History and Development of Common Law
Unconsciously we follow the law everyday. Socially and morally it has become a custom to follow and obey the law, although of course we know there are those who deviate outside the rules and break the law. Breaking the law is morally unacceptable and is frowned upon in today's society. Since the 12th century, common law has molded society as well as legal systems all over the world. The Common Law was a system that was developed in England. Many countries around the world follow the common law system such as, the United States and Canada (Common Law). Common Law can be defined as, a system of jurisprudence founded on principles of justice. The rules of this system continually change and are often expanded. Common Law derives it's authority from universal consent and come to decisions by the court of law. Common law being mainly judicial in origin, is found mostly in court decisions. Another origin of our law today derived from the Court of Equity. The Court of Equity, unlike the common law brings morality and justice(Shubert 15). The two combined are the backbones of the law we abide by today. The system of common law was developed in England. Throughout history the class system was always the way to royalty and n
The United States, unlike present day England, still uses common law in the most ancient meaning of the word. The law of our nation is uniformed and 51 systems of law are in operation to date. We currently have a system of law for each of the 50 states and 1 for the federal government. This is because The United States Constitution establishes a central government ( Federal) with limited powers, leaving all residual judicial and legislative powers to the individual states (The Timetable of World Legal History). obility. However, over the years it was beginning to become outdated. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, William the Conqueror shaped the foundation for centralized government when he established his Curia Regis (Encyclopedia Americana 393). The Curia Regis were members of his council who aided him in general and performed tasks he delegated to them. They were often sent out to supervise the local courts and hear out pleas. After the death of William the Conqueror nobles elected Henry I to be King. Henry I was elected by the nobles because he promised to issue a charter in which he pledged to respect the rights of all nobles. He also promised to be a fair ruler. This charter is important because it was the model for the most popular of all charters, The Magna Carta (Garret 28). Since the 12th Century common law has molded the way of life for all citizens especially in America. Common Law is the system of jurisprudence founded on principals of justice ( Common Law). The system of common law brought a great sense of morality and justice with it when it was arrived from England. Since this was a system not originated in our own country it became a universal way of ruling by law. The common law system has shaped and molded the way many people live and it became a universal foundation for law in the 21st century. The reign of Henry I was a prosperous time that strengthened the power of the King but it was also a time of peace amongst himself, the church and the feudal barons. King Henry strengthened the judicial system by sending out members of his council, the Curia Regis, to oversee and hear pleas and supervise the local Courts. During this time, however, despite the good faith effort towards peace, the communal courts, the religious courts and the feudal courts of the barons were still meeting, but there was much confusion over jurisdiction. Jurisdiction is the authority for a specific Court to hear a case. The question of proper jurisdiction was never solved in King Henry's years on the throne. There was stil
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Approximate Word count = 1727
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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