General characteristics of the Anglo-American legal systems

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This system of judges sitting in London while others traveled around the country is the assize system.

Finally, the common law replace to local law and formed the basis of english law. The common law was not written because it developed from customs from each area and legal decisions. For a long time, the common law contained no real substance but it was simply a series of procedures permitting judges to rend decision, to settle disputes. There was no book. This explains why english judges have always been suspicious of general principals. The english jugdes considered that there role was simply to… There is the same for the english judges remedies precede rights. The judges simply rules of the case before him. All the time, problem emerges with the common law. So the procedure based on official documents was rigid and very formal. And these official document were called writs. A little mistake could make the writ invalid. Sometimes the case could not be wrote because it wasn’t appropriate write. The rule was : no writ, no remedie. An other problem, the only remedie available was damages and this was not sufficient. The writ was to rigid.

As the problems, the weaknesses of the common law emerged, equity emerged. There was the need for an other system and this is how equity appared.

- Equity case law

Generally, equity means natural justice. But here, the word equity has an other meaning. Equity is the system inspired by naturel justice but it is a particular branch of the law of england. Over the time, problems emerged with the common law. For example, in the middle ages the court of common law couldn’t give a solution to the problems. So the king was called the fountain of justice: When people were dissapointed by judges solution, they petition the king, they asked the king. That people wanted an other sort of legal system, and when they petitioned the king, equity was administred. Equity was rended by the chancelor : he was called the keeper of the king’s conscience. He was also a member of the king council and he had to deal with petition from peple waiting more justif from the king. Complaines were: more damaged and important people who tried to influence justice. As a result, chancelor began to ivolve a set of rules which remedied the defect of the common law.

Originally, the royal court of justice were situated in Westminster. The royal court of justice were a king’s court many people were disappointed with the king’s court. At the same time there were 3 king’s court and another court which was the chancelor court.

When they were disappointed with the king’s court they came to chancelor’s court.

The office of chancelor goes back to the court of charlemagne. He was the keeper of the king’s conscious. He was associated with the administration of justice. He was also a member of the king’s council, and the king’s council dealed with petitions from people who wanted more justice. The common law presented some failures, and this fact was due to many causes but basically 3 causes:

-the common law was inadequate

-the remedie was only damages, this was not sufficient

-the corruption: when a case involved very important people, they tried to influence the common law court in their favour.

As a result, chancelor began to ivolve a set of rules which remedied the defacts of the common law. And chancelors were usually religious people, they were ecclesiastic and they laid the foundation of equity in taking many rules from canin law (religious law). In fact equity allowed judges to create new concepts and new remedies.

So equity and the common law developped into two different system with their own courts known as common law courts and chancery courts.

In the event of the conflict between the two courts, equity always prevailed over the common law.

The Judicature Act of 1873 and 1875 united this two systems into one system. So from this act, there is only one system, the two system were confusd, and now the judge can prompt common law and at the same time equitable remedies. So one of the division of the high court is still called chancery. So the same acte established the high court and the court of the king, and this acte provided…

There is a very important concept: the concept of equitable interest.

- Customs and Cannon law

Custom in english law is and old rule of law. It was applied in a particular place and it was opposed to the common law of the country. Custom has its origins from the anglo saxon period, so before the normand, and customs come from the time when only anglo saxons rules prevailed in the country. The normand included some of the local rules into their own system. And even when english law became the common law, they were specific rules. And local customs outside the common law were considered valid when they were considered as peacefull rules. They were valid because they were raisonnable. Customs lost ground to the common law.

Cannon law is the set of rules and regulation adopted by ecclastical authority for the good working of the christian churches and the members. It is the internal law governing the catholic, the orthodox. Theses religious rules had an influence on the evolution of english law.

- Statute law

It’s the second source of law in english legislation. Legislation came into existence with the establishment of parliament in the 13th century. At the time of legislation power was in the hand of the king then it was a major revolution and this power came into the hand of parliament.

And when a bill was discussed, voted, and passed in both passes of parliament, after the monarque, the king had to give his royal assempt, and when it has been given the bill became an act of parliament. This acts are published in books called statute books. So the courts might interprete statuts when there was a problem so the court has an influence on the administration of statute law.

An other point is that the Queen always gives preroyal assempt.

- Specific sources

The specific sources has to do with the other sources of law. In November 1998, the government incorporated the 1950 europen convention of human rights as the human rights act 1998 which