Background to the English legal system

English law is applied in England and Wales as well as in the US, except of course Louisiana which a Roman law country Its influence has also remained in Commonwealth countries which were colonized by the British.

Scottish law is based on Roman law, and Northern Ireland law is yet another system.

These 4 countries share a common parliament which is the sole statute making body. Statute law is therefore applicable in the whole of the UK.

English law is uncodified. It is essentially based on jurisprudence which affects the whole approach to law: its conceptualization and methods used.

The 2 main sources of English law are:

1) case law 2) statute law.

Case law, in other words, judge-made law, statute law, legislation.

Since the entry of GB into the European Economic Community on January 1st 1973 we must also add:

3) community law which often takes precedent over national law.

1) CASE LAW

Case law is made up of common law and equity. Common law has several different meanings:

1) The Norman Commion? lay or Common law which replaced local customary law in the Middle Ages and made the law common or the same for everyone throughout England and Wales. This was in an effort of uniformity.

2) Common law built on local custom as opposed to statute law enacted by parliament in Westminster. (Unit 2)

3) Common law as opposed to Equity which evolved in the Court of Chancery to complete common law.

4) Common law as a system based on customs and uncodified as opposed to the codified Roman civil law to be found on the continent.

Background to Common Law

At the time of the Norman Conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066 there was a whole complex network of local courts throughout England. Under the Normans, the barons who owned the land presided over these courts. It was only much later under Henry II that this local customary law declined and courts were replaced