What is the difference between statutory law and fundamental law

The third connotation distinguish a common law rule from a rule of equity. The last is a body developed by the English courts of chancery to supplement the rigid common law of the time.

It is quite important to remember, that before , England had to parallel court systems:. This split propagated to many of the British colonies, including the United States[7]. For most purposes, most jurisdictions, including the U. We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap. Main differences between the common law, statutory law and civil law.

By Andrzej Blajer. In International Commercial Law. The term common law can be difficult to define as it is used in two different ways: to describe the system of law which operates in some states whose legal systems are based upon English, i. It may have two totally different meanings according to the country tradition: it can mean obedience to the existing positive law, as in the civil law system, or it may signify, according to the common law tradition, that inalienable rights have to be respected even by the sovereign.

Table 1. Comparative analysis of major features of the common law and civil law systems. Comparison of some differences between common law and civil law systems. It has since been developed by the States except Louisiana, which as a former French colony has very different legal system and by the Federal Courts and Supreme Court. David and J. Common law, on the other hand, finds in judge-made precedent the core of its law.

A reception statute was a statutory law in a former British colony enacting i. British traditions such as the monarchy were rejected by the U. Constitution, but many British common law traditions such as habeas corpus, jury trials, and various other civil liberties were adopted in the United States. It should be also added, that under the doctrine of reception, if a colonized territory has a pre-existing legal system, the native law would apply effectively a dorm of indirect rule until formally superseded by the English law, through Royal Prerogative subjected to the Westminster Parliament.

Significant elements of British common law prior to still remain in effect in many jurisdictions in the United States, because they never been rejected by American courts of legislatures. For instance, the Bill of Rights was passed because concepts such as freedom of religion, speech, equal treatment, and due process of law were deemed so important that, barring a Constitutional Amendment, not even a majority should be allowed to change them.

Rule of law is a principle under which all persons, institutions, and entities are accountable to laws that are:.

The courts play an integral role in maintaining the rule of law, particularly when they hear the grievances voiced by minority groups or by those who may hold minority opinions. Equality before the law is such an essential part of the American system of government that, when a majority, whether acting intentionally or unintentionally, infringes upon the rights of a minority, the Court may see fit to hear both sides of the controversy in court. Rule of law is a principle under which all persons, institutions, and entities are accountable to laws that are: Publicly promulgated Equally enforced Independently adjudicated And consistent with international human rights principles.

A statute is a law passed by a legislature; and statutory law is the body of law resulting from statutes. A statute—or the statutory law—may also be referred to as legislation. This is an example of statutory law. For instance, in there was no reason to write laws prohibiting people from operating motor vehicles while intoxicated, because there were no motor vehicles yet—people still rode horses. Instead, the Constitution made provisions for law to evolve as society evolved.

In , U. Case law is developed by judges, courts, and similar tribunals, and, over time, the decisions in individual cases establish precedents for future cases. Precedent means that the decisions judges have made in earlier cases guide how future cases are decided. In common law systems, this principle is called stare decisis , and it has a binding effect on judges and courts: Stare decisis holds that cases should be decided according to consistent principled rules so that similar facts will yield similar results.

If the court finds that the current dispute is fundamentally distinct from previous cases, judges have the authority and duty to make law by creating precedent.