common law
the system of law originating in England, as distinct from the civil or Roman law and the canon or ecclesiastical law.
the unwritten law, especially of England, based on custom or court decision, as distinct from statute law.
the law administered through the system of courts established for the purpose, as distinct from equity or admiralty.
Origin of common law
1Other definitions for common-law (2 of 2)
of, relating to, or established by common law: a common-law spouse.
Origin of common-law
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use common law in a sentence
Less canonically, “natural marriage” is also at times used as a rough synonym for “common-law marriage.”
Single-parent, same-sex, and common-law families barely penetrated public consciousness, much less the Hebrew lexicon.
People-Powered Social Revolution in Israel Promotes Rights of Same-Sex Families | Irit Rosenblum | November 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTCommon-law partnerships have their own independent authority and validity.
Israeli Attorney Suggests Common-Law Marriage As an Act of Civil Disobedience | Irit Rosenblum | November 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTCommon-law partnership makes the couple, and not the government or religious institution, the authority in family life.
Israeli Attorney Suggests Common-Law Marriage As an Act of Civil Disobedience | Irit Rosenblum | November 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTCommon-law partnership offers privacy and autonomy in a world of increasing intrusion and regulation.
Israeli Attorney Suggests Common-Law Marriage As an Act of Civil Disobedience | Irit Rosenblum | November 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The common law forms much the largest part of the great body of law under which we live.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bollescommon law means the decisions made by the state and federal courts.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesThe common law is therefore always slowly changing like the ocean and is never at rest.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesAgain, common law decisions are not binding on the courts that make them like statutes or legislative commands.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesThe transfers of property covered by the act are those which the common law regards as fraudulent.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles
British Dictionary definitions for common law
the body of law based on judicial decisions and custom, as distinct from statute law
the law of a state that is of general application, as distinct from regional customs
common-law (modifier) denoting a marriage deemed to exist after a couple have cohabited for several years: common-law marriage; common-law wife
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for common law
Law developed in the course of time from the rulings of judges, as opposed to law embodied in statutes passed by legislatures (statutory law) or law embodied in a written constitution (constitutional law). (See stare decisis.)
Notes for common law
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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