Questions tagged [common-law]
For questions regarding English common law, or legal systems based on judge-made law descended from it.
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Is it ever possible to "sell" the right to action a tort?
Suppose Bob discriminates against Alice on a date 1/1/2023. Alice has a right to sue Bob for this discrimination for some limited period, but she doesn't care to bother with the hassle of pursuing ...
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common law vs civil law differences
I am trying to get a better understanding of differences between common law and civil law legal systems. Here is what I was able to find online:
in common law there is the idea of a precedent, while ...
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Minimum penalty for extradition makes no sense?
I have been looking into extradition law, focusing on the United Kingdom (England and Wales jurisdiction) wanting to extradite an individual back from a country abroad.
There are many factors to ...
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Why does the high court of chivalry follow “civil law,” and what does this mean?
The English so called high court of chivalry, archaic and now rarely used, is said by Wikipedia to follow civil law (ie not common law).
How does this work, and how did it come to be?
https://en.m....
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What makes a car not a “negotiable” chattel?
Another answer contrasts negotiable instruments like currency with the example of a car where a thief of the car doesn’t “own” the car and cannot transfer ownership. What is it about a car that makes ...
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What is denoted by “operation of law”?
I had only previously encountered the phrase as in “surrender by operation of law” until just now I read the latter portion of the phrase used independently by user @ohwilleke in another answer. What ...
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What are the correct parameters of usage for addressing parties as one’s “learned friend”?
Does a solicitor with right of audience address their opposing barrister as their learned friend? Do they get addressed as the barrister’s learned friend?
What of a litigant in person?
And in all ...
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What is the purpose of a Corporation Sole?
Why must an organisation represent the idea of an individual, rather than the organisation acting in its own capacity while the individual simply sits as its head?
In other words, why do case workers ...
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How was the court in Abingdon RDC v O'Gorman (1968 EWCA Civ) aware of Thornton v Cruther & ors (1769)?
At s23, the court cites Chief Justice Wilmot's decision in the 1769 case Thornton v Cruther & others, which it mentions is "unreported."
So how did the court become familiar with the ...
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Why is it considered unethical for a barrister to communicate with another side or even their own client, directly?
Obviously there are exceptions to this provision, like ones who are "direct access"-licensed, but why does that in itself even require special licensing qualifications to be permitted? And ...
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Can courts override regulations?
It is inconceivable that the courts of law could override statutes. The courts are bound by statutes, and only have leeway in interpreting them where they are vague.
But does the same apply to ...
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In what context can one reference or make points about pre-trial correspondence at trial?
Suppose one has a claim against a corporate defendant, and up until the trial the defendant is represented in correspondence by a solicitor. At trial, a human director of the defendant is called by ...
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Countries where re-sentencing is not allowed?
Are there any countries, where currently, a sentence cannot be appealed by the prosecution's side for being unduly lenient?
For example, someone is given a year suspended sentence for burglary, and ...
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What jurisdictions actually have barristers?
Does the entire Uk including Scotland and Northern Ireland draw the distinction? What about Canada? Australia? Other common law areas? Beyond (non common law areas)?
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What's the difference between a body corporate and a corporation sole?
One of those instances where unfortunately there's not much to expand in this question apart from what's in the title.
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Can courts consider hansard transcripts in interpreting statutes?
When a court is trying to decide the meaning of a law, can it consider the discussions which begot it?
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Does common law encompass criminal law?
A recent answer distinguishes the two but I had always thought that common law includes both civil and criminal components. Does it not?
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Legality of promising to refrain from tipping another off?
X discovers that he has a valuable cause of action against Z, and decides to use it as leverage against Z, but it isn't quite enough leverage to counter Z in the way X would like. However, he realises ...
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Why is the term forfeiture used to describe the landlord's act of "taking back" a property?
Forfeit generally denies relinquishment or loss, and yet it is the term used to describe the landlord's role in the dance as they resume possession of a place. What is behind this?
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Why do tenancies seem to be treated as such a sacred and weighty construct under English law? [closed]
It's easy to imagine all kinds of simple answers appealing to the profundity of what it means to own or control land, but honestly in the post-Thatcher era of S21 no fault possessions, one's ...
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Is a "riot attending a strike" not included in "riot", and is a "riot" not "civil commotion"?
A notice of liability I read says, "[organization] is not liable for damage to any personal belongings... under any circumstances including the event of a catastrophe such as, but not limited to.....
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At what stage in history did intervention of courts become required for tenant evictions?
In England and other common law jurisdictions (I assume throughout most of the world in fact) a tenant doesn't automatically lose entitlement to their home once they stop paying rent for whatever ...
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What does it mean that one may go by whatever name they like by English law?
It seems to be a long-standing and fairly fundamental perception in English law that people may assume or use any name they so like. I’ve seen this discussed in House of Lords decisions, possibly also ...
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Is "not committing a crime" sufficient consideration?
Alice sees John attempting to steal her car. For some reason, instead of calling the police, she says "I'll give you $1,000 tomorrow if you don't steal my car." John agrees.
Scenario 1
Alice ...
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What happens when the law changes?
Assume a criminal offence occurred in the past (for example 2015), before a new law was passed at a future date (for example 2016).
What law would be referred to by the judge when it comes to ...
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Can I trick an innocent third party into doing something that would be illegal if the third party had mens rea without either of us being guilty?
Lets say I want something to happen but doing it directly would be a crime. This is one crime that requires intent or mens rea.
So I hunt down an innocent third party, someone naïve, perhaps even a ...
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What is the "fringe on the flag" argument?
Another answer on this question refers to the "fringe on the flag" category of arguments. What is the "fringe on the flag" argument?
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Is it necessary for a signature to be reasonably legible on a legal document?
In general some legal documents must be signed. So what determines whether a signature on such a document requiring to be signed is valid or not?
More specifically, is a signagure that is completely ...
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Does an MLAT request have an age limit?
Having recently found out about Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) requests, I had some questions that I could not find on the government (gov.uk) website. I am interested in both between UK and EU ...
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Can my ex take back a laptop he gifted to me? [duplicate]
My ex gifted me a gaming laptop about six and a half months ago. He told me straight ward that he was giving me the laptop. I even offered money to him for it and he denied it. Now he's saying he ...
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Minimum sentence for Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) request
I was told by a friend studying Law, that for a country to submit a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) request there would be certain criteria that must first be met. If they are not met, the MLAT ...
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What are the regulatory equivalents of "prosecute" and "convict"?
If I understand correctly, the terms "prosecute," "convict," "guilty," and "innocent" are only used in criminal cases. What are the equivalents in cases of ...
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What is the origin and basis of stare decisis?
When, where, how, and why did the doctrine that courts must have regard to the entirety of the infinitely ever growing corpus of judicial decisions that came before that sub judice and align their ...
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Computer Fraud and Abuse Act statute of limitations
I was looking into the criminal law application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in the United States of America.
Since, to the best of my knowledge, it is a Federal crime the statute of ...
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Do principles of common law apply everywhere? [closed]
For example presumed innocent until proven guilty is a principle of common law. Does it apply in every country which has common law?
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Date on Legal letter
Very often, the letters will state to respond within x days from the date of letter. Are there any regulations for law firms, banks or credit companies to provide a reasonable window of time for ...
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Defendant not present for sentencing
If the defendant does not turn up to court for sentencing, can the defence still put forward mitigations and character references?
One would assume that the defence would be prevented from bringing ...
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How would an extradition work when only one of two actions was criminal?
Pretend somebody committed two different acts that were considered crimes in their country. This person then fled to another country, where only one of their acts is considered a crime.
In the above ...
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Are civil law cases precedents in common law states?
So, Louisiana is a bit of an odd-ball state in that it observes civil law (Napoleonic law). The big difference between common law and civil law is that in civil law, the judge is expected to base his ...
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Until what stage can a judge overrule a jury's verdict?
In the England & Wales jurisdiction, at a Crown Court, I have heard that the judge has the power to overrule a jury's guilty verdict. I assume, as an example, this would happen if the jury ...
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Sentencing guidelines - released after half or two thirds?
The Sentencing Council website explains how long an offender would spend in prison. I was interested in the first part of the below paragraph.
For some serious violent or sexual offences where the ...
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Appealing a verdict due to the lawyers being incompetent and or failing to follow instructions?
Pretend there is a criminal court case against a defendant in England and Wales. The instructed solicitor from a firm, and barrister from a Chambers, do not follow the defendant's wishes regarding a ...
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Similar website to TheLawPages in the USA?
I use a website called TheLawPages to research various crimes, and sentences given to offenders. It is an invaluable tool, especially because it allows me to pick the type of court, offence type, and ...
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Are there "common-law-marriage" like implications in states without common law marriage?
There are only under 20 states that recognize common-law marriage.
My question is, in the other 30+ states, is there any legal effect caused by "common-law-like conditions"? In other words, ...
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If a business partner did not put money into the founding of the company are they still entitled to their shares?
Consider the scenario in Western Australia:
Me and 2 others want to go into business together based on what we
believe will make us profit (etc.).
The decision is to form a company, however, due to ...
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How do you prove a fact at issue in litigation?
Many questions on this site ask some variant of the question: "how does one prove something in court?" Paraphrasing a few:
How do you prove that someone forged your signature?
How do you ...
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Can a person be fired, banned and evicted (etc.) without a court order?
It seems like a lot of "punishments" can be applied to a person without having to go to court. For example a person can be banned from private or public property for any or no reason. I've ...
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Valid definition of "vagrant" per Washington state law
RCW 9.66.010 suggests that in "every place... [w]here vagrants resort... [e]very act unlawfully done and every omission to perform a duty, which act or omission [s]hall offend public decency"...
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What is the point of requiring consideration in a contract?
If a contract where Bob gives Alice a peppercorn and she gives him an airplane will be enforced by a court if one of them tries to back out, what's the point of not enforcing a contract where Alice ...
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Wife involved in car accident, minor injuries, not her fault, driver failed to yield [closed]
my wife was in a car accident back in March of this year. She was in a 2001 Toyota Sequoia when a car failed to yield and turned left in front of her causing the accident. The air bags did deploy and ...
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