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Legal Terms - common law
1. The portion of English law that, rather than being based on regional norms, is derived from regulations created by the royal courts during the first three centuries following the Norman Conquest (1066). The Normans were primarily concerned with building a powerful central government and protecting the royal income, and it was through the machinery created for these ends that the common law evolved. They made no attempt to impose French law on the kingdom or create new laws. In order to monitor the overall handling of local affairs, royal delegates were dispatched on tours of the shires, which involved their
taking part in the local courts' operations. Simultaneously, the first royal court to be permanent, the *Court of Exchequer, separated from the body of advisors surrounding the king (the curia regis) and began convening at Westminster to consider revenue-related matters. The common law developed mostly because of Henry II (reigned 1154–89), to whom the royal representatives were dispatched on a regular basis (their tours being called circuits), and their roles shifted to being solely judicial. Known as "wandering justices," or justiciae errantes, they assumed responsibility for the local courts' workload. The *Court of Common Pleas, a second permanent royal court, opened its doors at Westminster during this same period. The true roots of the common law can be found in these two processes. The Court of Common Pleas judges were so effective in imposing a uniform system over the variety of regional customs that court records referencing the kingdom's custom date back to the end of the 12th century. The judges of the Court of Exchequer, which started to hear cases involving disputes between subjects rather than the royal revenues, and the judges of the Court of King's Bench, a third royal court that gradually formed, joined them in this process (see COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH). After *equity was added to the common law, it was still administered independently by the three common law courts until the Judicature Acts of 1873–1875 replaced them and the Court of Chancery, which had been housed in Westminster Hall until being relocated to the Strand in 1872. 2. Court-developed laws as opposed to laws established by statute. 3. A broad body of legislation that only derives from rulings made by courts.
1. The portion of English law that, rather than being based on regional norms, is derived from regulations created by the royal courts during the first three centuries following the Norman Conquest (1066). The Normans were primarily concerned with building a powerful central government and protecting the royal income, and it was through the machinery created for these ends that the common law evolved. They made no attempt to impose French law on the kingdom or create new laws. In order to monitor the overall handling of local affairs, royal delegates were dispatched on tours of the shires, which involved their
taking part in the local courts' operations. Simultaneously, the first royal court to be permanent, the *Court of Exchequer, separated from the body of advisors surrounding the king (the curia regis) and began convening at Westminster to consider revenue-related matters. The common law developed mostly because of Henry II (reigned 1154–89), to whom the royal representatives were dispatched on a regular basis (their tours being called circuits), and their roles shifted to being solely judicial. Known as "wandering justices," or justiciae errantes, they assumed responsibility for the local courts' workload. The *Court of Common Pleas, a second permanent royal court, opened its doors at Westminster during this same period. The true roots of the common law can be found in these two processes. The Court of Common Pleas judges were so effective in imposing a uniform system over the variety of regional customs that court records referencing the kingdom's custom date back to the end of the 12th century. The judges of the Court of Exchequer, which started to hear cases involving disputes between subjects rather than the royal revenues, and the judges of the Court of King's Bench, a third royal court that gradually formed, joined them in this process (see COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH). After *equity was added to the common law, it was still administered independently by the three common law courts until the Judicature Acts of 1873–1875 replaced them and the Court of Chancery, which had been housed in Westminster Hall until being relocated to the Strand in 1872. 2. Court-developed laws as opposed to laws established by statute. 3. A broad body of legislation that only derives from rulings made by courts.
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