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The Main Features Of English Legal System

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To begin with, during the 19th century Great Britain was considered as one of the largest Empire in the world. Along with their historical superiority they also created a fundamental legislative mechanism. The British legal system has been built up very gradually and spread to other countries over the centuries. Inevitably the influence of their legal systems was bound to have some effect on their colonies. This essay will first describe the features of English legal system which is mainly derived from the concept of common law and secondly will consider whether the British legal system has influence on its Commonwealth countries particularly by focusing on the role of legislature and differences in court structure. Finally, it will examine the impacts of the British legislative power on the legal systems of Britain’s post- colonial countries particularly in contemporary Australia and Republic of Cyprus.
First of all, legal system of United Kingdom is mainly based common law as opposed to civil or Roman law. The common law is originated and developed in England during the Middle Ages and this forms the crucial origins of the English law. Almost every colony of the Great Britain has adopted this mechanism of law. Common law is often referred to as ‘judge-made’ law because the laws are based on previous decisions of the judges. This is known as judicial precedent where the decisions are binding rather than persuasive and future decisions has to follow other cases. Martin, J.

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