1. Muhammad Talha Khosa (01-177151-030)
Toheed Arshad (01-177151-029)
Western Sources of LAW
History of western law
Let me say first what I mean by the three words "Western" "legal" and "tradition" especially when
the three words are put together as a single concept, a single phenomenon.
By "the West" I mean the historically developing culture of the peoples of Western Europe, who
from the late eleventh to the early sixteenth century shared a common allegiance to the Roman
Catholic papal hierarchy, and who from the sixteenth century to the twentieth century experienced
a series of national revolutions, each of which had repercussions throughout Europe and I include
also non-European peoples who eventually were brought within the historically developing
Western culture by colonization or, as in the case of Russia, by religious and political and cultural
affinity and interchange.
By "legal" I mean the systems of positive law and legal science that have developed in the West
since the twelfth century, legal systems that share common historical foundations, common
sources, common concepts. The first such legal system was the canon law of the Roman Catholic
Church. Enacted, in part, by the papacy and church councils, and enforced by a hierarchy of
ecclesiastical courts, the canon law, prior to the rise of Protestantism, governed every person in
Western Christendom, from England to Poland and from Scandinavia to Sicily.
By "tradition" I mean the sense of continuity between past and future, the partnership, as Edmund
Burke put it, of the generations, the looking backward to our ancestors for inspiration in moving
forward to our posterity.' Jaroslav Pelikan has contrasted this allegiance to tradition with
traditionalism: traditionalism, he writes, is the dead faith of the living, tradition is the living faith
of the dead.
Legislation:
According to Salmond, Legislation is laying down of rules by a sovereign or subordinate legislator.
The law of every country reflects its civilization and often the diversity in legal systems may be
attributed to differences in culture, philosophy, and the conditions of social life.
The comparison of the laws of the Western world with those of China, for example, reveals
differences in their conceptions of law explainable in terms of the diversity of the civilizations in
which they are found.
The comparison of Soviet law with the laws of Western countries, on the other hand, reveals
differences of philosophy rather than of general civilization. Among the countries of the Western
world, however, no important cultural difference is to be found and yet the laws of these countries
do differ greatly.

2. Customs:
The nature of things, the problems raised by admitting that custom may be a source of law are
likely to be similar in all systems. There will probably be, too, a substantial similarity between the
rules of different jurisdictions. To require that a custom should be uniform, certain and notorious.
for example in a sense, only to require that it should exist as a custom without these qualities a
custom could not reasonably be treated as a source of law. Nevertheless, the particular way in
which a problem arises and is disposed of may be affected by historical accident or other legal
principle. while it can be said that the law of Scotland and that of England in relation to the place
of custom as a source of law are substantially similar and in some respects identical in other
respects the jurisdictions differ.
Religion:
Religion had been important source of law even in a remote past of modern secular states. In
primitive societies religion was not regarded merely a matter of faith dealing with a ritual or
dogmatic issues but it regulated human conduct in all phases of life. That is why spiritual leaders
were regarded custodian of worldly affairs as well. Most of the early ages also reflect religious
beliefs. Ancient Roman Law , for example, is a clear illustration .
Precedent:
Precedent constitutes cases and legal issues previously decided by a court. These cases are
frequently utilized by other courts in order to resolve present, pending cases and legal issues.
Imagine that the law in the state where you live allows for passengers over nine years of age or
children over 80 pounds to ride in the front seat of an automobile. You and your nine-year-old
daughter are driving the car, with both of you in the front seat, when you get pulled over by a
police officer. The police officer issues you a ticket for violating the age limit on the State law on
the basis that your child was in the front seat. You go to court to fight the ticket.
The judge reviews the law and determines that you are not guilty of any crime; your child was nine
years old and therefore you satisfied the requirements of the law. In reaching this determination,
the judge looked to prior interpretations of the State law. The judge's reliance on the prior
interpretations is called legal 'precedent.'
Treaty:
A treaty is a formally concluded and ratified agreement between independent governments. When
we say that treaties are formal, we mean that treaties are written agreements. When we say that
treaties are ratified, we mean that treaties must be approved by all of the parties to the treaty before
the treaty can take effect.
Treaties are international agreements. Independent states, international organizations or countries
can make treaties. A treaty requires at least two parties; these treaties are called bilateral treaties.
A treaty can include many parties; these treaties are called multilateral treaties. Treaties are
sometimes called conventions, pacts or accords. Once executed, a treaty becomes international
law and is binding on the parties to the agreement.

3. Constitution:
constitutional law deals with the basic relationships between the different entities in our society.
These relationships include those between the states, the states and the federal government, the
three branches of the federal government, the federal government and foreign nations, individuals
and state government, and individuals and the federal government.
More than any other relationship, constitutional law is thought to govern the relationship between
individuals and the federal government. Therefore, much of constitutional law involves
interpreting the Constitution as it relates to the individual rights and freedoms.
References:
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-constitutional-law-definition-example.html
http://static.luiss.it/erasmuslaw/uk/Ingh2.html#x1
http://www.department.dotag.wa.gov.au/_files/How_to_read_legislation.pdf
http://www.law.yale.edu/intellectuallife/lawreligion_workshop.htm