The guiding principle of the common law is, that similar cases should receive similar treatment under the law. Common law principles are established and developed through the opinions of judges given at the end of a trial or an appeal. These opinions set precedents, legal rules that are then applied in future similar cases. The doctrine of judicial precedent, is also referred to as Stare decisis, which means “let the decision stand”. Under …show more content…
represent the collective legal wisdom distilled over many centuries from the finest legal minds in the English speaking world for the express purpose of defining, protecting and enforcing human rights and obligations".The answer is that the English common law works on four methods: history, evolution, experiment and distillation. Operating in constellation with one another, it reaches one of the greatest virtues of the common law system, which is its capacity to balance the individual interests in liberty with the common interests of the community.
The roots of common law can be found in customs for resolving disputes which had evolved in England since the Roman occupation some 2,000 years ago. William Blackstone wrote in his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1756), that common law was:
"... to be found in the records of our several courts of justice in books of reports and judicial decisions…… prescribed and handed down to us from the times of ancient antiquity. They are the laws which gave rise and origin to that collection of maxims and customs which is now known by the name of common …show more content…
In a world of imperfect human beings reaction, in an uncertain and accident environment, problems are inevitable. In Pepper v Hart [1993], a young child was burned on an electric railway. The playground where the child was playing was separated from the railway by a fence that was damaged. The stationmaster knew that the children often trespassed onto the railway, but did nothing about it. The previous case of Addie v Dumbreck [1929] held that the occupier of land had no duty of care for the trespassers. However, this case was overruled in the case of Pepper v Hart. As Lord Griffiths said in his speech „ My Lords, I have long thought that the time had come to change the self-imposed judicial rule that forbade any reference to the legislative history of an enactment as an aid to its