common law

Speech parts

1. common law - Noun

2. common law - Adjective

3. common law - Adjective Satellite

Meaning

(civil law) a law established by following earlier judicial decisions

a system of jurisprudence based on judicial precedents rather than statutory laws

based on common law

Source: WordNet

Alternative names

common-law

Synonyms

case law precedent sunna law act bill custom precedented tradition martial law public law general rule unwritten law ordinary law decisional law
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Antonyms

admiralty statute equity Roman law civil law canon law
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Hypernyms

law jurisprudence civil law

Related terms

common law common-law marriage common-law relationship common-law partnership common-law cohabitation common-law couple

Examples

Reason is the life of the law; nay, the common law itself is nothing else but reason - the law which is perfection of reason. Edward Coke

A large plural society cannot be governed without recognizing that, transcending its plural interests, there is a rational order with a superior common law. Walter Lippmann

And of course we are familiar with the English common law rule of thumb that said a man could in fact use a stick no bigger than his thumb to discipline his wife and family. Patricia Ireland

The common law is not a brooding omnipresence in the sky, but the articulate voice of some sovereign or quasi sovereign that can be identified; although some decisions with which I have disagreed seem to me to have forgotten the fact. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

It is difficult to struggle with the common law. Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough

The unwritten law - the common law. Traditional Proverb

Close letter words and terms

common larch common larkspur common lavender common law husband common law partner common law relationships