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Preferred term

common law legal traditions  

Definition

  • As distinguished from law enacted legislatively, the common law comprises those principles relating to government that derive their authority solely from usage and custom, or from judgments and decrees of courts recognizing, affirming and enforcing such usage and custom. The common law developed in England and affected the law's application in the British colonies; hence the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and several African nations join the United Kingdom in having legal systems counted among those that follow the common law tradition. [Source: Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment; Common Law Legal Traditions]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/common_law_legal_traditions

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