English law

English law, also called common law, is the legal system of England and Wales. It is generally divided into criminal law and civil law. It spread to many parts of the former British Empire including Australia, Canada (except Quebec which uses civil law), the United States (except Louisiana which uses civil law) and New Zealand, and many other countries.^[1] There are about 80 countries worldwide that use mainly common law systems.^[2] About 150 countries use the civil law system.^[2]

English law is unique in that it is based on applying legal precedent to present and future decisions made by judges.^[1] A judge must follow past legal decisions made by higher courts but not necessarily those made by lower courts.^[1] English law is not based on a constitution and there is no codification of laws.^[3] However, there are unofficial publications that provide organized lists of current laws.^[3] Parliament has the power to create laws which are automatically considered valid and may not be reviewed by the courts.^[3] Only Parliament has the power to change a law.^[3]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "English Law: An introduction". In Brief. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Piyali Syam (28 January 2014). "What is the Difference Between Common Law and Civil Law?". Washington University School of Law. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} "English Law". Duke Law School. Retrieved 6 October 2016.