Key Difference: Common Laws are laws that have come about of been enacted based on court rulings. These laws are developed based on rulings that have been given in older court cases. Constitutional Law is the body of law that defines the relationship between different entities within a nation, most commonly the judiciary, the executive and the legislature bodies.
Laws play an important part in the society. Imagine a world without laws, it would be complete chaos. People would do as they wish and there would be no consequences. Hence, laws were established to ensure that everyone has a strict moral code that they must follow. Certain things such as stealing and murdering are not correct. Laws also ensure that people that disobey the laws must pay for their crimes and that no criminal is above the law, no matter what their social standing is. Common law and constitutional law are two types of laws that often confuse people that are not well-versed with the law books. These are two different aspects of law.
Common Laws are laws that have come about of been enacted based on court rulings. These laws are developed based on rulings that have been given in older court cases. Common laws are also known as case law or precedent. These rules can be written as well as unwritten. In a common law justice system, the laws of a country depend on the rulings or decisions of courts or other tribunals, where it is believed justice prevailed. The general principal of this system is that similar cases with similar facts and issues should not be treated differently. If there is a dispute between laws, the authority or precedent looks to past cases and must provide the same reasoning and decision that was provided in the first case. The laws can also be altered and evolved based on the circumstances. The judges also have the authority to create new laws. Many countries live in common law systems or mixed systems.
Constitutional Law is the body of law that defines the relationship between different entities within a nation, most commonly the judiciary, the executive and the legislature bodies. Not all nations have a codified constitution, though all of them have some sort of document that states certain laws when the nation was established. These rules could state the basic human rights of the man and women of that state, including rights to own property, freedom of speech, etc. The main purpose of the constitutional law is to govern the law making bodies in the nation. It gives them set boundaries of the laws they cannot violate. For example, the law makers cannot violate the public’s rights to do certain things such as freedom of speech, right to petition, freedom of assembly, etc. The constitutional law of a country can be changed if the government falls or changes. Additions can also be made to the constitution in form of amendments.
In short, common law are the laws that are developed based on old court decisions, while constitution laws are laws that were established when the constitution of the land was written. Both the laws are used for governing the people and giving them with certain rights.
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