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Available in 31 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-31" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">31 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%82_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%A9" title="قانون السوابق القضائية – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="قانون السوابق القضائية" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%8A%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0" title="Съдебна практика – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Съдебна практика" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisprud%C3%A8ncia" title="Jurisprudència – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Jurisprudència" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retspraksis" title="Retspraksis – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Retspraksis" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallrecht" title="Fallrecht – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Fallrecht" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohtupraktika" title="Kohtupraktika – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Kohtupraktika" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisprudencia" title="Jurisprudencia – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Jurisprudencia" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisprudentzia" title="Jurisprudentzia – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Jurisprudentzia" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B9%D8%AA%DB%8C_%D9%88_%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81%DB%8C" title="قانون بدعتی و عرفی – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="قانون بدعتی و عرفی" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisprudence" title="Jurisprudence – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Jurisprudence" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%8C%90%EB%A1%80" title="판례 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="판례" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%AF_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%BF" title="निर्णय विधि – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="निर्णय विधि" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurisprudensi" title="Yurisprudensi – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Yurisprudensi" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teism%C5%B3_praktika" title="Teismų praktika – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Teismų praktika" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esetjog" title="Esetjog – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Esetjog" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mr mw-list-item"><a href="https://mr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%AF_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%80" title="निर्णय विधी – Marathi" lang="mr" hreflang="mr" data-title="निर्णय विधी" data-language-autonym="मराठी" data-language-local-name="Marathi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>मराठी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukum_perkara" title="Hukum perkara – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Hukum perkara" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-min mw-list-item"><a href="https://min.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurisprudensi" title="Yurisprudensi – Minangkabau" lang="min" hreflang="min" data-title="Yurisprudensi" data-language-autonym="Minangkabau" data-language-local-name="Minangkabau" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Minangkabau</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-my mw-list-item"><a href="https://my.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%80%85%E1%80%AE%E1%80%9B%E1%80%84%E1%80%BA%E1%80%91%E1%80%AF%E1%80%B6%E1%80%B8" title="စီရင်ထုံး – Burmese" lang="my" hreflang="my" data-title="စီရင်ထုံး" data-language-autonym="မြန်မာဘာသာ" data-language-local-name="Burmese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>မြန်မာဘာသာ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisprudentie" title="Jurisprudentie – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Jurisprudentie" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A4%E4%BE%8B" title="判例 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="判例" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rettspraksis" title="Rettspraksis – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Rettspraksis" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_law" title="Case law – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Case law" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisprud%C3%AAncia" title="Jurisprudência – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Jurisprudência" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE" title="Прецедентное право – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Прецедентное право" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sco mw-list-item"><a href="https://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_law" title="Case law – Scots" lang="sco" hreflang="sco" data-title="Case law" data-language-autonym="Scots" data-language-local-name="Scots" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Scots</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_law" title="Case law – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Case law" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oikeusk%C3%A4yt%C3%A4nt%C3%B6" title="Oikeuskäytäntö – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Oikeuskäytäntö" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A4ttspraxis" title="Rättspraxis – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Rättspraxis" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk badge-Q70893996 mw-list-item" title=""><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B5_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE" title="Прецедентне право – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Прецедентне право" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A4%E4%BE%8B%E6%B3%95" title="判例法 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="判例法" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q11022655#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div 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<div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Set of past rulings cited as precedent</div> <p><b>Case law</b>, also used interchangeably with <a href="/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law">common law</a>, is a <a href="/wiki/Legal_system" title="Legal system">law</a> that is based on <a href="/wiki/Precedent" title="Precedent">precedents</a>, that is the <a href="/wiki/Judiciary" title="Judiciary">judicial</a> decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on <a href="/wiki/Constitution" title="Constitution">constitutions</a>, <a href="/wiki/Statute" title="Statute">statutes</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Regulation" title="Regulation">regulations</a>. Case law uses the detailed facts of a <a href="/wiki/Legal_case" class="mw-redirect" title="Legal case">legal case</a> that have been resolved by <a href="/wiki/Court" title="Court">courts</a> or similar <a href="/wiki/Tribunal" title="Tribunal">tribunals</a>. These past decisions are called "case law", or precedent. <i>Stare decisis</i>—a Latin phrase meaning "let the decision stand"—is the principle by which judges are bound to such past decisions, drawing on established judicial authority to formulate their positions. </p><p>These judicial interpretations are distinguished from <a href="/wiki/Statutory_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Statutory law">statutory law</a>, which are codes enacted by <a href="/wiki/Legislature" title="Legislature">legislative bodies</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Regulatory_law" title="Regulatory law">regulatory law</a>, which are established by executive agencies based on statutes. In some jurisdictions, case law can be applied to ongoing <a href="/wiki/Adjudication" title="Adjudication">adjudication</a>; for example, criminal proceedings or family law. </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/Common_law#Disambiguate_civil_law" title="Common law">common law</a> countries (including the <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>, <a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a>, <a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a>, <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, <a href="/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, <a href="/wiki/Singapore" title="Singapore">Singapore</a>, <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" title="Republic of Ireland">Ireland</a>, <a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a>, <a href="/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lanka" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nepal" title="Nepal">Nepal</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bhutan" title="Bhutan">Bhutan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hong_Kong" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a>), it is used for <a href="/wiki/Judgment_(law)" title="Judgment (law)">judicial decisions</a> of selected <a href="/wiki/Appellate_court" title="Appellate court">appellate courts</a>, <a href="/wiki/Court" title="Court">courts</a> of <a href="/wiki/First_instance" class="mw-redirect" title="First instance">first instance</a>, agency tribunals, and other bodies discharging adjudicatory functions.<sup id="cite_ref-GarnerUsageDef0_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GarnerUsageDef0-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Blacks10thDef1_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Blacks10thDef1-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="In_common_law_systems">In common law systems</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Case_law&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: In common law systems"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:CanadianCriminalCases.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/CanadianCriminalCases.jpg/220px-CanadianCriminalCases.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="146" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/CanadianCriminalCases.jpg/330px-CanadianCriminalCases.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/CanadianCriminalCases.jpg/440px-CanadianCriminalCases.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4928" data-file-height="3264" /></a><figcaption>Criminal cases</figcaption></figure> <p>In the <a href="/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law">common law</a> tradition, courts decide the law applicable to a case by interpreting statutes and applying <a href="/wiki/Precedent" title="Precedent">precedents</a> which record how and why prior <a href="/wiki/Legal_case" class="mw-redirect" title="Legal case">cases</a> have been decided. Unlike most civil law systems, common law systems follow the doctrine of <a href="/wiki/Stare_decisis" class="mw-redirect" title="Stare decisis">stare decisis</a>, by which most courts are bound by their own previous decisions in similar cases. According to stare decisis, all lower courts should make decisions consistent with the previous decisions of higher courts.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For example, in England, the <a href="/wiki/High_Court" class="mw-redirect" title="High Court">High Court</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Court_of_Appeal" class="mw-redirect" title="Court of Appeal">Court of Appeals</a> are each bound by their own previous decisions, however, since the <a href="/wiki/Practice_Statement_1966" class="mw-redirect" title="Practice Statement 1966">Practice Statement 1966</a> the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">Supreme Court of the United Kingdom</a> can deviate from its earlier decisions, although in practice it rarely does. A notable example of when the court has overturned its precedent is the case of <i><a href="/wiki/R_v_Jogee" title="R v Jogee">R v Jogee</a></i>, where the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that it and the other courts of England and Wales had misapplied the law for nearly 30 years. </p><p>Generally speaking, higher courts do not have direct oversight over the lower <a href="/wiki/Court_of_record" title="Court of record">courts of record</a>, in that they cannot reach out on their initiative (<i>sua sponte</i>) at any time to overrule judgments of the lower courts. Normally, the burden rests with litigants to appeal rulings (including those in clear violation of established case law) to the higher courts. If a judge acts against precedent, and the case is not <a href="/wiki/Appeal" title="Appeal">appealed</a>, the decision will stand. </p><p>A lower court may not rule against a binding precedent, even if it feels that it is unjust; it may only express the hope that a higher court or the legislature will reform the rule in question. If the court believes that developments or trends in legal reasoning render the precedent unhelpful, and wishes to evade it and help the law evolve, it may either hold that the precedent is inconsistent with subsequent authority, or that it should be <i>distinguished</i> by some material difference between the facts of the cases; some jurisdictions allow for a judge to recommend that an appeal be carried out. If that judgment goes to appeal, the appellate court will have the opportunity to review both the precedent and the case under appeal, perhaps overruling the previous case law by setting a new precedent of higher authority. This may happen several times as the case works its way through successive appeals. <a href="/wiki/Lord_Denning" class="mw-redirect" title="Lord Denning">Lord Denning</a>, first of the <a href="/wiki/High_Court_of_Justice_of_England_and_Wales" class="mw-redirect" title="High Court of Justice of England and Wales">High Court of Justice</a>, later of the <a href="/wiki/Court_of_Appeal_of_England_and_Wales" class="mw-redirect" title="Court of Appeal of England and Wales">Court of Appeal</a>, provided a famous example of this evolutionary process in his development of the concept of <a href="/wiki/Estoppel" title="Estoppel">estoppel</a> starting in the <i><a href="/wiki/Central_London_Property_Trust_Ltd_v._High_Trees_House_Ltd" class="mw-redirect" title="Central London Property Trust Ltd v. High Trees House Ltd">High Trees</a></i> case. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="How_case_law_is_made">How case law is made</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Case_law&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: How case law is made"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The different roles of case law in civil and common law traditions create differences in the way that courts render decisions. Common law courts generally explain in detail the legal rationale behind their decisions, with citations of both legislation and previous relevant judgments, and often interpret the wider legal principles. The necessary analysis (called <i><a href="/wiki/Ratio_decidendi" title="Ratio decidendi">ratio decidendi</a></i>), then constitutes a <a href="/wiki/Precedent" title="Precedent">precedent</a> binding on other courts; further analyses not strictly necessary to the determination of the current case are called <i><a href="/wiki/Obiter_dicta" class="mw-redirect" title="Obiter dicta">obiter dicta</a></i>, which constitute <a href="/wiki/Persuasive_authority" class="mw-redirect" title="Persuasive authority">persuasive authority</a> but are not technically binding. By contrast, decisions in civil law jurisdictions are generally shorter, referring only to <a href="/wiki/Statute" title="Statute">statutes</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The reason for this difference is that these civil law jurisdictions adhere to a tradition that the reader should be able to deduce the logic from the decision and the statutes.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Some <a href="/wiki/Legal_pluralism" title="Legal pluralism">pluralist</a> systems, such as <a href="/wiki/Scots_law" title="Scots law">Scots law</a> in <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a> and types of civil law jurisdictions in <a href="/wiki/Quebec" title="Quebec">Quebec</a> and <a href="/wiki/Louisiana" title="Louisiana">Louisiana</a>, do not precisely fit into the dual common-civil law system classifications. These types of systems may have been heavily influenced by the <a href="/wiki/Anglo-America" title="Anglo-America">Anglo-American</a> common law tradition; however, their substantive law is firmly rooted in the civil law tradition. Because of their position between the two main systems of law, these types of legal systems are sometimes referred to as mixed systems of law. </p><p>Law <a href="/wiki/Professor" title="Professor">professors</a> traditionally have played a much smaller role in developing case law in common law than professors in civil law. Because court decisions in civil law traditions are historically brief<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and not formally amenable to establishing precedent, much of the exposition of the law in civil law traditions is done by academics rather than by judges; this is called <a href="/wiki/Doctrine" title="Doctrine">doctrine</a> and may be published in treatises or in journals such as <i><a href="/wiki/Recueil_Dalloz" class="mw-redirect" title="Recueil Dalloz">Recueil Dalloz</a></i> in France. Historically, common law courts relied little on legal scholarship; thus, at the turn of the twentieth century, it was very rare to see an academic writer quoted in a legal decision (except perhaps for the academic writings of prominent judges such as <a href="/wiki/Edward_Coke" title="Edward Coke">Coke</a> and <a href="/wiki/William_Blackstone" title="William Blackstone">Blackstone</a>). Today academic writers are often cited in legal argument and decisions as <a href="/wiki/Persuasive_authority" class="mw-redirect" title="Persuasive authority">persuasive authority</a>; often, they are cited when judges are attempting to implement reasoning that other courts have not yet adopted, or when the judge believes the academic's restatement of the law is more compelling than can be found in case law. Thus common law systems are adopting one of the approaches long-held in civil law jurisdictions. </p><p>Judges may refer to various types of <a href="/wiki/Persuasive_authority" class="mw-redirect" title="Persuasive authority">persuasive authority</a> to decide a case. Widely cited non-binding sources include legal <a href="/wiki/Encyclopedia" title="Encyclopedia">encyclopedias</a> such as <i><a href="/wiki/Corpus_Juris_Secundum" title="Corpus Juris Secundum">Corpus Juris Secundum</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Halsbury%27s_Laws_of_England" title="Halsbury's Laws of England">Halsbury's Laws of England</a></i>, or the published work of the <a href="/wiki/Law_Commission" class="mw-redirect" title="Law Commission">Law Commission</a> or the <a href="/wiki/American_Law_Institute" title="American Law Institute">American Law Institute</a>. Some bodies are given statutory powers to issue guidance with persuasive authority or similar statutory effect, such as the <a href="/wiki/Highway_Code" class="mw-redirect" title="Highway Code">Highway Code</a>. </p><p>In federal or multi-jurisdictional law systems there may exist conflicts between the various lower appellate courts. Sometimes these differences may not be resolved, and it may be necessary to distinguish how the law is applied in one <a href="/wiki/District" title="District">district</a>, province, division or <a href="/wiki/Appellate_court" title="Appellate court">appellate department</a>. Usually, only an appeal accepted by the <a href="/wiki/Court_of_last_resort" class="mw-redirect" title="Court of last resort">court of last resort</a> will resolve such differences and, for many reasons, such appeals are often not granted. </p><p>Any court may seek to distinguish the present case from that of a binding precedent, to reach a different conclusion. The validity of such a distinction may or may not be accepted on appeal of that judgment to a higher court. An appellate court may also decide on an entirely new and different analysis from that of junior courts, and may or may not be bound by its own previous decisions, or in any case, may distinguish them on the facts.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Where there are several members of a court deciding a case, there may be one or more judgments given (or reported). Only the reason for the decision of the majority can constitute a binding precedent, but all may be cited as persuasive, or their reasoning may be adopted in an argument. Apart from the rules of procedure for precedent, the weight given to any reported judgment may depend on the reputation of both the reporter and the judges.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Nordic_nations">Nordic nations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Case_law&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Nordic nations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The legal systems of the <a href="/wiki/Nordic_countries" title="Nordic countries">Nordic countries</a> are sometimes included among the civil law systems, but as a separate branch, and sometimes counted as separate from the civil law tradition. In <a href="/wiki/Sweden" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>, for instance, case law arguably plays a more important role than in some of the Continental codified law systems. The two highest courts, the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Sweden" title="Supreme Court of Sweden">Supreme Court</a> (<i>Högsta domstolen</i>) and the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Administrative_Court_of_Sweden" title="Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden">Supreme Administrative Court</a> (<i>Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen</i>), have the right to set precedent which is in practice (however not formally) binding on all future application of the law. Courts of appeal, both general courts (<i>hovrätter</i>) and administrative courts (<i>kammarrätter</i>), may also issue decisions that act as guides for the application of the law, but these decisions may be overturned by higher courts. 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a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFGarner2001" class="citation book cs1">Garner, Bryan A. (2001). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn_0"><i>A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage</i></a></span> (2nd, revised ed.). New York: <a href="/wiki/Oxford_University_Press" title="Oxford University Press">Oxford University Press</a>. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn_0/page/177">177</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-507769-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-507769-8"><bdi>978-0-19-507769-8</bdi></a>. <q>In modern usage, <i>common law</i> is contrasted with a number of other terms. First, in denoting the body of judge-made law based on that developed in England… [P]erhaps most commonly within Anglo-American jurisdictions, <i>common law</i> is contrasted with <i>statutory law</i> ...</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+Dictionary+of+Modern+Legal+Usage&rft.place=New+York&rft.pages=177&rft.edition=2nd%2C+revised&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2001&rft.isbn=978-0-19-507769-8&rft.aulast=Garner&rft.aufirst=Bryan+A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fdictionaryofmode00garn_0&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACase+law" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Blacks10thDef1-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Blacks10thDef1_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation book cs1"><i>Black's Law Dictionary - Common law</i> (10th ed.). 2014. p. 334. <q>1. The body of law derived from judicial decisions, rather than from statutes or constitutions; CASE LAW [contrast to] STATUTORY LAW.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Black%27s+Law+Dictionary+-+Common+law&rft.pages=334&rft.edition=10th&rft.date=2014&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACase+law" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFApple" class="citation web cs1">Apple, James G. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/2012/CivilLaw.pdf">"A Primer on the Civil-Law System"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>fjc.gov</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">4 May</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=fjc.gov&rft.atitle=A+Primer+on+the+Civil-Law+System&rft.aulast=Apple&rft.aufirst=James+G.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fjc.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2F2012%2FCivilLaw.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACase+law" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:0-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:0_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_4-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thecorpusjuris.com/judiciary/">"The Judiciary"</a>. <i>The Corpus Juris</i>. 2024-08-19<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-08-18</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Corpus+Juris&rft.atitle=The+Judiciary&rft.date=2024-08-19&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fthecorpusjuris.com%2Fjudiciary%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACase+law" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://law.justia.com/cases/">"US Case Law"</a>. <i>Justia Law</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2019-06-07</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Justia+Law&rft.atitle=US+Case+Law&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Flaw.justia.com%2Fcases%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACase+law" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFEisenberg2022" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Melvin_A._Eisenberg" title="Melvin A. Eisenberg">Eisenberg, Melvin A.</a> (2022). <i>Legal Reasoning</i>. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 80-81. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2F9781009162517">10.1017/9781009162517</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781009162524" title="Special:BookSources/9781009162524"><bdi>9781009162524</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:262079114">262079114</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Legal+Reasoning&rft.place=Cambridge%2C+UK&rft.pages=80-81&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2022&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A262079114%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1017%2F9781009162517&rft.isbn=9781009162524&rft.aulast=Eisenberg&rft.aufirst=Melvin+A.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACase+law" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFEvans2009" class="citation journal cs1">Evans, P.J. (2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-law-journal/article/abs/status-of-rules-of-precedent/04F5E0B6B5E14A08385744A2305F1BE5">"The Status of Rules of Precedent"</a>. <i>Cambridge Law Journal</i>. <b>41</b>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Cambridge+Law+Journal&rft.atitle=The+Status+of+Rules+of+Precedent&rft.volume=41&rft.date=2009&rft.aulast=Evans&rft.aufirst=P.J.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge.org%2Fcore%2Fjournals%2Fcambridge-law-journal%2Farticle%2Fabs%2Fstatus-of-rules-of-precedent%2F04F5E0B6B5E14A08385744A2305F1BE5&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACase+law" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Case_law&action=edit&section=6" 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title="Tort">Tort</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%">Disciplines</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Abortion_law" title="Abortion law">Abortion law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Agricultural_law" title="Agricultural law">Agricultural law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aviation_law" title="Aviation law">Aviation law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amnesty_law" title="Amnesty law">Amnesty law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bank_regulation" class="mw-redirect" title="Bank regulation">Banking law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bankruptcy" title="Bankruptcy">Bankruptcy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Commercial_law" title="Commercial law">Commercial law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Competition_law" title="Competition law">Competition law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Conflict_of_laws" title="Conflict of laws">Conflict of laws</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Construction_law" title="Construction law">Construction law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Consumer_protection" title="Consumer protection">Consumer protection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Corporate_law" title="Corporate law">Corporate law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/IT_law" class="mw-redirect" title="IT law">Cyberlaw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drug_policy" title="Drug policy">Drugs law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Election_law" title="Election law">Election law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Energy_law" title="Energy law">Energy law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Entertainment_law" title="Entertainment law">Entertainment law</a> (Media law)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Environmental_law" title="Environmental law">Environmental law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Family_law" title="Family law">Family law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Financial_law" title="Financial law">Financial law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Financial_regulation" title="Financial regulation">Financial regulation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Health_law" title="Health law">Health law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Immigration_law" title="Immigration law">Immigration law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Intellectual_property" title="Intellectual property">Intellectual property</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_criminal_law" title="International criminal law">International criminal law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_human_rights_law" title="International human rights law">International human rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slavery_in_international_law" title="Slavery in international law">International slavery laws</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_trade_law" title="International trade law">International trade law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jurimetrics" title="Jurimetrics">Jurimetrics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Labour_law" title="Labour law">Labour</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Landlord%E2%80%93tenant_law" title="Landlord–tenant law">Landlord–tenant law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_of_war" title="Law of war">Law of war</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_archaeology" title="Legal archaeology">Legal archaeology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_fiction" title="Legal fiction">Legal fiction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Admiralty_law" title="Admiralty law">Maritime law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marriage_law" title="Marriage law">Marriage law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military_justice" title="Military justice">Military law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nationality_law" title="Nationality law">Nationality law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Probate" title="Probate">Probate</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Estate_(law)" title="Estate (law)">Estate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Will_and_testament" title="Will and testament">Will and testament</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Product_liability" title="Product liability">Product liability</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_law" title="International law">Public international law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Refugee_law" title="Refugee law">Refugee law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reparation_(legal)" title="Reparation (legal)">Reparations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_law" title="Space law">Space law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sports_law_in_the_United_States" title="Sports law in the United States">Sports law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/State_of_emergency" title="State of emergency">State of emergency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tax_law" title="Tax law">Tax law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transport_law" title="Transport law">Transport law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trust_(law)" title="Trust (law)">Trust law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Unenforced_law" title="Unenforced law">Unenforced law</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Sources_of_law" title="Sources of law">Sources of law</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Charter" title="Charter">Charter</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Code_of_law" title="Code of law">Legal code</a> / <a href="/wiki/Statutory_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Statutory law">Statutory law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Constitution" title="Constitution">Constitution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Customary_law" title="Customary law">Custom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Divine_law" title="Divine law">Divine law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Divine_right_of_kings" title="Divine right of kings">Divine right</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights" title="Human rights">Human rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legitimacy_(political)" class="mw-redirect" title="Legitimacy (political)">Legitimacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Letters_patent" title="Letters patent">Letters patent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Man-made_law" title="Man-made law">Man-made law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Natural_law" title="Natural law">Natural law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Natural_rights_and_legal_rights" title="Natural rights and legal rights">Natural and legal rights</a></li></ul></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Case law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Precedent" title="Precedent">Precedent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_report" title="Law report">Law reports</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_treatise" title="Legal treatise">Legal treatise</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Regulation" title="Regulation">Regulations</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Lawmaking" title="Lawmaking">Law making</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Referendum" title="Referendum">Ballot measure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Codification_(law)" title="Codification (law)">Codification</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Decree" title="Decree">Decree</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Edict" title="Edict">Edict</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Executive_order_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Executive order (disambiguation)">Executive order</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proclamation" title="Proclamation">Proclamation</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legislation" title="Legislation">Legislation</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Primary_and_secondary_legislation" title="Primary and secondary legislation">Delegated legislation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Regulation" title="Regulation">Regulation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rulemaking" title="Rulemaking">Rulemaking</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Promulgation" title="Promulgation">Promulgation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ratification" title="Ratification">Ratification</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Repeal" title="Repeal">Repeal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty" title="Treaty">Treaty</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Concordat" title="Concordat">Concordat</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Statutory_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Statutory law">Statutory law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Statute" title="Statute">Statute</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_parliament" title="Act of parliament">Act of parliament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_Congress" title="Act of Congress">Act of Congress</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Basic_structure_doctrine" title="Basic structure doctrine">Basic structure doctrine</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_national_legal_systems" title="List of national legal systems">Legal systems</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system)" title="Civil law (legal system)">Civil law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law">Common law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chinese_law" title="Chinese law">Chinese law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_pluralism" title="Legal pluralism">Legal pluralism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religious_law" title="Religious law">Religious law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Canon_law" title="Canon law">Canon law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Canon_law_of_the_Catholic_Church" title="Canon law of the Catholic Church">Catholic canon law</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hindu_law" title="Hindu law">Hindu law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jain_law" title="Jain law">Jain law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Halakha" title="Halakha">Jewish law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parsi_law" title="Parsi law">Parsi law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sharia" title="Sharia">Sharia</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roman_law" title="Roman law">Roman law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Byzantine_law" title="Byzantine law">Byzantine law</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Socialist_law" title="Socialist law">Socialist law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Statutory_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Statutory law">Statutory law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xeer" title="Xeer">Xeer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yassa" title="Yassa">Yassa</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%">Legal theory</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anarchist_law" title="Anarchist law">Anarchist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Contract_theory" title="Contract theory">Contract theory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comparative_law" title="Comparative law">Comparative law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Expressive_function_of_law" title="Expressive function of law">Expressive function</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminist_legal_theory" title="Feminist legal theory">Feminist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_and_economics" title="Law and economics">Law and economics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_formalism" title="Legal formalism">Legal formalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_history" title="Legal history">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Libertarian_theories_of_law" title="Libertarian theories of law">Libertarian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_legal_theories" title="International legal theories">International legal theory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legality" title="Legality">Principle of legality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Principle_of_typicality" title="Principle of typicality">Principle of typicality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudolaw" title="Pseudolaw">Pseudolaw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rule_of_law" title="Rule of law">Rule of law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rule_of_man" title="Rule of man">Rule of man</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sociology_of_law" title="Sociology of law">Sociology</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Jurisprudence" title="Jurisprudence">Jurisprudence</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Adjudication" title="Adjudication">Adjudication</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Administration_of_justice" title="Administration of justice">Administration of justice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Constitutionalism" title="Constitutionalism">Constitutionalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Criminal_justice" title="Criminal justice">Criminal justice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Court-martial" title="Court-martial">Court-martial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dispute_resolution" title="Dispute resolution">Dispute resolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fiqh" title="Fiqh">Fiqh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lawsuit" title="Lawsuit">Lawsuit/Litigation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_opinion" title="Legal opinion">Legal opinion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_remedy" title="Legal remedy">Legal remedy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_status" title="Legal status">Legal status</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judge" title="Judge">Judge</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Justice_of_the_peace" title="Justice of the peace">Justice of the peace</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Magistrate" title="Magistrate">Magistrate</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judgment_(law)" title="Judgment (law)">Judgment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judicial_interpretation" title="Judicial interpretation">Judicial interpretation</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Judicial_activism" title="Judicial activism">Judicial activism</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judicial_review" title="Judicial review">Judicial review</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jurisdiction" title="Jurisdiction">Jurisdiction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jury" title="Jury">Jury</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Justice" title="Justice">Justice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Practice_of_law" title="Practice of law">Practice of law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Attorney_at_law" title="Attorney at law">Attorney</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Barrister" title="Barrister">Barrister</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Counsel" title="Counsel">Counsel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lawyer" title="Lawyer">Lawyer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Defense_(legal)" title="Defense (legal)">Legal representation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prosecutor" title="Prosecutor">Prosecutor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Solicitor" title="Solicitor">Solicitor</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Question_of_law#Question_of_fact" title="Question of law">Question of fact</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Question_of_law" title="Question of law">Question of law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trial" title="Trial">Trial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trial_advocacy" title="Trial advocacy">Trial advocacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trier_of_fact" title="Trier of fact">Trier of fact</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ultra_vires" title="Ultra vires">Ultra vires</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Verdict" title="Verdict">Verdict</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%">Legal institutions</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Barristers%27_chambers" title="Barristers' chambers">Barristers' chambers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bureaucracy" title="Bureaucracy">Bureaucracy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bar_(law)" title="Bar (law)">The bar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bench_(law)" title="Bench (law)">The bench</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Civil_society" title="Civil society">Civil society</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Court" title="Court">Court</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Court_of_equity" title="Court of equity">Court of equity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Election_commission" title="Election commission">Election commission</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Executive_(government)" title="Executive (government)">Executive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judiciary" title="Judiciary">Judiciary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_enforcement" title="Law enforcement">Law enforcement</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Law_enforcement_agency" title="Law enforcement agency">Agency</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_education" title="Legal education">Legal education</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Law_school" title="Law school">Law school</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legislature" title="Legislature">Legislature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military" title="Military">Military</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Police" title="Police">Police</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_party" title="Political party">Political party</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tribunal" title="Tribunal">Tribunal</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align:center;;width:1%">History</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_legal_profession" title="History of the legal profession">History of the legal profession</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_American_legal_profession" title="History of the American legal profession">History of the American legal profession</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Women_in_law" title="Women in law">Women in law</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow hlist" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"><div> <ul><li><b><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Balance,_by_David.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Balance%2C_by_David.svg/40px-Balance%2C_by_David.svg.png" decoding="async" width="21" height="19" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Balance%2C_by_David.svg/60px-Balance%2C_by_David.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="606" data-file-height="558" /></a></span> 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