Case law
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 679.
Precedent contracts legal issues case previous precedents courts common law parties
British law is based on the principle of (1)…………….., meaning that if a court has already ruled on a given legal issue and another case arises with the same legal issue, the holding in the previous case will be applied to the new (2)…………. The use of precedents helps to promote stability in the (3) ……, as all parties are given notice as to the current state of the law.
Precedents also have a role to play when new (4)…….. are presented to courts. (5)…… for both sides of a case look to cases that have been decided in the past that support their current arguments. When deciding new legal issues, sometimes courts expand (6)…………...
Through reliance upon precedent established in prior cases the (7)……… has resolved many legal issues and brought stability into many areas of the law, such as the law of….(8).
Ex. 6:
These words can help you identify similarities and differences between two subjects. Below are just a few words; add to this list as you find more.
| Compare | Contrast |
| Same | Different |
| Both | But |
| Alike | On the other hand |
| Similar | Instead of |
| Compared to | In contrast to |
Case law or codes? Compare the British legal system based on case law and legal systems of European countries (e.g. France, Germany, etc.) based on codes. What are their relative advantages and disadvantages? Use the table given below:
| ENGLISH LAW | CONTINENTAL LAW | |
| TYPE OF LEGAL SYSTEM | common law | civil law |
| BASIC CHARACTERISTIC OF SYSTEM | central importance of precedent | central importance of enacted law |
| STYLE OF LEGAL REASONING | Inductive - reasoning in individual cases leads to general rules | deductive – decisions reached by reasoning from general rules to particular cases |
| LEGAL PRINCIPLES | principles are flexible; based on real facts, develop in individual cases | in time fixed principles may not correspond to changing circumstances; general enacted principles are applied to individual cases |
| OTHER CHARACTERISTICS | inferior courts must follow decisions of superior courts; central position of judges | original source of principles may be case-law, custom, etc. |
Ex. 7:Visit the internet site www.legalskills.com. and make a report about sources of law.
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