Quote:
Originally Posted by Morecambe Ex Pat
When you say 'Laws on Everything', I was asked about specific things, none of which I could think of, rather than just a sweeping statement without any examples.
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The question of law is fundamental to why I voted to leave and, though I'm not a lawyer (I do have my standards) the simplest way I've had it explained to me is as follows.
In Great Britain, we have always had "common law". This has been built up over a thousand+ years of a relatively homogenous society, albeit one that hasn't been free of conflict. It derives from kings, judges, and eventually juries considering individual cases, disputes between real people based on the way real people behave, using 'common sense' which then, over time, come to be used as precedents to all cases.
Across much of Europe, they have codified laws (e.g. Napoleonic code) whereby laws are written down by rulers, in the abstract, and are based on how people 'should' behave. They are then applied, regardless of individual circumstances.
I've heard said that the difference between Britain and, for example, Germany is that, in Britain, we can do anything we want unless it is expressly against the law. In Germany, you cannot do anything that is not permitted by the law. Unless the state expressly allows it as your right, it's against the law.
Probably a simplified example but, if basically true, that's a subtle but significant difference in the approach to law and citizens' freedoms.