Definition
- Common law is determined by judges’ decisions on specific cases. These cases become ‘precedents’ that can be referred to for future court rulings.
Applied to 3L
Common law may inform a local community in its application of the Legal Principle (such as through statutory law). Many gray areas exist under common law, such as what constitutes a ‘substantial risk of harm’. Such gray areas may be resolved by delegatiion using local communities. One method is to refine the law based on how judges or arbitrators decide when resolving disputes.
Other examples where case precedents will inform local interpretations of grey areas:
- Nuisance disputes between neighbors
- Conflicts over implied consent (e.g., in public spaces)
- Boundary disputes not clearly settled by statute
- Voluntary agreements and civil wrongs (unless codified)
- Due process, evidentiary rules, and fair-trial standards (where not already codified)
Neither common law nor statutory law should ever supersede the core elements of the Legal Principle, that people, groups, corporations, and governments must never aggress against anyone.