Briefly explain and discuss the meanings of the term "common law".
This essay will endeavour to briefly describe the term "common law" which does not have just one clear definition but three separate meanings for the same phrase, making it confusing for those unfamiliar with the law and it's terminology. Once explained however it is easy to spot each distinctive meaning by way of the context it is being used.
The three meanings of "common law" are used alongside opposing forms of law. There is common law as opposed to civil law, common law as opposed to equity and finally common law as opposed to statute law.
When distinguishing between "common law" and "civil law" we are describing two separate legal systems. On the one hand we have a "common law" that has developed over centuries. It is continuously being developed by judges by means of stare decisis or judicial precedent, and derives from the ancient Latin maxim stare decisis et non quieta movere, meaning "stand by what has been decided and do not unsettle the established". This is also known as "judge made law" or "case law". This is system is used in England and Wales and has been adopted across the Commonwealth and the United States of America. Opposed to this system is "civil law" which is not derived from the ancient English form but from the ancient Roman and is mainly used across the European continent. This form of law does not generally use precedent as England would be familiar with but creates law based on that created by legislative bodies which bind together and control judicial decisions.
The next definition of "common law" is that which is used in .
contrast to "equity". In this context we are describing a division in .
the English system itself. This division originates back to the .
Norman Conquest of England but has been combined to create the .
Legal system as we understand it today. "Common Law" was .
created by the Normans to orchestrate control over what was a .