afterhrs said:
By using the term "case laws", that would mean all laws that required futher interpertation and subsequent rulings?
Thank you,
Afterhrs
My response:
Case law is decided at the appellate level; e.g., Court of Appeals, which is a three-judge panel, or the State Supreme Court, on which seven justices sit on the bench; and then there's the United States Supreme court, on which nine justices sit on the bench.
Sometimes, decisions of the lower court (the trial court) are "appealed" to the higher, or appellate, courts. If the decision of the Appellate court is of such a nature that the decision would affect a great number of people (not just the litigants), then that decision may very well be printed in a bound book, for use in future litigation as "precident" for a particular situation - - what we call "case law". Sometimes, the State Supreme Court, or even the U.S. Supreme Court, hears cases from the three-judge appellate courts to determine if a particular determination (decision) is Constitutional.
When a higher court of Appeals, like the State Supreme, or the U.S. Supreme, courts refuse to hear a case, or refuse to change the decision of a lower appellate panel, those higher courts are relying on the doctrine of "Stare Decisis" - - "Let the decision stand".
This process, and system of justice, is called "Common Law", which is derived from English law, going all the way back to the Magna Carta.
IAAL