Concept
Case law
Overview
Case law is a law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a legal case that have been resolved by courts or similar tribunals. These past decisions are called "case law", or precedent. Stare decisis—a Latin phrase meaning "let the decision stand"—is the principle by which judges are bound to such past decisions, drawing on established judicial authority to formulate their positions. The term is often used interchangeably with common law.
These judicial interpretations are distinguished from statutory law, which are codes enacted by legislative bodies, and regulatory law, which are established by executive agencies based on statutes. In some jurisdictions, case law can be applied to ongoing adjudication; for example, criminal proceedings or family law.
In common law countries (including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, Ireland, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Israel and Hong Kong), it is used for judicial decisions of selected appellate courts, courts of first instance, agency tribunals, and other bodies discharging adjudicatory functions.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
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In their case, therefore, the moral law is an imperative, which commands categorically, because the law is unconditioned; the relation of such a will to this law is dependence under the name of obligation, which implies a constraint to an action, though only by reason and its objective law; and this action is called duty, because an elective will, subject to pathological affections (though not determined by them…
Immanuel Kant, The Critique of Practical Reason
States what Case law is.
Sometimes what is called the constitution of the state, that is, the interest of the government; sometimes of the interest of particular orders of men who tyrannize the government, warp the positive laws of the country from what natural justice would prescribe. In some countries, the rudeness and barbarism of the people hinder the natural sentiments of justice from arriving at that accuracy and precision which, in…
Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
States what Case law is.
These preliminaries being concluded, the cases are called on. If it is a day for private cases, the private litigants are called. Four cases are taken in each of the categories defined in the law, and the litigants swear to confine their speeches to the point at issue. If it is a day for public causes, the public litigants are called, and only one case is tried. Water-clocks are provided, having small supply-tubes…
Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution
States what Case law is.
Related ideas
- Hong Kong
- India
- Republic of Ireland
- South Africa
- Doctrine
- Professor
- William Blackstone
- Precedent
- Pakistan
- Bhutan
- Sri Lanka
- Statute
- Scotland
- Singapore
- United Kingdom
- Legal system
- United States
- Bangladesh
- Australia
- Oxford University Press
- New Zealand
- Canada
- Sweden
- Constitution
Opposing perspectives
Place in the tradition
Part of Jurisprudence.