The common law is based on past traditions, practices and precedents created by the courts through the interpretation of statutes, legal statutes and previous judgments. The common law seeks to „interpret by previous decisions of superior courts interpreting the same statutes or applying established and customary principles of law to a similar situation.“ The federal courts and 49 states use the English common law legal system (see below), which has diverged somewhat since the mid-nineteenth century, as they orient each other on issues of first impression and rarely consider contemporary cases on the same subject in the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth. In the European Union, the Court of Justice takes an approach that combines civil law (based on the Treaties) and the importance of case-law. One of the most fundamental documents in the development of common law is the English Magna Carta,[17] which limited the power of English kings. It served as a kind of medieval bill of rights for the aristocracy and judiciary that developed the law. Common law refers to laws made by judges through decisions of similar courts and tribunals (called jurisprudence) and not by statutory statutes or executive measures, and to corresponding legal systems based on precedents. The Islamic legal system, consisting of Sharia (Islamic law) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), is the most widespread religious legal system and, along with common law and civil law, one of the three most common legal systems in the world. [22] It is based both on divine law derived from the hadith of the Qur`an and Sunnah, and on the decisions of ulema (jurists), who use the methods of ijma (consensus), qiyas (analogous deduction), ijtihad (research) and urf (common practice) to derive fatwā (legal advice). An ulema had to qualify for an ijazah (Doctor of Laws) in a madrasa (law school or college) before he could issue a fatwah. [23] During the Islamic Golden Age, classical Islamic law may have influenced the development of common law[6] and several civil law institutions.

[24] Sharia law governs a number of Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, although most countries use Sharia law only as a complement to national legislation. It can concern all aspects of civil law, including property rights, contracts and public law. Religious law refers to the notion of a religious system or document used as a legal source, although the methodology used varies. For example, the use of Judaism and halacha for public law has a static and immutable quality that excludes amendment by legislative acts of government or development by judicial precedent; Christian canon law is closer to civil law in its use of codes; And Islamic Sharia (and fiqh jurisprudence) is based on precedent and reasoning by analogy (qiyas) and is therefore considered similar to common law. [21] The civil law (also known as Roman) and common law systems can be considered the most widespread in the world: civil law, because it is most widely used by the land mass and the general population, and common law, because it is used by the largest number of people in relation to each individual civil law system. [2] [3] [4] The main types of religious law are Sharia in Islam, halacha in Judaism and canon law in some Christian groups. In some cases, it is purely individual moral leadership, while in other cases it is intended and can serve as a basis for a country`s legal system; The latter was particularly common in the Middle Ages. In the second half of the 20th century, German legal theory gained increasing influence in Argentina. This system is based on religious teachings as inscribed in religious scriptures. Islamic law, Sharia, is the most widespread religious legal system in the world today. It is based on morality and not on the business demands of human behavior in all aspects of a person`s personal and social life. Islamic law is based on the Holy Book of Islam, the Qur`an and the interpretation of the practices and statements of the Prophet Muhammad.

However, some of these legal systems are often and more correctly characterized as hybrid: although Islamic jurists and scholars constantly debate the application of Islamic law to the modern world, their debates are only academic considerations. However, to keep up with the progress of life, many Muslim countries have a mix of common law and civil law system as well as Sharia law. Despite the usefulness of the different classifications, each legal system has its own identity. Below are groups of jurisdictions categorized by geographic location. Common law and equity are legal systems whose sources are the decisions of judges in cases. In addition, each system will have a legislature that adopts new laws and statutes. The relationship between laws and court decisions can be complex. In some jurisdictions, these laws may override judicial decisions or codify the subject matter covered by several contradictory or ambiguous decisions. In some jurisdictions, judicial decisions may decide whether the constitution of the court permits the enactment of a particular law or provision of law, or what meaning is contained in the statutory provisions. Common law developed in England, influenced by Anglo-Saxon law and, to a much lesser extent, by the Norman conquest of England, which introduced legal concepts from Norman law, which in turn has its origins in Salic law. The common law was later inherited by the Commonwealth of Nations, and almost all former colonies of the British Empire adopted it (Malta is an exception).

The doctrine of stare decisis, also known as jurisdiction or precedent of the courts, is the main difference with codified civil law systems. Common law is practised in Canada (except Quebec), Australia, New Zealand, most countries in the United Kingdom (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), South Africa, Ireland, India (except Goa), Pakistan, Hong Kong, the United States (at the state and territory level excluding Louisiana and Puerto Rico), in Bangladesh and many other places. Others have transformed the common law system into a mixed system; For example, Nigeria operates largely under a common law system in the southern states and at the federal level, but also includes religious law in the northern states. It is also known as civil law, it is based on a very detailed set of laws organized into codes. These codes define what constitutes lawful conduct. The code or civil law has its roots in Roman law and more than 80 countries in the world, including Germany, France, Japan, Russia, most of Europe, Latin America, China, Taiwan and South Korea work with this civil law system. Courts rely on detailed written legal texts rather than interpretations of tradition, precedents and customs. The courts in this system do not have much flexibility compared to the courts in the common law system. With regard to the theory of „sources of law“ in the Guatemalan legal system, the „Ley del Organismo Judicial“ recognizes „law“ as the main source of law (within the meaning of legal texts), but also establishes „jurisprudence“ as a complementary source.

Although case law technically refers to judicial decisions in general, in practice it tends to be confused and identified with the concept of „legal doctrine“, which is a qualified set of identical solutions in similar cases handed down by higher courts (the Constitutional Court as the „Tribunal de Amparo“ and the Supreme Court as the „Tribunal de Casación“). whose theses become binding on subordinate courts. The source of the law that is recognized as authoritative is the codification in a constitution or a law adopted by the legislature to amend a law. While the concept of codification dates back to the Code of Hammurabi in Babylon around 1790 BC. Civil law systems originated in the Roman Empire and in particular the Corpus Juris Civilis, published by Emperor Justinian around 529 AD. It was a comprehensive reform of law in the Byzantine Empire, which brought it together in codified documents. Civil law has also been partially influenced by religious laws such as canon law and Islamic law. [5] [6] Today`s civil law is theoretically interpreted rather than developed or made by judges.

Only legislative regulations (not precedents as in common law) are considered legally binding. Code law is based on a complete system of written rules (codes) of law. Under the Legal Code, the legal system is generally divided into three separate codes: commercial law, civil law and criminal law. The civil law system, also known as the codified legal system, is based on a detailed set of laws that make up a code. The rules for the execution of commercial transactions are part of the Code. Today`s national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, law, religious law or a combination of these. However, each country`s legal system is shaped by its unique history and therefore includes individual variants. [1] The science that studies law at the level of legal systems is called comparative law.