Topic
Common law
About: Common law is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 30135 publications have been published within this topic receiving 280701 citations. The topic is also known as: judicial precedent & judge-made law.
Papers published on a yearly basis
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TL;DR: In fact, while strict settlement was one type of marriage settlement, it was certainly not what most people meant by a marriage settlement as mentioned in this paper, and therefore it was not the best choice for most women.
Abstract: T wo varieties of marriage settlement are known to historians. The first and better known is strict settlement, thoroughly explored in the work of Habakkuk, Stone, Clay, Cooper, Bonfield, and Saville and English. The principal feature of strict settlement was the entailment of property upon the eldest son and his eldest son, reinforcing the practice of primogeniture and (according to some) engendering the phenomenon known as the 'rise of great estates' in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is generally thought that these settlements were confined to the aristocracy, on the assumption that no one else had so keen an interest in the entail of property, or cash to pay the solicitor to write the conveyance.' Strict settlement has come to be regarded as synonymous with marriage settlements generally, serving to reinforce the idea of early modern England as an intensely patriarchal society in which women were largely victimized by the common law of marriage. In fact, while strict settlement was one type of marriage settlement, it was certainly not what most people meant by a marriage settlement. The other, and less commonly known, type of marriage settlement is the trust for a married woman's 'sole and separate estate', which preserved a woman's independent interest in specified property during her marriage. Separate estate was defensible only in equity, as opposed to common law, and formed the basis of legal reform in the late nineteenth century. For this reason, historians of the Victorian married women's property law reforms have focused on marriage settlements for separate estate. Two legal historians, Kenny and Lawrence, wrote shortly after the reforms; now, a century later, a political analysis has been contributed by Holcombe.2 Although the English practice of separate estate is generally thought to have originated in the late sixteenth century, the only detailed studies of the use of these trusts in the early modern period relate to colonial America.3 Both Victorianists and
80 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors find a strong parallel in common law to the forces that change statute law, including rent seeking by special interest groups, and propose a straightforward remedy for this omission.
80 citations
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04 Sep 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, Koopmans compares the way American, British, French and German law and politics deal with different issues: in many instances subjects which are highly "political" in one country constitute legal issues in another.
Abstract: The frontier between 'law' and 'politics' is not always clear-cut. A large area exists where courts operate, but where governments and parliaments also make decisions. Tim Koopmans compares the way American, British, French and German law and politics deal with different issues: in many instances subjects which are highly 'political' in one country constitute legal issues in another. Is there, for example a 'sovereign Parliament' (as there is in Britain), or will courts control the compatibility of statutes with the Constitution (as in the United States and Germany)? How far can courts go in controlling the legality of administrative action? Are there general legal theories about the frontier between what courts and what politics can do? Koopmans considers case law on a range of issues, including human rights protection, federalism, separation of powers, equal protection and the impact of European and international law.
79 citations
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TL;DR: UK law respects the rights of families to privacy, autonomy, and minimal outside intervention but acknowledges that parental rights decline during adolescence.
Abstract: Adolescence represents the final phase in the transition from the dependence of infancy to the autonomy of adulthood. It can be difficult for young people, parents, and health professionals alike, because of the nature and speed of change. Uncertainty over ethical and legal rights and responsibilities may lead professionals to refuse to see adolescents aged under 16 years on their own for fear of incurring parental wrath or even legal action. Disputes may arise in relation to an adolescent's competence to seek, consent to, or refuse medical treatment, and his or her right to confidentiality. In most cases these disputes can be resolved by discussion, compromise, and partnership, but in extreme circumstances the courts may be involved.
Balancing rights and responsibilities in adolescent care
All professionals have a duty to act in the best interests of their patients. Adults have the right to decide what their best interests are and to have their choices respected. Legally, adolescents' rights to make decisions for themselves depend on their ability to do so (called competence). Ethically, however, professionals have a duty to respect the rights of adolescents, irrespective of their ability to make decisions for themselves, provided that to respect these rights does not result in harm to the adolescent or to others (as laid down in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child).
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The legal principle underpinning provision of health care for children (under 18s) in the United Kingdom is that their best interests (welfare) are paramount. Legal duties are defined both by statute—for example, the Children Act 1989 and the UK Human Rights Act 1998—and by common law, which derives general principles from specific cases. UK law respects the rights of families to privacy, autonomy, and minimal outside intervention but acknowledges that parental rights decline during adolescence. In deciding …
79 citations