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 a real legal principle that any ambiguity in a contract is interpreted to the benefit of the side that did not write the contract?
I have heard that there is a legal principle where any ambiguity in the contract is interpreted to the benefit of the side that did not draw up or suggest the contract text. This was presented to me ...
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What happens when a Canadian not-for-profit organization does not comply with its own by-laws?
When I search "by-law Canada" in Google, everything I get is about "municipal by-laws" such as as the first result which is the website of a law firm that explains what municipal ...
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By what laws can the DoJ be the plaintiff for breaking confidentiality of the First Lady?
Quoting Techdirt:
On Tuesday, the Justice Department sued Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former close friend of the First Lady, Melania Trump, who recently published a book about her relationship with ...
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Northern Ireland: Is Homicide an offence in common law or is it an offence in statute?
In one of the episodes of the British-Irish television series The Fall, a person is charged by PSNI, in Northern Ireland, with multiple counts of murder. The police officer reads out the charges in ...
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How are affirmative defenses of duress and necessity treated in U.S. law?
Duress and Necessity are two common law "affirmative defenses" that can be argued for acquittal of a criminal charge.
However I can't find clear law or precedent for either in the United ...
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Where does the legal principle of "can't benefit twice" come from?
I've been told there is a legal principle (in UK law, specifically England) that a person cannot be allowed to benefit twice from a court's decision. I've found criminal law which addresses that, and ...
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Why require unanimous jury for 'not guilty' verdict?
People say that the rationale for requiring unanimous jury decisions is rooted in favouritism of the defendant. But is that true? Without referencing certain game theoretic experiments/models, it ...
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Is allowing kids to leave their bike out on their lawn an example of attractive nuisance?
I know plenty of friends who have allowed their kids to leave their bikes in the front yard. I'm wondering what would happen if a random child were to steal a bike left out and get hurt playing with ...
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How long do a man and a woman live together before they are considered common law married?
How long do a man and a woman live together before they are considered common law married in Dallas, Texas?
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USA: Do 911/PD phone operators have a 'duty to rescue'?
As I understand it: 'duty to rescue' does not generally exist for regular citizens in the USA. (Some exceptions apply!)
Let's say I'm in Europe and I call the general inquiry phone number of a local (...
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Is a decree of civil court mandatorily required to be executed in common law juridictions?
In short, my question is that are execution proceedings mandatorily required to be concluded before a decree holder may enjoy the fruits of his decree against the judgment debtor OR are execution ...
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Does pleading guilty circumvent the 'corpus delicti' rule?
The corpus delicti rule states, if I understand it correctly, that there must be evidence that a crime occured (other than a confession) before anyone can be convicted of that crime. I have found ...
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Liability and Responsibility what is the importance of the distinction in common Law
In Civil Law( legal system) there is no distinction between Liability and Responsibility.
One can only seek(judicially) the cessation of an illegal act if they have suffered damages.
One can only ...
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What are "cooperation in perfecting rights" and are they enforcable?
Bellow is an example "Perfection Rights" provision from a employment contract. To me it seems to be saying 1) you agree to do paper work we may need you to do, even after you are no longer ...
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Would a jury have been used in a divorce trial in 1920s England?
Alfred Hitchcock's silent film Easy Virtue opens with a divorce trial, interspersed with flashbacks. The film is set in the 1920s, and the trial is in England. It seems to show a jury meeting and ...
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Reversing (overturning) vs remanding (remitting)
When a higher (appellate) court finds that a lower court erred in law, there are two possible outcomes:
The lower court's decision is reversed / overturned and replaced with a new one.
No new ...
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Neighbour dispute
If any visitor comes to my home, then when they return from my home, my neighbour comes near the fence and starts talking with my visitors.
I feel it as a disturbance for my privacy and for ...
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What is meant by Capacity to Perform Juristic Acts
What is the difference between Capacity to Act and Legal Capacity?
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Does a U.S. District judge's decision set binding horizontal precedent in the same district?
Suppose a U.S. district judge in, say, the Southern district of New York writes a decision regarding some legal procedure. Can a different U.S. district judge in the same district write a ...
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Pipes Froze BC Condo Owner Blocked Furnace Vents
TL;DR: I live in a condo and a majority owner turned off the furnace which heats our crawlspace. Our pipes froze and I would like to explore legal actions to resolve this issue.
Hi Everyone,
I am in ...
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What standing does the delegatee have?
I'm working on understanding some topics from contract law -- specifically about delegation (a type of contract assignment). Let's say the client bought a kit to build something and then realized he ...
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Can a private individual issue receipts?
In certain jurisdictions such as Singapore, sole proprietorships must be registered. In these jurisdictions, can a private individual issue receipts?
Perhaps a more specific legal question is: where ...
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Elements of bribery: what is a "thing of value"?
There is lately some suggestion that a US president who withholds aid to a foreign country on the condition that the foreign country investigate a political opponent constitutes bribery. The ...
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Was new law created when the UK Supreme Court ruled against the prorogation?
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that:
a ruling on a prorogation was justiciable
and that the duration of the prorogation Boris Johnson advised the Queen to enact, was unlawful
Does this mean new ...
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What is the correct way of discharging contract when parties can't agree on shipping?
When selling stuff on TradeMe, one way of specifying shipping options is "To be arranged". That is, seller can skip researching shipping options/costs and only worry about it once the item is ...
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Example of wills being declared forged without the signature being forged?
Is there case law in common-law-based legal systems regarding claims that a will is forged - but without the signature being forged, and without the text being altered after the signature?
For example:...
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At what point could courts in England no longer legally create new Common Law offenses?
Common Law offenses, of course, were crimes created solely through case law rather than statute.
At what point was the legal authority of courts in England to create new Common Law offenses abolished?...
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What's the difference between inquisitorial and adversarial systems?
This question was inspired by this answer while trying to learn the difference between common and civil law. Two questions:
What's the difference between an inquisitorial system and an adversarial ...
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What is the equivalent for "Consideration" (English common law) in Spanish speaking countries?
Consideration is a concept of English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts.
Consideration may be thought of as the concept of value offered and accepted by people or organisations ...
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What are the consequences of forging a will, in common law and in civil law?
In any legal system (in which individuals can transfer property ownership upon their death through wills), there are probably criteria for when a will is admissible (e.g. the deceased was cognitively ...
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Is an illegal abortion a Malum in Se offense or a Malum Prohibitum offense?
Anglo-American Common Law generally divides criminal offenses into two categories. Malum in Se offenses are inherently wrong. This includes traditional offenses such as Murder, Robbery, and Assault. ...
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Selling branded products
Legally speaking are individuals allowed to sell branded name products online, if not what are the consequences?
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How binding are NDA's? [closed]
I live in South Africa, I have some research work that holds very good financial potential. This research to be conducted will be done in a group headed by me, how can I protect my idea from being ...
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Example of "fraus omnia corrumpit" in which a person loses rights they had before a fraudulent act?
I'm looking for a bit of case law - as an inspiration more than as valid precedent - for the following scenario:
A person has some prospective rights w.r.t. some physical objects, or future rights w....
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In the U.S are judges, attorneys, physicians, teachers, professors, politicians, administrative officers liable for ordinary negligence? [closed]
E.g can a judge be tried for mistrial because of ordinary negligence?
They are not employees or workers so that they could be reasonably absolved for ordinary negligence.
We expect employees to be ...
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Are there non-marriage legal arraignments with similar protections in Montana?
My brother-in-law lives in Montana with his son and the sons mother. For personal reasons he doesn't want to get married, and in part that has to do with divorce.
On the other hand, if something ...
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Are judges limited in their reasoning to arguments raised by the parties?
Bob files a civil lawsuit agaist Rob. For simplicity, let's assume they both represent themselves.
At the hearing, Bob says: "Here is the evidence. Rob was wrong because of reason A, so he owes me ...
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Is a lie by ommission to make it seem like a legal offices services are required legal?
A friend was researching using a sperm donor she knows to do IVF. she got concerned when she read this website's legal 'advice' They basically say that unlike most states PA has no law that says a ...
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What's the difference between "a question of fact" and "a question of law"?
I'm trying to understand the difference between questions of fact and questions of law but it's difficult to find any good definitions of either, and it would be helpful to have some illustrative ...
user18924
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Can all members of a group be civilly liable when some are provably innocent?
Scenario: A crime involving property damage is committed. Suppose that it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that of a group of 3 people, 2 of them were involved and one was not. However, there's ...
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Can a real-life example be used to describe the difference between common and civil law?
I've done a lot of research into trying to understand the difference between the two systems, but their definitions are so verbose, and without examples it's more challenging. The only thing I was ...
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Can a sitting president of the United States be indicted by one of the states?
Some lawyers say a sitting president cannot be indicted, other lawyers disagree. Apart from that, does what they are saying apply to both federal and state indictments? I mean could the president be ...
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Is there any constitutional precedent or laws against bills of “anti"-attainder?
In South Dakota an attorney for adults sexually abused as children by priests and nuns contended that the state legislature passed a statute of limitations (in approximately 2010) preventing lawsuits ...
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What establishes the U.S. as a common law country?
Its well known that the U.S. is a common law country, but I'm not sure if that's codified anywhere (like the U.S. constitution) or if just happened organically because that's the way its always been. ...
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Are damages in civil cases assessed by the judge or the jury?
In common law countries, criminal cases are usually tried by jury, but the judge is responsible for sentencing. Even in the United States, where there is a constitutional right to a criminal trial by ...
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Could the USA abandon common law?
I understand that the USA has a "common law" system and that ambiguous written legislation is turned into unambiguous law by courts, such as has happened in many famous Supreme Court rulings....
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What protections does Common Law copyright give me?
What does Common Law copyright protection give me exactly?
From my research, all I've found is that if I create a work, it is automatically protected by common law copyright, and that if I register ...
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What is the common law definition or key elements of "selling" something
Is there a common law definition of "sell" or some key elements?
What is required for a transaction to constitute a "sale"?
I have a situation where a license is required by statute to "sell" some ...
user18856
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Legal status of an ongoing situation pending an appeal
Apologies for the title. I could not think of a concise and accurate way to phrase it.
I will phrase this question in terms of charitable trusts, but my question is really about the general principle....
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Is answering a question you are not sure about under oath perjury?
Suppose I struggle to see at night, but was witness to a crime that took place and have been asked to give testimony. At the stand, I am asked whether I saw the defendant committing the crime, and ...
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