The English legal system

Have a little read: ... AS Law - Assignment 1 The English legal system originates from Norman law and is a common law system. When William the Conqueror succeeded the English throne in 1066 (Battle of Hastings), he discovered that England possessed no 'common law' that applied to the whole of the country. In fact, what was in place consisted of 'customary rules' which varied from region to region, with a legal system that comprised of many local courts. William immediately began to establish a strong central government as well as concentrating on standardizing the existing law, from which he used customary laws as a foundation for the new 'common law'. William slowly gained control of the country through the use of subtle tactics and formed the King's Justice which meant that any landholder could apply directly to him in order to settle a dispute or if he was unable to get redress from his Lord. This idea became known as the King's Justice (which was available to all citizens irrespective of where they lived), and was administered by the Curia Regis (King's Court) - a body of advisers to the king. The Curia Regis would employ a system of rules to the whole country which became known as the 'common law'. Following the Norman conquest, William set about constructing a unified government and legal system which applied to the entire country and in a series of Royal Courts. However, two major problems would arise as a result. Firstly, if a case was brought to the attention of the court after the thirteenth century, where no 'writ' had previously been issued, then it would have been highly unlikely you would be able to pursue the case. Secondly, the only remedy that was available from the common law courts was damages which therefore meant that only 'monetary compensation' could be awarded to the claimant, which wasn't always the appropriate course of action. As a result, many became disenchanted with the new system and began to petition the king, as the 'fountain of justice' for a remedy. After a short period of time, the King delegated the responsibility of this matter to his most senior official, the Chancellor. Throughout the following years, the Chancellor initiated a collection of principles that ultimately lead to what is now known as 'equity'. Proceedings in the 'Court of Chancery' could insist that relevant documents be disclosed, as well as questioning the parties in person, unlike the common law courts which did not admit oral evidence until the sixteenth century, and had no way of extracting the truth from litigants. Because the court followed no binding rules, relying entirely on the Chancellor's judgement of what he defined was