CH. 1
Legal certainty:
1. Certainty about the content of law
2. Certainty that the law will be enforced
3. Certainty that the law will be applied consistently
Customary law: guidelines for behavior that have grown spontaneously in society and are passed
on through generations. These laws are immutable, meaning they change, but the changes go
unnoticed.
Roman laws got codified in order for the laws to be equal for all citizens and not in favor of the
elite.
- Praetor: lawyer responsible for establishing the precise content of the law
- Iudex: responsible for determination of the case facts
- Corpus Iuris Civilis: attempt to codify Roman law
In common law royal justices traveled around to apply the law everywhere.
- Developed stare decisis
- Case based: comparing and contrasting new cases with old cases that have already been
decided
Equity: supposed to result in obtaining fair results. People can appeal for reconsideration
Canon law: Roman Catholic Church law
- Internal organization
- Civil affairs
Ius commune: students went to study law and returned to their homes where they spread the
same law everywhere.
Peace of Westphalia: treaty that allowed for Nation-States that all had sovereign, exclusive
power over own territory.
Westphalian Duo: National State Laws with International Public Law
- Challenged by:
1. Human rights
2. Formation European Union
3. Revival of Lex Mercatoria: transnational commerce laws
French Revolution: formation of codes that led to legal certainty and spread of Roman law across
the continent
Germany: historical school; codification fossilizes the spirit of the law
CH 2
Legal syllogism: If...then… consists of two premises and one conclusion
, Classification: translation from concrete case description to the abstract case description that
matches the rule conditions
Official sources civil law: legislation, treaties, etc
Official sources common law: precedents
- Ratio decidendi: the decisive grounds that led to the court decision. Used for future cases
Sources Thesis: there is an official source for every legal rule
Canons of interpretation:
1. Literal/Grammatical Interpretation: literal meaning of words
2. Mischief rule/legislative intent: rule is intended to achieve particular results
3. Golden rule/purposive interpretation: refer to intention of the formulator of the rule, but
determines purpose herself
Lex Superior: central legislator is superior to local legislator
Lex Specialis: more specific rule prevails over more general rule
Lex Posterior: newer rule prevails over the older one
CH 3
Private law: between citizens
- Property law
- Contract law
Legal certainty:
1. Certainty about the content of law
2. Certainty that the law will be enforced
3. Certainty that the law will be applied consistently
Customary law: guidelines for behavior that have grown spontaneously in society and are passed
on through generations. These laws are immutable, meaning they change, but the changes go
unnoticed.
Roman laws got codified in order for the laws to be equal for all citizens and not in favor of the
elite.
- Praetor: lawyer responsible for establishing the precise content of the law
- Iudex: responsible for determination of the case facts
- Corpus Iuris Civilis: attempt to codify Roman law
In common law royal justices traveled around to apply the law everywhere.
- Developed stare decisis
- Case based: comparing and contrasting new cases with old cases that have already been
decided
Equity: supposed to result in obtaining fair results. People can appeal for reconsideration
Canon law: Roman Catholic Church law
- Internal organization
- Civil affairs
Ius commune: students went to study law and returned to their homes where they spread the
same law everywhere.
Peace of Westphalia: treaty that allowed for Nation-States that all had sovereign, exclusive
power over own territory.
Westphalian Duo: National State Laws with International Public Law
- Challenged by:
1. Human rights
2. Formation European Union
3. Revival of Lex Mercatoria: transnational commerce laws
French Revolution: formation of codes that led to legal certainty and spread of Roman law across
the continent
Germany: historical school; codification fossilizes the spirit of the law
CH 2
Legal syllogism: If...then… consists of two premises and one conclusion
, Classification: translation from concrete case description to the abstract case description that
matches the rule conditions
Official sources civil law: legislation, treaties, etc
Official sources common law: precedents
- Ratio decidendi: the decisive grounds that led to the court decision. Used for future cases
Sources Thesis: there is an official source for every legal rule
Canons of interpretation:
1. Literal/Grammatical Interpretation: literal meaning of words
2. Mischief rule/legislative intent: rule is intended to achieve particular results
3. Golden rule/purposive interpretation: refer to intention of the formulator of the rule, but
determines purpose herself
Lex Superior: central legislator is superior to local legislator
Lex Specialis: more specific rule prevails over more general rule
Lex Posterior: newer rule prevails over the older one
CH 3
Private law: between citizens
- Property law
- Contract law
