What's the difference between statue and common law?

Answer 1

Hey Gords.

Statute is the law which is laid down by the legislature, it is legal text which is promulgated by parliament, or law making organs of state.

Common Law is the law of our 'ancestors'. It is that law which has been developed since before (in my case South Africa) the country was founded, through the various colonisations and various changes in Government structures. It is law which has infiltrated the country through historical means.

For example, South Africa's common law comes from Roman Law, Dutch Law, Roman-Dutch Law, English Law and a few other sources. Presently, statute covers most areas of the law, but those areas which statute does not cover are covered by the common law. Should there be a question of law over which there is no ruling legislation, judges will review the old common law texts to ascertain what the old authors said about a specific topic.

I hope this covers it all, as common law is quite a comprehensive concept to define in one go, as you can clearly see.

Take it easy.

Answer 2

Statutes are laws written by the states' legislatures or the Congress. Common law is interpretation of those laws by the Courts or the creation of an aspect of law by the Courts. For example, in my state, our state Supreme Court has held every contract has "an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing." That means every party to a contract in my state has the IMPLIED obligation to be fair with the other. Is that written anywhere in the contract or the state statutes? No. It was created by the Court. Is it fair and logicial? Yes. It does no more than tell people to treat each other fairly in contracts. Some people would call that judicial activism; some see it as simple logic.
Another meaning of "Common law" is the laws that had their basis in the English law that existed when our nation was formed. My state was founded by the Spanish in 1540 and the basis of my state's law is Spanish civil law. In civil law, everything is written in the statutes. In common law, much of the statutory law is preceeded by a Court decision or is simply based on a Court decision.
Roe v. Wade is another good example. Griswald v. Conn. was an earlier Supreme Court case that found a right to privacy in the Constitution. Roe v. Wade is based upon that right to privacy. The Constituion never mentions the word "privacy." Therefore, that right is a common law right. Whole books have been written on this topic and I've made it awfully simplistic, but I hope that's helpful. A good, but old, book on the topic, is Sir Edward Coke's "History of the English Common Law."

Answer 3

Statute Law is what Parliament lays down in Acts. Common Law is how judges make precedants based on Statue Law, but they must adhere to it in the best way, and interpret it to the best of their knowledge.

Answer 4

Statutory law is formally established by the legislature (in the US, the state legislature at the state level and the Congress at the federal level). Common law is carried down by traditions and has never been formally established through the legislative process but reflects " precedent derived from centuries of judgments by working jurists."

Answer 5

The statute is the basic law of an entity - state, organisation, company

All the other laws/rules/regulations pertaining to this entity have to be in compliance with this basic law. When they are not, either they are recinded or the statute (in case of the nation - Constitution) has to be amended so they remain in compliance