A customary law system is a system based on long-standing traditions in a particular community. Traditions are so deeply rooted in society that the courts recognize them as enforceable rules. However, customary law is rarely interpreted and applied by the government. Instead, the selected leaders of the group usually apply the laws of custom. As a result, customary laws are usually not written down and are only revealed to members of the group. Today, the common law is found in closed and isolated communities combined with common law or civil law systems, allowing them to coexist with systems of government in a hybrid system. However, some of these legal systems are often and more correctly qualified as hybrid in nature: the Islamic legal system, consisting of Sharia (Islamic law) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), is the most widespread religious legal system and, along with common law and civil law, one of the three most common legal systems in the world. [22] It is based both on divine law derived from the hadith of the Qur`an and Sunnah, and on the decisions of ulema (jurists), who use the methods of ijma (consensus), qiyas (analogous deduction), ijtihad (research) and urf (common practice) to derive fatwā (legal advice). An ulema had to qualify for an ijazah (Doctor of Laws) in a madrasa (law school or college) before he could issue a fatwah.
[23] During the Islamic Golden Age, classical Islamic law may have influenced the development of common law[6] and several civil law institutions. [24] Sharia law governs a number of Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, although most countries use Sharia law only as a complement to national legislation. It can concern all aspects of civil law, including property rights, contracts and public law. A legal system is a procedure or procedure for interpreting and applying the law. Whatever their origin, most legal systems agree on certain fundamental premises. First, no one can be guilty of a crime if the offence has not been previously defined as such and if the sentence has not been pronounced through a legal procedure. This implies the need to clarify criminal law, prohibit its retroactive effect and certain notions of “fair trial” and the availability of a lawyer. Second, no one can be prosecuted twice for the same thing. Third, it is a crime to attempt a crime or conspire with others to commit one. Fourth, an alleged criminal must have a certain mindset to be convicted of the crime. Private law defines who is considered to have legal capacity and deals with their legal capacity (for the protection of the very young or mentally ill).These natural persons may create other “artificial” legal entities such as associations, foundations and companies. Today`s national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, law, religious law or a combination of these. However, each country`s legal system is shaped by its unique history and therefore includes individual variants. [1] The science that studies law at the level of legal systems is called comparative law. The idea of providing a country with a single written constitution is relatively modern, but now widespread. In many countries, the constitution follows a decisive event in national history, such as war, revolution or independence. The methods by which a constitution can be changed have both legal and political significance. They may divide the power of amendment between the people, the legislature and the executive, or between a federation and its constituent parts.
They can express core values by declaring certain immutable characteristics. Some constitutions stipulate that certain issues can only be changed by referendum or by an entirely new constitution. In federal systems, changes typically require special majorities in the federal legislature, followed by ratification by a special majority of the states. A hybrid legal system combines parts of more than one approach to create a system that is unique in the country. Many countries have mixed legal systems that include general, civil, religious, and customary systems.59 For example, the state of Louisiana has a hybrid system. Louisiana uses some common law, but it also uses a civil justice system for much of its state laws and procedures because of its origins as a French territory. Even on recognized tribal lands, customary tribal rights can be used instead of state or federal laws. Another example is the Philippine system, which, because of its history, includes French civil law, American-style common law, Sharia law, and indigenous common law.60 Many African countries have a parallel tribal or ethnic legal system for adjudicating family law issues.61 Despite the usefulness of different classifications, Each legal system has its own individual identity.