo-Saxon law was kept, new laws were added over time by theNormans.[6] Before the Norman invasion, most laws in England were local laws and enforced by local courts.[7]Royal courts were introduced[7] They did not take over local laws right away, but did so over a period of time.[7] The royal courts took the best of the local laws and used them throughout England.[7] This established Englishcommon law, or a system of lawscommon to the entire country.[7] By this time a second court system developed known asequity and administered by theCourt of Chancery.[1] Equity addressed situations not covered by common law.Examples of equity decisions include imposing alien, correcting aproperty line or ordering someone to do something to prevent damage.[8]
The18th century legalscholar,William Blackstone, wrote a four-volumeCommentaries on the Laws of England which for the first time provided a complete overview of English law.[9] Originally published 1765–1769, it has since been republished many times.[9] Used well into the19th century, his Commentaries were the main instruction tool in learning the law in both England andAmerica.[9]Abraham Lincoln read Blackstone's Commentaries as part of teaching himself the law.[10]
Thejury system probably came to England just after the Norman conquest.[11] At first, jurors acted aswitnesses in court. But over time, certainly by the reign ofHenry II of England, they became thetrier of fact in a court case.[11] Juries began todeliberate theevidence provided by theparties in adispute. Over time, jurors were told less and less about a case before a trial and learned what they needed to make a decision in court.[11]
UnlikeScotland andNorthern Ireland,Wales is not a separatejurisdiction in theUnited Kingdom. The old laws ofWales within theKingdom of England were abolished byKing Henry VIII'sLaws in Wales Acts. This brought Wales into legal conformity with England. Between 1746 and 1967, any reference to England inlegislation included Wales. This ceased with the enactment of theWelsh Language Act 1967. The jurisdiction is now commonly referred to as "England and Wales". Although Wales has a degree of politicalautonomy, it did not have the ability to pass primary legislation until theGovernment of Wales Act 2006 came into force after the2007 Welsh general election. Even so, the Welsh legal system remains English common law. This is different from the situation ofNorthern Ireland. It did not stop being a distinct jurisdiction when its legislature was suspended. A major difference is also the use of theWelsh language, as laws concerning it apply in Wales and not in the rest of theUnited Kingdom. TheWelsh Language Act 1993 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It put theWelsh language on an equal footing with theEnglish language in Wales with regard to the public sector. Welsh may also be spoken in Welsh courts.
In England, there is a hierarchy of sources, as follows: