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Where Laws Come from

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Submitted By koyu0611
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Assignment 1 – Where Laws Come From?
How would you explain or describe common law, stare decisis and the use of precedence in the United States?
What do you think about the power of the courts under this system?
What are the pros and cons (good and bad) aspects of this type of legal system?
What do you think about the power of the courts under this system?

The common law is an age-old law of England based on local social customs and recognized and enforced by the judgments and decrees of the courts. The general body of statutes and case law is that governed England and the American colonies prior to the American Revolution. Although England, the United States and other former British colonies are under the same common law system, they actually have different laws. Common law system prevailed in the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries colonized by the England. It is distinct from the civil-law system. The civil law system predominates in Europe and in areas colonized by France and Spain. The common-law system is used in all the states of the United States except Louisiana, where follows French Civil Law and combined with English Criminal Law to form a hybrid law system. The common law system is also used in Canada, except in the Province of Quebec, where the French civil-law system prevails. Common law courts make their decisions based on prior judicial decisions rather than legislative enactments. Where a statute governs the dispute, judicial interpretation of that statute determines how the law applies. Common law judges rely on their predecessors’ actual controversial decision. Common law judges find the reason for their decisions in law reports, which have the decisions of past controversies. According to the principle of stare decisis, common law judges must adhere to previously decided cases, or precedents, where the facts are

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