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England and Wales are constituent countries of the United
Kingdom, which is a member of the European Union. Hence, EU law is a
part of English law. The European Union consists mainly of countries
which use civil law and so the civil law system is also in England in this
form. The European Court of Justice can direct English and Welsh courts
on the meaning of areas of law in which the EU has passed legislation.

Task 3. Complete the text using the proposed words. Discuss the text
with the partner.
dealt with, precedents, Continental law, civil disputes, cases,
common law, codify, to apply, innocence, judge, common law systems,
principle, customs, facts, interpreted, under the authority of

Common law systems
Common law, or case law systems, particularly that of England,
differ from … in having developed gradually throughout history, not as
the result of government attempts to define or … every legal relation.
Customs and court rulings have been as important as statutes (government
legislation). Judges do not merely apply the law, in some … they make
law, since their interpretations may become … for other courts to follow.
Before William of Normandy invaded England in 1066, law was
administered by a series of local courts and no law was common to the
whole kingdom. The Norman Kings sent traveling judges around the
country and gradually a "…" developed, …three common law courts in
London. Judges … both criminal cases and … between individuals.
Although local and ancient … played their part, uniform application of the
law throughout the country was promoted by the gradual development of
the doctrine of precedent.
By this …, judges attempted … existing customs and laws to each
new case, rather than looking to the government to write new laws. If the
essential elements of a case were the same as those of previous recorded
cases, then the judge was bound to reach the same decision regarding guilt
or …. If no precedent could be found, then the … made a decision based
upon existing legal principles, and his decision would become a precedent
for other courts to follow when a similar case arose. The doctrine of
precedent is still a central feature of modern .... Courts are bound by the
decisions of previous courts unless it can be shown that the … differ from

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