Henry j Abraham chapter 1 (1/2)

Primitive Law

This law was based on primitive customs and lacked organization

Archaic Law

introduced during the early days of Rome, Archaic Law features Courts and Officialdom

What are the three historical categories of Law?

1. Primitive

2. Archaic

3. Mature

Mature Law

It lasted from the start to the end of the Roman Empire, and meant the professionalization of law.

What is positive law?

Man-made, by humans for humans, based upon the relationship between the ruler and the ruled

What is natural law?

Universal moral principles, standing above positive law, discernible through reason

What is common law?

Also known as Anglo-Saxon law, and used by most English-speaking states, Common law binds the present with the past through stare-decisis,

With the growth of Christianity and Christian philosophy came…

the decline and fall of Rome

What caused the concept of the state as the highest form of society to fall?

The rise of the Christian Church W

Stare deices et non quieta movere

Stand by past decisions and do not disturb things at rest W

Who was Henry I (1100-1135)?

Father of the Common Law, introduced radical changes like limiting royal power, influencing later works like the Magna Carta

Who is Lord Coke?

Argued the king was beholden to Law, supported Courts invalidating acts of Parliament if they violated reason (judicial review), and one of the most influential English political scholars

Under Common Law, the judge is

Creator, interpreter, and modifier of laws

How does common law develop?

Judicial experience in the deciding of cases

How are case precedents decided?

Derived from the principles of law embodied in the judgement of cases

How did Munroe Smith describe courts of law?

“Great laboratories” that treat laws like working hypothesis

The three defining characteristics of law

1. relies on judge-made rulings and accommodates other systems (equity, canon, statute interpretation)

2. nothing is safe (no a priori)

3. laws are only morally binding when they adhere to reason

what is private law?

law between private citizens or persons

what is public law?

law between individuals and the state, and between branches of government

what is constitutional law?

a branch of public law detailing the general conduct of the state

what is administrative law?

a branch of public law informing policy at its most practical