Laws that develop through case decisions by judges. Not enacted by legislative bodies.
common law， system of law that prevails in England and in countries colonized by England. The name is derived from the medieval theory that the law administered by the king's courts represented the common custom of the realm， as opposed to the custom of local jurisdiction that was applied in local or manorial courts. In its early development common law was largely a product of three English courts—King's Bench， Exchequer， and the Court of Common Pleas—which competed successfully against other courts for jurisdiction and developed a distinctive body of doctrine. The term “common law” is also used to mean the traditional， precedent-based element in the law of any common-law jurisdiction， as opposed to its statutory law or legislation， and also to signify that part of the legal system that did not develop out of equity， maritime law， or other special branches of practice.
【注】 普通法指的是由法官的案例判決發(fā)展而來的法律，它不同于立法機(jī)關(guān)頒布的法律。
『箋』 普通法系是當(dāng)今世界兩大法系之一。關(guān)于普通法的歷史基礎(chǔ)和傳統(tǒng)在英國法律史學(xué)家S·F·C·密爾松的《普通法的歷史基礎(chǔ)》和美國法理學(xué)家卡爾·N·盧埃林的《普通法的傳統(tǒng)》中已經(jīng)說得十分清楚，而對于普通法之所以有如此強(qiáng)大的生命力的根源以及普通法的精神，美國社會法學(xué)學(xué)派創(chuàng)始人、美國哈佛大學(xué)法學(xué)院院長羅斯科·龐德（Roscoe·Pound）則在其《普通法的精神》一書中進(jìn)行了精辟的闡述。
common law， system of law that prevails in England and in countries colonized by England. The name is derived from the medieval theory that the law administered by the king's courts represented the common custom of the realm， as opposed to the custom of local jurisdiction that was applied in local or manorial courts. In its early development common law was largely a product of three English courts—King's Bench， Exchequer， and the Court of Common Pleas—which competed successfully against other courts for jurisdiction and developed a distinctive body of doctrine. The term “common law” is also used to mean the traditional， precedent-based element in the law of any common-law jurisdiction， as opposed to its statutory law or legislation， and also to signify that part of the legal system that did not develop out of equity， maritime law， or other special branches of practice.
【注】 普通法指的是由法官的案例判決發(fā)展而來的法律，它不同于立法機(jī)關(guān)頒布的法律。
『箋』 普通法系是當(dāng)今世界兩大法系之一。關(guān)于普通法的歷史基礎(chǔ)和傳統(tǒng)在英國法律史學(xué)家S·F·C·密爾松的《普通法的歷史基礎(chǔ)》和美國法理學(xué)家卡爾·N·盧埃林的《普通法的傳統(tǒng)》中已經(jīng)說得十分清楚，而對于普通法之所以有如此強(qiáng)大的生命力的根源以及普通法的精神，美國社會法學(xué)學(xué)派創(chuàng)始人、美國哈佛大學(xué)法學(xué)院院長羅斯科·龐德（Roscoe·Pound）則在其《普通法的精神》一書中進(jìn)行了精辟的闡述。