3.2.1.3 Common law

In addition to legislation, common law has been developed by courts and judges.1 The whole idea of common law is to refer to the relevant precedent cases.2 This practice dates back to the 13th century, when royal judges in England began to keep records of the reasoning based on which they had reached their decisions.3 Courts developed the practice of comparing a case that had to be adjudicated to previous cases to arrive at a decision.4 How an article was construed by a previous court will therefore influence the effect of this article as well as later decisions based on this article.