SLIDE thuyết trình common law and its advantage over written law

Common law’s advantage over written lawA Conten ts Definition of common law and an overview of the legal system in common law countries.. THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN COMMON LAW COUNTRIES• Sourc

COMMON LAW

and its advantage

over written law

T O P I C 4

Group 2:

Hà Linh ChiNguyễn Thị Thùy

Common law’s advantage over written law

A

Conten

ts

Definition of common law and an overview of

the legal system in common law countries

The primary differences

between common law

and statutory law

B

n

COMMON LAW

• Consists of the substantive

law and procedural rules that

are created by the judicial

decisions made in the courts

• Are favored by a number of

jurisdictions such as the

United Kingdom, the United

States, Australia, Canada,

Hong Kong, India, New

Zealand…

Wikimedia Commons

THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN COMMON LAW COUNTRIES

• Sources of law: Legislation, Case law/Precedent, and Customary law

AND STATUTORY LAW

Common Law system

Precedent is the essence

Civil Law system

Written law issued by the legislature prevails

Common Law

Written Law

Specificity

Common law is constantly adjusted and fine-tuned

as new situations arise in real life while statutory law is too rigid to deal with all perspective cases

and takes a long time to change and adapt.

ADVANTAGE 1

Consistency Efficiency

• The role of judges is to examine specific facts for each case, interpret relevant legislation and administer the law in line with these findings

• Complicates interpretation and gives rise to several

Advantage

• Consistent and predictable

• The guiding principle of the common law

is that similar cases should receive similar treatment.

• Is a product of numerous stages of consultation and compromise between the views of different stakeholders

• Parliament would never be able to anticipate all of the specific situations that arise in the future

Common Law

Written Law

• Takes a long time to change and adapt to the conditions and requirements of real life

• The legislature must go through the entire legislative process again in order to pass the new law and repeal the old one.

Common Law

Written Law

Case law is great to research in order to understand

the interpretation and application of laws There

are almost a thousand years of case law that can

be read, analyzed, and referenced when making a determination of what the right outcome of a case

should be.

ADVANTAGE 2

Advantage

• Precedents are earlier cases where judges have made legal rules.

• Consists of judge-made law that evolved over centuries, and interpretation of statutory law explaining how

it applies to certain situations and what it means.

• Enables the judges to shape law according to an effective requirement.

re-Advantage

The official canon date of Common Law

14 Oct 1066

Common Law judicial model

6 July 1189

22 April 1275

Advantage

Common Law as the legal system of England

starting date of Common Law

Donoghue v Stevenson, 1932

In a case originating in Scotland, Mrs Donoghue was given a bottle of ginger beer which allegedly contained the decomposed remains of a snail She claimed to have suffered shock and gastroenteritis as

a result But as she had not bought the drink herself, she had no contract on which to sue Nevertheless, the court extended the law of negligence to require reasonable care towards those likely to be affected by

a person’s or company’s actions

Advantage

CASE

Judge-made law is often the product of thoughtfulness and learning rather than pure

political will The judges are actually better than legislatures at making well-thought-out, workable

laws that can be applied in cases and

controversies.

ADVANTAGE 3

The judge’s political impartiality

Advantage

JUDGMENTS MADE BY JUDGES

Extensive experience in the practice of law

A less pragmatic and more theoretical approach

Advantage

The court has investigative power, it may not be fair for

an individual

The jury decides on the facts

of the case; the judge determines the law

on

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