Legal Methods
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN AFRICA
LEGAL METHODS – 1ST TRIMESTER NOTES – LECTURER FREDA KABATSI
Faculty Vision:
To train the students in the Faculty of Law to become conscientious and ethical lawyers who have an excellent grounding in legal principles and who will provide leadership in Kenya, East Africa and beyond.
OVERVIEW OF LEGAL METHODS * Legal Methods is the study of how law operates in the society and how lawyers, judges and legislative think and do things according to the law. * It is commonly referred to a set of techniques used to analyze and apply the law and to determine the appropriate weight that should be accorded to different sources of law.
SOURCES OF CLASSIFICATION OF LAW
Means the origin from which human conduct comes into existence and derives legal forms.
TERMS TO DEFINE AS SOURCES OF LAW 1. Common Law 2. Equity 3. Customary Law 4. Religion 5. Criminal Law 6. Civil Law 7. International Law
1) COMMON LAW (also known as LAW OF PRECEDENTS) * Common Law if a legal system that is largely formed by the decisions previously made by the court and similar tribunals. * It is also known as Case Law or Law of Precedents. * It is developed by Judges through decisions of courts. * It binds future decisions. * It is based on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different occasions. * This principle is known as staredecisis which literally mean “Let the decision stand”.
HISTORY OF COMMON LAW * It is rooted in centuries of English history. * It began to develop after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. * Matters which had previously been handled by tribunal courts began to be handled by the Kings Court. * The King’s Court evolved into a branch of professional justices who were royals with training in Canon of Roman Law. * They appeared periodically in all the countries around England. It was this moving that began the process
LEGAL METHODS – 1ST TRIMESTER NOTES – LECTURER FREDA KABATSI
Faculty Vision:
To train the students in the Faculty of Law to become conscientious and ethical lawyers who have an excellent grounding in legal principles and who will provide leadership in Kenya, East Africa and beyond.
OVERVIEW OF LEGAL METHODS * Legal Methods is the study of how law operates in the society and how lawyers, judges and legislative think and do things according to the law. * It is commonly referred to a set of techniques used to analyze and apply the law and to determine the appropriate weight that should be accorded to different sources of law.
SOURCES OF CLASSIFICATION OF LAW
Means the origin from which human conduct comes into existence and derives legal forms.
TERMS TO DEFINE AS SOURCES OF LAW 1. Common Law 2. Equity 3. Customary Law 4. Religion 5. Criminal Law 6. Civil Law 7. International Law
1) COMMON LAW (also known as LAW OF PRECEDENTS) * Common Law if a legal system that is largely formed by the decisions previously made by the court and similar tribunals. * It is also known as Case Law or Law of Precedents. * It is developed by Judges through decisions of courts. * It binds future decisions. * It is based on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different occasions. * This principle is known as staredecisis which literally mean “Let the decision stand”.
HISTORY OF COMMON LAW * It is rooted in centuries of English history. * It began to develop after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. * Matters which had previously been handled by tribunal courts began to be handled by the Kings Court. * The King’s Court evolved into a branch of professional justices who were royals with training in Canon of Roman Law. * They appeared periodically in all the countries around England. It was this moving that began the process