<P> Since 1189 , English law has been described as a common law rather than a civil law system ; in other words , no comprehensive codification of the law has taken place and judicial precedents are binding as opposed to persuasive . This may be a legacy of the Norman conquest of England , when a number of legal concepts and institutions from Norman law were introduced to England . In the early centuries of English common law , the justices and judges were responsible for adapting the system of writs to meet everyday needs , applying a mixture of precedent and common sense to build up a body of internally consistent law . An example is the Law Merchant derived from the `` Pie - Powder '' Courts , named from a corruption of the French pieds - poudrés ( `` dusty feet '' ) implying ad hoc marketplace courts . As the Parliament of England became ever more established and influential , legislation gradually overtook judicial law - making such that today , judges are only able to innovate in certain very narrowly defined areas . </P>
<P> Since 1189 , English law has been described as a common law rather than a civil law system ; in other words , no comprehensive codification of the law has taken place and judicial precedents are binding as opposed to persuasive . This may be a legacy of the Norman conquest of England , when a number of legal concepts and institutions from Norman law were introduced to England . In the early centuries of English common law , the justices and judges were responsible for adapting the system of writs to meet everyday needs , applying a mixture of precedent and common sense to build up a body of internally consistent law . An example is the Law Merchant derived from the `` Pie - Powder '' Courts , named from a corruption of the French pieds - poudrés ( `` dusty feet '' ) implying ad hoc marketplace courts . As the Parliament of England became ever more established and influential , legislation gradually overtook judicial law - making such that today , judges are only able to innovate in certain very narrowly defined areas . </P>
when was the emergence of the english court system
when was the emergence of the english court system
1189
1189