Definition

• Common law is determined by judges’ decisions on specific cases. These cases become ‘precedents’ that can be referred to for future court rulings.

Applied to 3L

• Common law will inform the local community’s interpretation of the statutory law of the Legal Principle. Specifically, there are many known grey areas, such as what constitutes a ‘substantial risk of harm’ that will result in the proper implementation of the Legal Principle—the local community’s interpretation will evolve based on judges' rulings in each case in that local community.
• Other examples where case precedents will inform local interpretations of grey areas:
  • Nuisance disputes between neighbors
  • Conflicts over implied consent (e.g., in public spaces)
  • Boundary disputes not clearly settled by statute
  • Voluntary agreements and civil wrongs (e.g., breach of duty without aggressing) would often be judged under common-law principles, unless codified.
  • Due process, evidentiary rules, and fair-trial standards, where not already codified at the local level, could be shaped by judicial reasoning rooted in the principles of equal application and peaceful resolution.
• Neither common law nor statutory law should ever supersede the core elements of the Legal Principle, that people, groups, corporations, and the government must never aggress against anyone.