Common Law vs Statutory Law

First, you must understand the difference between common law and statutory law.

“Common law” is that set of commonly acknowledged rules that everyone should know and obey out of common sense and common decency. It has often been said that common law makes common sense to the common man.

Common law has been slowly and informally collected into a set of beliefs that are accepted as the way things should be by most western European people. It is sometimes called English Common Law because the British legal system was built on it.

Statutory law is the legal structure created by those who want or need to govern people.

Common law is simple; the common man can and will understand it.

Statutory law is complex; sometimes only attorneys and legislators can understand it.

Common law is based on the belief that there is a God and he has given man certain rights which should not be abrogated by any government.

Statutory law is based on a belief that man must be limited if he is to live in association with others.

Common law has as its goal maximum individual freedom.

Statutory law has as its goal the common good, or that which is expedient, in order to ruffle the fewest feathers and hurt the fewest feelings.

Another way of saying it is, Common Law is based on what is right and wrong, and statutory law is based on what is legal and illegal.

While common law and statutory law can and should coexist peacefully, they do have at their roots different presuppositions, goals and purposes.

TP