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Judges have an important role within the English legal system. William the Conqueror, after he gained the English throne in 1066, was the first person to begin the long process of standardising the law. Before this law was mainly based on local custom, and so obviously varied a great deal from place to place, and throughout this time the king would have had hardly any control over the country as a whole. ... This principle meant that when ever a new problem of law came to be decided, the decision reached formed a rule to be followed in all similar cases, thus making the law more predictable. By around 1250 a ‘common law’ had been developed that ruled the country as a whole. The principles of this common law are used by judges today. (Elliot & Quinn 1996)
A more recent reform to law was made by Sir John Jervis. ... In 1832 he published a commentary of the new rules of the common law courts. ... ’ (Freestone & Richardson 1980:13)
The basis of our law today is case law, a mass of judge-made decisions which lays down rules to be followed in future cases. Case law arises through judges deciding cases, their decisions are called judgements. Judgements create law, for example criminal law: the offence of murder was created originally by judges around the 14th – 16th centuries. ... A precedent is something which binds future judges when dealing with the same situation. Judgements are reported in ‘law reports’ (case law). ...
So how exactly do judges make law?
Approximate Word count = 1264
Approximate Pages = 5.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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