Читать книгу Criminal Law - Mark Thomas - Страница 22

For many years, the common law acted as the driving force for legitimising and providing authority for legal principles. The common law has developed over hundreds of years from the judgments and decisions of the judiciary in the senior appellate courts. Through the operation of case precedent and the principle of stare decisis (‘let the decision stand’), England and Wales has operated, and continues to operate, as a common law system. Although many rules and principles have now been codified in legislative provisions, the common law continues to act alongside and fortify legislation in major areas of the criminal law. One important example of this is the law of murder, which continues to this day to operate as a common law offence defined, and interpreted, by judicial decision making. In addition, as part of their role, the judiciary are responsible for interpreting and giving effect to legislative provisions – such interpretations add to the common law and the judicial law-making system that we have today.