Common Law
Among all legal cultures of the world, two are considered the most influential and
important, both for its territorial extension and the number of people who use them. These
are the Civil Law and the Common Law. The Common Law is the heir legal system that
was applied in medieval England and today is used in most territories that received the
British colonial influence: England, Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada
(except for civil law of Quebec), USA (except Louisiana), Hong Kong, India, Malaysia,
Singapore and South Africa are the most important; ultimately what it is known as
Commonwealth. Its main feature unlike the continental system is that it emphasizes and
gives more predominance to jurisprudence instead of laws as sources of rights.
The common law system is based on the analysis of court rulings by courts of equal rank
or higher, in addition to the interpretation of the laws that make the courts themselves.
Thus the jurisprudence is the primary source of law. This also affects the legislative level,
because the laws in the common law can be more generic and ambiguous than the
continental model (civil law) characterized by the taxability of it. The English system can
be defined as an open system, as it is a method to resolve any issues that arise. This
proprietary technique is not common law interpretation of the rules but from the legal