Common law and equity are legal systems whose sources are the decisions of judges in cases. In addition, each system will have a legislature that adopts new laws and statutes. The relationship between laws and court decisions can be complex. In some jurisdictions, these laws may override judicial decisions or codify the subject matter covered by several contradictory or ambiguous decisions. In some jurisdictions, judicial decisions may decide whether the constitution of the court permits the enactment of a particular law or provision of law, or what meaning is contained in the statutory provisions. Common law developed in England, influenced by Anglo-Saxon law and, to a much lesser extent, by the Norman conquest of England, which introduced legal concepts from Norman law, which in turn has its origins in Salic law. The common law was later inherited by the Commonwealth of Nations, and almost all former colonies of the British Empire adopted it (Malta is an exception). The doctrine of stare decisis, also known as jurisdiction or precedent of the courts, is the main difference with codified civil law systems. Reference materials such as legal dictionaries and encyclopedias can provide a good overview of a new topic or jurisprudence. In the United States, some customary tribal rights may be applied to tribal lands recognized by the U.S. government.56 However, the U.S.
government exercises some control over tribal rights systems in the United States. There is a growing global movement to recognize tribal autonomy and customary systems.57 For example, in New Zealand, some Maori customary law is now recognized.58 Today, there are few countries whose legal system is exclusively religious. On the other hand, a large number of countries have secular systems, and this characteristic can be integrated into their legal structure, as in the French and Russian constitutions of 1958 or the very first words of the First Amendment of the US Constitution: “Congress shall not adopt a law concerning a religious institution”. Juriglobe is a free resource from the University of Ottawa that helps you determine the classification of a country`s legal system and related information. Once you have determined what are the main sources of law for a particular jurisdiction, you should try to find those sources. The Law Library subscribes to numerous databases containing primary sources for other jurisdictions. The best way to find these databases and access the main sources of law is to use our research guides. The research guides are divided into the following sections: Australian Law, General Law, Foreign Law, Global and Comparative Law, and International Law. Read the guide to finding interest in your country (if available). The American legal system and other legal systems based on British rule are a common law system.44 Originally, the common law meant law made by judges that filled gaps where there was no written law.
The judges looked at previous decisions to determine unwritten judicial law and apply it to new cases. Today, however, almost all laws are written and enacted by a legislator as laws. Many statutes codify, amend or abolish the established common law, depending on the purpose of the statute. There are cases where an unwritten common law is still applied, but these are rare. Most modern legal systems can be described as either common law, civil law, or a mixture of both. The civil law (also known as Roman) and common law systems can be considered the most widespread in the world: civil law, because it is most widely used by the land mass and the general population, and common law, because it is used by the largest number of people compared to any civil law system. [2] [3] [4] Despite this great diversity, it is important to first emphasize the separation between religious and secular legal systems. Everyone has very different views on the law, in terms of source, scope, sanctions and function.
The source of religious law is the Godhead, who makes the laws through the prophets. However, secular law is man-made. In a religious legal system, disputes are usually settled by an official of that religion, so that the same person is both judge and priest. In a secular system, on the other hand, the function of judge is distinct and is often reinforced by guarantees of judicial independence. Globalex at New York University School of Law contains a research collection on foreign law with chapters on more than 150 countries. The guides are written by experienced legal librarians from each province or territory and include information about the legal system and links to free legal sources (where available). A famous example of how precedents work is Brown v. Topeka School Board. In that landmark 1954 case, judges ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional.
Braun v. Board of Education is one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement and helped set a precedent that “separate but equal” education and other services were in fact not at all the same. The case required all racially segregated public schools to integrate, not just in Topeka, Kansas. In addition, Brown has been cited as a precedent in thousands of racial equality cases nationwide. Religious law refers to the notion of a religious system or document used as a legal source, although the methodology used varies. For example, the use of Judaism and halacha for public law has a static and immutable quality that excludes amendment by legislative acts of government or development by judicial precedent; Christian canon law is closer to civil law in its use of codes; And Islamic Sharia (and fiqh jurisprudence) is based on precedent and reasoning by analogy (qiyas) and is therefore considered similar to common law. [21] Today`s national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, law, religious law, or a combination of these. However, each country`s legal system is shaped by its unique history and therefore includes individual variants. [1] The science that studies law at the level of legal systems is called comparative law. The Islamic legal system, consisting of Sharia (Islamic law) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), is the most widespread religious legal system and, along with common law and civil law, one of the three most common legal systems in the world. [22] It is based both on divine law derived from the hadith of the Qur`an and Sunnah, and on the decisions of ulema (jurists), who use the methods of ijma (consensus), qiyas (analogous deduction), ijtihad (research) and urf (common practice) to derive fatwā (legal advice).
An ulema had to qualify for an ijazah (Doctor of Laws) in a madrasa (law school or college) before he could issue a fatwah. [23] During the Islamic Golden Age, classical Islamic law may have influenced the development of common law[6] and several civil law institutions. [24] Sharia law governs a number of Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, although most countries use Sharia law only as a complement to national legislation. It can concern all aspects of civil law, including property rights, contracts and public law. For more information about legal systems, see this article from Florida State Law Review, this article from the University of Berkeley Law Review, and this article from the Louisiana State University Law Review. The library subscribes to a number of reference and encyclopedic documents useful for comparative law research In the second half of the 20th century, German legal theory gained increasing influence in Argentina. Legal dictionaries offer concise summaries on legal topics. Each topic is written by an expert and regularly reviewed to ensure that the information is relevant and accurate in accordance with applicable law. They are organized by subject and include laws and judicial authorities to support the statements.