KNC501/KNC601 Constitution of India, Law and Engineering
Chapter 8: The Legal System
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Appendix
Common Law or Case law
Common Law
Common law is a body of unwritten laws based on legal precedents established by the courts. Common law influences the decision-making process in unusual cases where the outcome cannot be determined based on existing statutes or written rules of law.
- Common law draws from institutionalized opinions and interpretations from judicial authorities and public juries.
- Common laws sometimes prove the inspiration for new legislation to be enacted.
The common law system is a system of law based on recorded judicial precedents. It came to India with the invasion of the British East India Company. After the First War of Independence in 1857, the control of company territories in India passed to the British Crown.
Case Law
Case law is a law that is based on judicial decisions rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, refers to the collection of precedents and authority set by previous judicial decisions on a particular issue or topic.