common law

¹ American  

[kom-uhn law] / ˈkɒm ən ˈlɔ /

noun

1. the system of law originating in England, as distinct from the civil or Roman law and the canon or ecclesiastical law.

2. the unwritten law, especially of England, based on custom or court decision, as distinct from statute law.

3. the law administered through the system of courts established for the purpose, as distinct from equity or admiralty.

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common-law ² American  

[kom-uhn-law] / ˈkɒm ənˈlɔ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or established by common law.

   a common-law spouse.

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common law British  

noun

1. the body of law based on judicial decisions and custom, as distinct from statute law

2. the law of a state that is of general application, as distinct from regional customs

3.  common-law.  (modifier) denoting a marriage deemed to exist after a couple have cohabited for several years

   common-law marriage

   common-law wife

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common law Cultural  

1. Law developed in the course of time from the rulings of judges, as opposed to law embodied in statutes passed by legislatures (statutory law) or law embodied in a written constitution (constitutional law). (See stare decisis.)

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Discover More

The importance of common law is particularly stressed in the legal system of Britain, on which the legal system of the United States is based.

Etymology

Origin of common law¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Origin of common-law²

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Chief Justice John Roberts stressed in the Jarkesy majority opinion that government penalties “designed to punish or deter the wrongdoer” are a “prototypical common law remedy.”

From The Wall Street Journal

He also said he understood he had "common law employment rights", adding "this will be better understood by lawyers than by me".

From BBC

Misconduct in Public Office is part of England's "common law" - which means judges came up with it hundreds of years ago, rather than Parliament.

From BBC

“History has placed us all, Northerner and Southerner, black and white, within a common border and under a common law,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the modern era, the British heritage of common law, freedom of speech and personal virtue didn’t constrain innovation but produced it.

From The Wall Street Journal