English Common Law

English Common Law
Name	English Common Law
Caption	Temple Bar, historic legal district
Established	12th century
Jurisdiction	England and Wales
Courts	Royal Courts of Justice, Crown Court (England and Wales), Magistrates' court (England and Wales)

Contents

English Common Law is the body of law developed through judicial decisions by courts and judges in England and later Wales that forms a principal part of the legal system administered by institutions such as the Royal Courts of Justice, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, and the House of Lords. Originating after the reign of Henry II of England and informed by encounters with Norman Conquest, Anglo-Saxon law and ecclesiastical practice, it evolved through litigation in venues like the King's Bench and the Court of Common Pleas and was shaped by figures including Henry de Bracton, Edward Coke, and William Blackstone.

Origins and Historical Development

The origins trace to post-Norman conquest of England consolidation under Henry II of England when itinerant justices and royal writs standardized remedies across shires, intersecting with concepts from Anglo-Saxon law and influences from Danelaw settlements and Canon law. Landmark moments include the establishment of the Assize of Clarendon and the development of writs such as the writ of habeas corpus antecedents, while jurists like Henry de Bracton and the compilation efforts culminating in works used by Edward Coke and later William Blackstone codified principles in commentary that informed the Act of Settlement 1701 and debates in the English Interregnum. The evolution continued through crises like the Glorious Revolution and interactions with statutes such as the Statute of Marlborough and the Statute of Westminster series, shaping concepts adjudicated in cases before venues like the Star Chamber and the Court of King's Bench.

Primary sources include judicial decisions from the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, decisions recorded in reports such as the Year Books and treatises by authorities like Sir Edward Coke and William Blackstone, alongside statutes enacted by the Parliament of England and later the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Fundamental principles—precedent (stare decisis), equity developed in the Court of Chancery, and legal maxims articulated by judges—interact with statutory instruments such as the Judicature Acts and constitutional documents including the Magna Carta. Influential cases from earlier courts, opinions referenced in the Court of Exchequer and opinions cited by judges in the House of Lords have guided doctrines of negligence, contract, property, and tort recognized in common law jurisdictions influenced by decisions from courts like the Privy Council and later adjudication in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

Historically the royal courts—the King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer—shared jurisdiction with ecclesiastical and manorial courts; later reforms consolidated functions into bodies such as the Royal Courts of Justice, the High Court of Justice, and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Important institutions connected to practice include the Inns of Court (notably Middle Temple, Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn), the Bar Council, the Law Society of England and Wales, professional roles like barrister and solicitor, and offices such as the Attorney General for England and Wales and the Lord Chancellor. Case reporting traditions, including the Nominate reports and later series, supported the development of precedent relied upon by courts across the British Empire and trials in venues like Old Bailey.

Procedural evolution moved from writ-based initiation to consolidated civil procedure under reforms like the County Courts Act and the Civil Procedure Rules, while criminal procedure developed through instruments such as the Magna Carta safeguards, reforms after the Trial of the Seven Bishops era, and statutes addressing habeas corpus and jury practice exemplified in trials at Central Criminal Court. Remedies in common law included damages, restitution, and injunctions enforced by chancery equity; notable procedural doctrines were articulated in cases from the Court of Chancery, adjudicated by figures like the Lord Chancellor, and in appeals to bodies such as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Enforcement mechanisms included writs, recognizances, and later statutory enforcement in institutions like the Crown Prosecution Service and administrative tribunals influenced by decisions in R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and other modern litigation.

The common law tradition spread through colonization and transplantation to jurisdictions including the United States, Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, and many Caribbean and African states; post-colonial constitutions and courts like the Supreme Court of India, the High Court of Australia, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the United States Supreme Court adapted and critiqued doctrines. Reception varied—some legal systems hybridized with civil law concepts in countries influenced by the Napoleonic Code and encounters with legal cultures in places such as Japan during the Meiji Restoration and Egypt—while international disputes have referenced common law principles in forums like the International Court of Justice and arbitral panels under International Chamber of Commerce rules.

Contemporary reforms address access to justice, legal aid changes linked to policies debated in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, jury composition controversies reflected in cases considered by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and statutory modernization through measures such as the Civil Procedure Rules and regulatory changes involving the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Constitutional tensions—illustrated in litigation like R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and debates about parliamentary sovereignty post-Brexit referendum—intersect with transnational instruments like the European Convention on Human Rights and the role of the European Court of Human Rights in domestic adjudication. Ongoing scholarly and judicial work engages with rights adjudication, professional regulation reforms influenced by reports from commissions including the Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords and evolving doctrines in areas litigated before courts such as the European Court of Justice, the Employment Appeal Tribunal, and domestic appellate institutions.