Common Law And The Legal System

Imagine you are the director of health information services for a medium-sized health care facility. Like many of your peers, you have contracted with an outside copying service to handle all requests for release of patient health information at your facility. You have learned that a lobbying organization for trial attorneys in your state is promoting legislation to place a cap on photocopying costs, which is significantly below the actual costs incurred as part of the contract. (Case Study, p. 20)

Common law is formed on the basis that courts will make decisions based on past judgments (Letwin, 2011). Cases with similar circumstances will be ruled in the saw way. In most cases the common law will combine with statutory and constitutional law in order to make decisions. Common law bases on the fact that court cases will be primarily ruled on precedent (Aspen Publishers, 2010). The common law is crucial to understanding almost all important

During the 12th and 13th century, a survey was conducted on tradition, custom and law under the common law system of England. This survey originally developed as court decisions. In England, the equity laws are developed after the creation of the common law. The analysis based on development of justice and is now used in the royal courts. This gives us the story of the 1066 when the England was attacked and concluded that there is no common law system, but the local court system. It is called the power of traditional dishes such as Shires and counties. The foundations of the common law have known in public as customary law. In this assignment, me the author will describe the development of the UK system of common Law and Equity. Arguments about judge’s role in the development of legal principles will be made.

Historically, common law emphasized the importance of judicial decisions rather than utilizing the structure of codes, legal rules, and statutes as courts do today. In the past, judges documented and issued their decisions which were later circulated from one court to another and became known as common law. In cases where parties disagreed, common law court would look at previous decisions made in related cases and incorporate those decisions into the current case (Siegel, et al., 2011). If similar disputes had been resolved in the previous case, the court would utilize the same perspective to resolve their current case. This became known as precedent and like common law, continues to be utilized in today’s court system (Siegel, et al., 2011).

When Rome was establishing their legal system they came up with twelve laws for all citizens to follow. Eventually, Canada used this same idea of coming up with laws to cover all crimes or incidents that could possibly happen. Along with the laws, both societies created different consequences for each law if they happened to be broken. When a law was broken the accused must be tried at the courthouse, and  prove whether or not they are guilty. Before the Romans convicted someone of a crime they would try the person in front of a jury in the court. Eventually Canadians also used this method when trying to create a final verdict. Canadians have improved on the legal system, but it is thanks to the Romans for the structure of

Common law became into effect after the Norman Conquest (A.D. 1066) consolidated their hold on newly won territory. One way was to take control over the legal/court systems. When this happen

The lower courts of the country follow the rulings and decisions of the higher courts. Canada's supreme Court has the authority to overrule all lower Canadian courts. When there is an issue that there is little existing Canadian decisions they will often look at rulings made by the English of American courts. There is a long standing correlation between Canadian and English law, where the examples of the English House of Appeals and House of Lords are followed. Since there is this history, decisions by the House of Lords will stand in Canada until overturned by the Canadian Supreme Court.

The Canadian justice system is the mechanism that bears on the principle of the rule of law (English Magna Carta issued by King John in 1215). The aspect of the rule of law in Canada is that all people are subjected to the law; that no single person, no matter how important or powerful, is above the law and that the rule of law should be respected and applied equally(Griffiths p. 5). The principles of rule of law in Canada can be identified in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which administers the protection of individuals and ensures fairness during all legal proceeding (Graffiths p.6). For this being, all aspects of the criminal justice must be conducted in a way that does not disobey the rights approved to all

To begin, common law originated in Medieval England in the time of King Henry II. The practice developed sending circuit judges from the King’s central court to travel throughout England to hear the various disputes. The aim of these courts (assizes) was to add consistency and fairness to the legal system. Alongside the traveling courts King Henry also established the jury system. Over time these judges recorded the information of each case they heard as well as the decisions and punishments that were ordered. This is known as case law or common law. This began a justice system that relied on the principle of stare decisis or “to stand by the decision”. This principle developed into the rule of precedent which was used to apply the previous decision to a case with similar circumstance. This system was used throughout the country and thus was known as common law. As the English began colonizing Canada they brought their legal systems with them, which greatly influenced today’s legal system.

It is Canada’s current legal system stems from various European system by explorers and colonists. Who can forget the well-known Seven Years’ War “ The Battle of the Plains of Abraham” (1756-1763) that took place between Britain and France? Britain won the fight and set out a legal structure for its new settlement in the Royal Proclamation of 1763. Since then, Canada has fallen only under English law, except for Quebec, that follows French civil law (Boyd 2015 p. 32). The British North America Act, 1867 is Canada’s original and defining source of sound philosophy. It sets out in sections 91 and 92 the respective powers of federal and provincial governments, and more broadly, an arrangement of legal governance of the country (Boyd 2015 p. 34). The account states that Canada found its identity in The British North America Act, 1867 and the Constitution Act, 1982, with its entrenched Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms(Boyd 2015 p. 36).

Professor Compagnoni effectively outlined the characteristics of different legal systems in Class IV, and rereading her class slides was helpful in understanding the subtleties of legal system associated with my source text, French Civil Law, based on the Napoleonic code (code civil of 1804). I then related that to the legal system as it functions in Canada, making note of the most prominent differences, and being cognizant of those as I embarked upon my translation. N.B.: In my view, the term "legal system" refers to the nature and content of the law generally, and the structures and methods whereby it is legislated upon, adjudicated upon and administered, within a given jurisdiction. Common law and civil law legal traditions share similar social objectives (individualism, liberalism and personal rights), but they diverge in several key areas.

Debra French, Deputy Court Administrator, Office of Court Administration, Northampton county court of common Pleas 669 Washington St. Easton, Pa. 19042, (610) 559-6700 was advised of the identity of Investigator Sean P. Brennan and of the confidential nature and purpose of the interview, French, provided the following information:

Common Law claims are mostly determined by tort laws. Employees wishing to sue their employer for workplace privacy may rely on privacy tort theories. Privacy tort is separated into four branches of action: 1) Intrusion upon seclusion or solitude, or into private affairs, 2) public disclosure of embarrassing private facts, 3) publicity which places a person in a false light in the public eye and 4) appropriation of name or likeness. Intrusion of privacy tort is often used in many court cases between employers and employees in the workplace ( Fazekas,2015).

Nowadays every legal system wants to achieve justice. Different legal traditions in the world have given a different meaning of this concept by following one of the two legal systems: a civil law system and a common law system. The civil law system emerged from Roman law and throughout many centuries has been developed in continental Europe and often is called a “continental legal system”, achieving its prominence through development of aqui communitare in Europe. The common law system emerged in England during the Anglo-Saxon period and was developed by British colonies, reaching its peak in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

In the English Law system, the effect of legislation remains statute in force until they are repealed. (R v Ducan, 1994). The application of legislation is ambiguous.