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Introduction
One of the basic issues of human tradition is that societies form a code of morality
and ethics in order to retain a positive and cooperative (e.g. social) state of affairs. Since
humanity is all part of some type of tradition, then it stands that legal traditions, through
the ages, are able to provide us with information about ways in which past societies
operated, and the lessons they can impart for present and future society. These traditions
enforce legal system, which, for the modern British culture, were inspired by Ancient
Roman legal tradition. The power of this rubric is that statutory interpretation becomes
critical to the function of modern Courts. It is through this interpretation that the law
becomes a living example of societal paradigms, which evolve as culture evolves and
take on new and unique challenges to technological and philosophical changes within
society.
The Concept of Civil and Common Law
Before analysing the concept of statutes and their importance to modern law, we
will first provide a basic overview to civil and common law, which are necessary to
understand when dealing with interpretation and law as a living paradigm. Conceptually,
civil law is a group of legal ideas and systems that were derived from the Code of
Justinian, but, because of legal traditions and numerous migrations (Diasporas) in the
Ancient World, the legal tradition has numerous other rubrics overlaid: Germanic,
Church based, feudal, and even local practices from various areas. While there are
differences say, between the Germanic model and the French model, the civil codes
emphasise form, structure and explanation of both abstract and concrete principles of law.
The legal reasoning begins with the general and then moves to the specific. The function
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of the jurists within the civil-law system is to analyse the basic codes and legislation for
the formulation of general theories; then to allow the system to help take those general
theories and move them into the practical (we might call it strategic versus tactical)
system of applications. Jurists apply deductive reasoning to suggest an appropriate
judgment or result in specific cases again, based on the generalities of case law.
Historically, this jurist work took the form of treatises and commentaries that became the
doctrine used by judges in their deliberations about specific cases, lawyers for advice to
their clients, and legislators in the preparation of statues and regulations (Merryman &
Perez, 2007).
Common law originated in England under Saxon rule as opposed to a Roman or
European tradition. It is sometimes referred to as case law, sometimes as precedent law,
and has evolved and developed over time through decisions of a number of legal sources
(Courts, tribunals, etc.). English common law has been exported to much of the world,
and holds that under cultural tradition, law develops and changes with society. Since
society evolves over time, so should law, and these changes should be reflected in legal
decisions as opposed to simply looking at judicial interpretations. In this way, Courts
look at a specific action and use cultural traditions to base new decisions. This tends to
form a more solid legal tradition in which the past forms the basis of the present and
future. However, in many countries, civil tradition takes precedence or, legislative
interpretations of the law trump local legal decisions (Elliot & Quinn, 2013).
In practice, common law systems are far more complex than simply a system of
using case law developed through judges and decisions to implement policy. The
decisions of courts are typically binding only in certain jurisdictions, and even within
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those jurisdictions, some courts have more power and authority than others. An example
of this is the appellate court system which tend to be binding on lower courts within the
same jurisdictions and on future decisions of the same appellate court. However,
decisions of lower courts are only non-binding persuasive authority and interactions
between common law, constitutional law, statutory law and regulatory law make this an
extraordinarily complex system; and, some would say, quite inefficient for the broader
legal tradition as a whole (Edlin, 2007).
There are positives to common law, too. Common law evolves more rapidly to
meet changing social and cultural needs because it uses precedent as a flexible legal tool.
Common law courts are not absolutely bound by precedent and often reinterpret and
revise legal tradition, with or without legislative implications. This often occurs when,
over time, it becomes necessary to adapt to new trends in political, legal, and social
philosophy. In addition, common law traditionally evolves through a series of gradual
steps (slowly over time), then also gradually over a decade or so works out the legal
intricacies so that over a generation the law changes without too many disruptive effects.
This is in contrast to legislative instrumentalism legislative processes are notoriously
difficult to start and even more resistant to change until the legal situation is intolerable.
Therefore, by the time the legislature acts, changes are often overly dramatic and
disruptive with numerous unintended consequences (Edlin).
Statutes
In general, a statute is a formal written enactment of some type of legislative
authority within legal tradition. Usually, statutes declare policy, prohibit actions or
command adherence to law. In legal terms, a statute is used to distinguish between case
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law, which is decided by the Court system, and law made by governmental agencies.
Sometimes, statues are referred to as black letter law or legislation, since they are
considered a primary, rather than secondary, source of law. Statutes tend to acquire force
and authority over time and may be public or private, declatory or remedial, or temporary
or perpetual. A temporary statue is one that is limited in duration and only continues until
the date of expiration or time repealed. A perpetual statues is one in which there is no
time limit, but it may be repealed (Slapper & Kelly, 2013).
Bibliography

Edlin, D., ed., 2007. Common Law Theory. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge Univeristy
Press.
Elliott, C. & Quinn, F., 2013. English Legal System. 13th ed. New York: Pearson.
Merryman, J. & Perez, R., 2007. The Civil Law Tradition. 3rd ed. Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press.
Slapper, G. & Kelly, D., 2013. The English Legal System. 14th ed. London: Routledge.



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Common Phrase