Roman law was strongly influenced by Greek philosophy, but its detailed rules were drawn up by professional jurists and were very demanding. [63] [64] In the centuries between the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, law was adapted to changing social situations and comprehensively codified under Theodosius II and Justinian I. [65] Although codes were replaced by customary law and jurisprudence in the early Middle Ages, Roman law was rediscovered around the 11th century when medieval jurists began to research Roman codes and adapt their concepts to canon law. Birth of Common Juice. For guidance, Latin legal maxims (called brocades) have been compiled. In medieval England, royal courts developed a precedent that later became common law. A pan-European law merchant was created so that traders could trade with common standards of practice, rather than the many fragmented facets of local laws. The merchant of rights, the forerunner of modern commercial law, emphasizes freedom of contract and the alienability of property. [66] As nationalism grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, the merchant of rights was incorporated into the local law of countries under new civil laws. The Napoleonic and German codes became the most influential. Unlike English common law, which consists of huge volumes of case law, codes in small books are easy to export and easy for judges to use. Today, however, there are signs that civil law and common law are converging. [67] EU law is codified in the Treaties, but develops through a de facto precedent set by the Court of Justice of the European Communities.
[68] In common law systems, court decisions are explicitly recognized as “law”, on an equal footing with laws enacted through the legislative process and executive orders. The “doctrine of precedent” or stare decisis (Latin for “sticking to decisions”) means that decisions of higher courts bind lower courts and future decisions of the same court to ensure that similar cases lead to similar results. In contrast, in “civil” systems, statutory laws tend to be more detailed and court decisions shorter and less detailed, as the judge or lawyer writes only to decide the individual case, rather than presenting arguments that will guide future courts. In general, legal systems may be divided between civil law and customary law. [81] Modern scholars argue that the importance of this distinction has increasingly diminished; The many legal registries typical of modern law mean that modern legal systems share many features traditionally considered typical of common law or civil law. [67] [82] The term “civil law”, which refers to the civil legal system originating in continental Europe, should not be confused with the term “civil law” in the sense of common law issues distinct from criminal and public law. Law is a system of rules created and applied by social or state institutions to regulate behaviour,[2] and its precise definition has long been debated. [3] [4] [5] It has been variously described as a science[6][7] and the art of justice. [8] [9] [10] Laws enforced by the state may be enacted by a group legislature or by a single legislature, resulting in laws; by the executive by decrees and regulations; or established by precedent judges, usually in common law jurisdictions. Individuals can enter into legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements, that provide alternative means of resolving disputes than traditional court proceedings. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a written or implied constitution and the rights encoded in it. Law shapes politics, business, history and society in many ways and mediates relationships between people.
As the legal philosopher John Austin succinctly put it: “Law is the command of a sovereign. Law is a law, in other words, only if it derives from a recognized authority and can be applied by that authority, or sovereign authority within a nation-state. Sovereignty is what sovereigns exercise. This usually means the power to enact and enforce laws within the nation-state – such as a king, president, or dictator – that has power in a defined territory or territory. Positivism is a philosophical movement that claims that science provides the only knowledge accurate enough to be worthwhile. But what about the social phenomena of laws? Some civil injustices are grouped together as torts in common law systems and torts in civil law systems. [206] To have committed an offence, one must have breached an obligation to another person or violated a pre-existing right. A simple example could be accidentally hitting someone with a cricket ball. [207] Under the law of negligence, the most common form of tort, the injured person could seek compensation from the party liable for his or her damages.