If you are looking for a book that the University of Melbourne does not own, or if there is a book in the collection that is already borrowed or missing, you can request a copy via the Bonus+ system. Bonus+ is a collaboration between a number of Australian and New Zealand university libraries. Member library staff and students have access to more than 3.7 million titles. Whatever their origin, most legal systems agree on certain fundamental premises. First, no one can be guilty of a crime if the offence has not been previously defined as such and if the sentence has not been pronounced through a legal procedure. This implies the need to clarify criminal law, prohibit its retroactive effect and certain notions of “fair trial” and the availability of a lawyer. Second, no one can be prosecuted twice for the same thing. Third, it is a crime to attempt a crime or conspire with others to commit one. Fourth, an alleged criminal must have a certain mindset to be convicted of the crime. Common law is practised in Canada (except Quebec), Australia, New Zealand, most countries in the United Kingdom (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), South Africa, Ireland, India (except Goa), Pakistan, Hong Kong, the United States (at the state and territory level excluding Louisiana and Puerto Rico), in Bangladesh and many other places. Others have transformed the common law system into a mixed system; For example, Nigeria operates largely under a common law system in the southern states and at the federal level, but also includes religious law in the northern states. In the second half of the 20th century, German legal theory gained increasing influence in Argentina. The idea of providing a country with a single written constitution is relatively modern, but now widespread.
In many countries, the constitution follows a decisive event in national history, such as war, revolution or independence. The methods by which a constitution can be changed have both legal and political significance. They may divide the power of amendment between the people, the legislature and the executive, or between a federation and its constituent parts. They can express core values by declaring certain immutable characteristics. Some constitutions stipulate that certain issues can only be changed by referendum or by an entirely new constitution. In federal systems, changes typically require special majorities in the federal legislature, followed by ratification by a special majority of the states. The main types of religious law are Sharia in Islam, Halakha in Judaism, and canon law in some Christian groups. In some cases, it is purely individual moral leadership, while in other cases it is intended and can serve as a basis for a country`s legal system; The latter was particularly common in the Middle Ages. Freedom of contract is very extensive in common law countries, i.e. very few or no provisions are lawfully contained in contracts.
Roman law countries, on the other hand, have a more sophisticated contractual model with legal provisions. But despite this great diversity, it is important to first emphasize the separation between religious and secular legal systems. Everyone has very different views on the law, in terms of source, scope, sanctions and function. The source of religious law is the Godhead, who makes the laws through the prophets. However, secular law is man-made. In a religious legal system, disputes are usually settled by an official of that religion, so that the same person is both judge and priest. In a secular system, on the other hand, the function of judge is distinct and is often reinforced by guarantees of judicial independence. Most modern legal systems can be described as either common law, civil law, or a mixture of both. You can also access the foreign jurisdiction`s search guide through the Law Library – by jurisdiction`s research databases. For many of the jurisdictions listed, there is a research guide that provides detailed information about legal research in that jurisdiction and relevant databases related to that jurisdiction. However, in civil law countries, the judge is usually the lead investigator, and the lawyer`s role is to advise a client in court proceedings, write briefs, and help provide evidence favorable to the investigating judge.
Although not a rule, common law countries do not always follow a constitution or a code of law. The federal courts and 49 states use the English common law legal system (see below), which has diverged somewhat since the mid-nineteenth century, as they orient each other on issues of first impression and rarely consider contemporary cases on the same subject in the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth. With regard to the theory of “sources of law” in the Guatemalan legal system, the “Ley del Organismo Judicial” recognizes “law” as the main source of law (within the meaning of legal texts), but also establishes “jurisprudence” as a complementary source. Although case law technically refers to judicial decisions in general, in practice it tends to be confused and identified with the concept of “legal doctrine”, which is a qualified set of identical solutions in similar cases handed down by higher courts (the Constitutional Court as the “Tribunal de Amparo” and the Supreme Court as the “Tribunal de Casación”). whose theses become binding on subordinate courts. European rulers, on the other hand, ruled according to Roman law and a set of rules issued by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century and rediscovered in 11th century Italy. With the Enlightenment of the 18th century, rulers of various continental countries resorted to comprehensive legal systems. A number of other countries have a dual system. In such a system, religious rules govern and religious courts rule on matters such as marriage, divorce and family relations. However, a secular system with state courts covers the broader areas of public and commercial law. This was the situation in England until the 1850s and it is now the case in Israel, India and Pakistan. In these dual jurisdictions, the proportion of human activity regulated by either system may depend on the level of economic and political development of the country concerned.
Once you`ve found a chapter on a jurisdiction of interest, you can navigate to summaries on the structure of government and legal system, types of primary sources, or laws by topic. Judges` decisions are always binding in common law countries, although this does not mean that the decision cannot be appealed. In the United States, for example, cases can be heard by a network of federal or state courts, with the federal court having final power. In general, the judgement of the court of last instance hearing a case remains the final and binding judgement. This case can then serve as a precedent for litigating similar cases in the future. Once you have determined what are the main sources of law for a particular jurisdiction, you should try to find those sources. The Law Library subscribes to numerous databases containing primary sources for other jurisdictions. The best way to find these databases and access the main sources of law is to use our research guides. The research guides are divided into the following sections: Australian Law, General Law, Foreign Law, Global and Comparative Law, and International Law. Read the guide to finding interest in your country (if available). To give readers a starting point, here are some examples of countries that primarily practice common law or civil law.
This guide is designed to help you approach legal research in a new jurisdiction by describing the following: It also includes a list of countries and their legal systems. Comparative law is a method of legal research that compares the similarities and differences in national laws from one country to another. Comparative law is generally subject-oriented – comparing laws on a particular topic in at least two jurisdictions. A system of pure customary law is created by the judiciary, since the law derives from case law and not from the law. Therefore, a common law system places a strong emphasis on judicial precedent. However, a purely civil law system is governed by statutes and not by case law. There are hundreds of legal systems in the world. At the global level, international law is of great importance, whether through the practice of sovereign States or through agreement between them in the form of treaties and other agreements. Some transnational entities, such as the European Union, have created their own legal structures. At the national level, the United Nations has more than 180 sovereign States. Many of them are federal and their components may have their own additional laws.
Here is a complete list of countries that base their legal systems on codified civil law: The United States, Canada, England, India and Australia are generally considered common law countries. As they were all subjects or colonies of Great Britain, they often maintained the tradition of the common law. The state of Louisiana in the United States uses bijural civil law because it was once a colony of the France. Today, there are only a few countries whose legal system is exclusively religious. On the other hand, a large number of countries have secular systems, and this characteristic can be integrated into their legal structure, as in the French and Russian constitutions of 1958 or the very first words of the First Amendment of the US Constitution: “Congress shall not adopt a law concerning a religious institution”. The types of documents created as part of the legislative process may vary depending on the jurisdiction you are researching.