The key to understanding common law system is their adversarial nature Essay

The key to understanding common law system is their adversarial nature - Essay Example Today, the common law is said to be a mixture, not only of court judgments, but also of statutes and equity and still retaining its distinguishing characteristic of being unwritten, as opposed to statutory law, although many leading and precedent cases have seen printing in law reports and journals. 1 The common law system, is however best understood by studying the components of its adversarial nature. Anglo-Saxon kings like Ine in 689-725 and Alfred the Great (875-900), caused the issuance of codes and laws during their reigns that were largely reflections of ancient customs in addition to some new innovations. The primitive practice, for example, of private vengeance in blood-feuds although not outlawed, but there were subtle moves to restrain them imposing upon a tariff called wergild set by the king, where a man’s value, determined by his social standing, had a corresponding price to be paid when he is wronged. 2 The common law countries, like the Great Britain, the United States and Australia, employ the adversarial mode of trial whilst Continental Europe observes the non-adversarial or inquisitorial judicial system. The distinction between the two is that â€Å"the adversarial mode of proceeding takes it shape from a contest or a dispute: it unfolds as an engagement of two adversaries before a relatively passive decision maker whose principal duty is to reach a verdict. The non-adversarial mode is structured as an official inquiry. Under the first system, the two adversaries take charge of most procedural action; under the second, officials perform most activities.† 3 Moreover, adversarial systems are characterised by the following: the parties to the action control its flow or conduct; the trial consists of a continuous hearing and is the center of the judicial system; the production of evidence falls in the hands of the contending parties; the rules of court has no compulsory role. This is