English Law Basics · glossary

Common law

The body of rules made by judges over the years, as against statute. A claim for money, such as Marrowby’s, comes from the common law. An order to stop comes from equity. Chapter 1 · see Case law, Equity

Explained in Chapter 1, English Law Basics: Statute, Case Law and the Courts, of English Law Basics.

How it comes up, in Chapter 1
English law comes from two places. Parliament makes statute (an Act), and judges make case law in their judgments. Built up case by case, those rules are the common law. A court applies both: the statute gives the rule, and the cases show how a court reads it. This workbook follows one dispute. A seller of ice-cream machines from abroad faces its first English claim, and your firm answers six questions for it.
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Where this term lives

This term is part of one fictional business dispute, from the client's email to the advice letter, with every document attached and a test after every chapter. Open English Law Basics → · All terms A–Z →