Definition

• Common law is determined by judges’ decisions on specific cases. These cases become ‘precedents’ which can be referred to in order to inform 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, like what constitutes a ‘substantial risk of harm’ that will result in implementing the Legal Principle - the local community’s interpretation will be evolve over time based on the judges rulings on each case in that local community.
• Other examples where case precedents will inform local interpretations of grey areas:
  • Nuisance disputes between neighbours
  • 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 principle of equal application and peaceful resolution.
• Common law could never supersede the core elements of the Legal Principle; that people must not aggress against each other.