Common law is premised on unwritten judge-made rules based on the doctrine of presidents. The courts turn to common law in instances where the statutes are silent on the matter at hand, ambiguous, or as per the principle of stare decisis . The legal system of a particular state is shaped and determined by her history. For instance, most countries that were colonized by the British adopted the common law legal system. This paper essay presents a summary of the origin of common law and legal order of select countries such as Canada and the US, among others.
The Origin of The Common Law
The common law resulted primarily as feudal land law. The French invaders impacted and shaped the common law in various ways. Indeed, common-law was in the French language until the 17 th century. In its formative stages, common law greatly protects the owners of capital as peasants found negligible consideration in it. King Henry II established and designed a new judicial form and solidified common during his reign (Roberson and Das, 2008). In 1215, King John was pressured by the barons to sign the Magna Carta. This document was an undramatic document that contained the problems of the feudal law and customs principally strange to the contemporary English men (Roberson and Das, 2008). Notably, it did not seek to protect the interest of the barons but rather provided for the protection of all free men.
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The Legal System in The United States
The US has two separate court systems; federal and the state (Roberson and Das, 2008). They result from the US Constitution federalism. The legal system is adversarial and relies on both common law and congress mad laws.
Canadian Legal System
The Canadian legal system was tailored by the Constitution Act of 1867, which established the federal and provincial governments (Roberson and Das, 2008). The provincial courts concern themselves with the administration of justice within the province. Canada has the Dominion Criminal Code, which covers the majority of crimes. Canada’s legal system is adversarial and uses both common law and parliament made laws.
Australian Legal System
The Australian legal system is heavily borrowed from the common law. Besides, it has parliament made laws. The common law has been redefined by the Australian courts (Roberson and Das, 2008) . It operates an adversarial legal system. The Australian government runs a federal system of government and hence has nine separate legal systems that are relatively similar in structure and operation.
England, Wales and Scotland
England and Wales share a similar legal system. However, Scotland has an entirely different order. It is regarded as less adversarial and quite punitive. The verdicts of the courts are guilty, not guilty, or not proven. In Wales and England, the system is adversarial. The jury size of England and Wales is 12, whereas that of Scotland is 15 (Roberson and Das, 2008).
The Legal System of The United Kingdom
The UK has four legal structures. Each legal system is derived from a given physical area; English, Scots, Northern Ireland, and Welsh law. The highest court is the supreme court of the United Kingdom. It operates an adversarial system. The English legal system today is unitary with the uppermost court being the House of Lords (Roberson and Das, 2008)
Conclusion
Common law is associated with feudal land law. The role of French invaders in its development is indispensable. Various countries have broadly similar legal system and court structures with few distinctions depending on their unique circumstances. Countries colonized by the British adopted the common law system with necessary modifications.
Reference
Roberson, C., & Das, D. K. (2008). An introduction to comparative legal models of criminal justice. cRc Press.
