Common law originated from England and has been inherited by almost each country as soon as tied to the British Empire (except Malta, Scotland, the us state of Louisiana, and the Canadian province of Quebec). In medieval England, the Norman conquest the law varied-shire-to-shire, based on disparate tribal customs. The concept of a “frequent law” developed through the reign of Henry II in the course Law of the late 12th century, when Henry appointed judges that had authority to create an institutionalised and unified system of law “frequent” to the nation. The subsequent main step within the evolution of the common law came when King John was compelled by his barons to sign a doc limiting his authority to move laws.
Common law systems are shaded pink, and civil law systems are shaded blue/turquoise. The mission of the Law Library of Congress is to provide authoritative legal research, reference and …
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