Common Law System: Meaning & Examples

Majority of the countries of the world follow common law system. They don’t have the specified or codified law books or statutes rather to decide the cases, they follow previously decided cases.

What is the Meaning of Common Law System?

The common law is the body of law established through judicial judgments. A common law system is one that bases its jurisprudence more on the theory of judicial precedent—the idea that lower courts must follow upper courts' rulings—than it does on statutory legislation. Instead of through legislative acts or executive action, the Common Law refers to law and the associated legal system formed by the judgments of courts and other comparable tribunals. In other words, Common law does, however, rely on scattered statutes, which are judicial decisions. These precedents are kept up to date over time through court documents and historically accurate case law collections known as yearbooks and reports.

Judges develop and enhance the common law; a ruling in an ongoing case is influenced by precedent and affects how the law will be interpreted in future instances. Judges have the power and obligation to establish precedent when there is no authoritative declaration of the law. Future judgments must abide by the common law body of precedent. The court is required to apply the justification presented in the earlier ruling if a comparable disagreement has been settled in the past. However, the court will decide as a matter of first impression if it determines that the current issue is fundamentally different from all prior cases. Following that, the new ruling became precedent and would be followed by other courts.

Historical Background of Common Law

The common legal system was developed in England, then adopted by the United States and Canada, and is now in use in the majority of Commonwealth nations. Although the English common law system dates back to the 11th century, the current system has developed over the past 350 years as judges have used different criteria to guide their judgments. Common law is produced and established by written opinions issued by judges following a trial; it has no legal basis in statutes. Future judgments from lower courts within the same jurisdiction must follow the advice of these opinions. That does not imply, however, that common law systems get all of their laws from case law. Legislative bodies are at the heart of democratic states that have embraced the common law system, and these bodies frequently pass new laws. During trials, the judiciary then interprets and applies this legislation. Large bodies of law, such as those that govern contracts, torts, and property, are typically included in common law. Laws in more contemporary fields, such as employment, intellectual property, and health and safety, are frequently based on statutes rather than common law. The common law system has benefits and drawbacks, just like any other system. The three basic justifications for such a system are that it is equitable, practical, and effective. Since everyone is treated equally in every circumstance and precedents are strictly followed, it is regarded as being fair.

The drawbacks include erroneous decisions and the challenges presented when there is no prior case law for the issue at hand. If a higher court makes a wrong judgement, the decision will stand until it is overturned by the same court or by a higher court. Therefore, poor decisions might endure for a very long time. This is valid for negative precedents. However, a complete lack of precedent can cause a number of issues, particularly when a court is required to create a new law where none previously existed.

Features of Common Law

The features of common law are −

• authority of the judgments delivered by higher courts and tribunals;

• composition of judicial institutions;

• The adversarial system of court proceedings and the role of the judge, and

• The importance of Acts, Statutes, and other legislation passed by competent authorities

Significance of the Common Law

A precedent, also referred to as a “stare decisis”, is a body of prior judicial decisions used to evaluate similar instances in the present. Because there is no official legal system that can be applied to a particular case, common law, also known as case law, relies on thorough records of comparable circumstances and statutes.

The precedence that applies in a certain case is decided by the judge sitting over it. Cases heard in lower courts must follow the example set by higher courts. This structure encourages consistency and stability in the American judicial system. However, lower courts may decide to change or depart from precedents if they are out of date or if the current case differs significantly from the previous case. Although lower courts have the option to reject the precedent, this rarely happens.

A common law statute does not propose to completely supersede the pre−existing traditional law governing topics covered by it, nor does it propose to lay down general principles of its own. The general principles underlying the statute are to be found within the realm of traditional unwritten law.

The practice in common law courts is the accusatorial (adversarial) system, i.e., a regulated confrontation between the parties. Extensive laws of evidence and trial methods have been developed.

Countries that follow the Common Law System

Some of the major countries that follow common law system are −

• UK

• India

• The Republic of Ireland

• The United Nation of America

• Canad

• Australia

• New Zealand

• Malaysi

• Singapore, etc.

Conclusion

A collection of unwritten laws based on judicially established precedents is known as common law, also known as case law. Common law is derived from juries and judicial officials formalized interpretations and judgments. A new piece of legislation may occasionally be inspired by common laws. In an adversarial system, common law pits two opposing parties against each other in a courtroom battle with a judge acting as a neutral arbitrator. UK, the US, India, Australia, etc. are the major countries that follow common law system.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is common law described as an advantage of the common law system?

Judges will use this rule as guidance when deciding similar situations in the future. The common law can only be discovered in previous judgments and cannot be found in any code or body of legislation. It is flexible at the same time. Because judges can declare new legal concepts or modify existing ones, they can make changes to account for changing conditions.

2. What are the benefits and drawbacks of applying common law to contracts?

The common law has advantages and problems, just like any legal concept. Common law enables laws to adjust to actual circumstances while relieving part of the legislative burden from parliament. But common law is also cumbersome, produced by people who are not elected or representatives of the people, and is reactive rather than proactive.

3. What are the basic categories of common law system?

Criminal, civil (or tort), and administrative (or regulatory) laws are the three main categories of common laws that are defined at the centre and states under the common law system.

4. Write the name of major countries that follow common law system.

The United States, Canada, Australia, India, and several African nations—particularly Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria—as well as South Africa as well as other former British colonies, still use this model today.