What is English law?
[[File:The Jury (1861).jpg|right|300px|thumb|{{center|The Jury (1861) by John Morgan}}]] '''English law''', also called '''common law''', is the legal system of [[England]] and [[Wales]]. It is generally divided into [[criminal law]] and [[civil law]]. It spread to many parts of the former [[British Empire]] including [[Australia]], [[Canada]] (except [[Quebec]] which uses [[civil law]]), the [[United States]] (except [[Louisiana]] which uses civil law) and [[New Zealand]], and many other countries.<ref name=introINBRIEF>{{cite web |url=http://www.inbrief.co.uk/legal-system/english-law/ |title=English Law: An introduction |publisher=In Brief |access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref> There are about 80 countries worldwide that use mainly common law systems.<ref name=syamWUSL>{{cite web |url=https://onlinelaw.wustl.edu/blog/common-law-vs-civil-law/ |title=What is the Difference Between Common Law and Civil Law? |author=Piyali Syam |date=28 January 2014 |publisher=Washington University School of Law |access-date=18 February 2016}}</ref> About 150 countries use the [[civil law]] system.<ref name=syamWUSL/> English [[law]] is [[wikt:unique|unique]] in that it is based on applying [[legal precedent]] to present and future decisions made by [[judge]]s.<ref name=introINBRIEF/> A judge must follow past [[Legal case|legal decisions]] made by higher [[court]]s but not necessarily those made by lower courts.<ref name=introINBRIEF/> English law is not based on a [[constitution]] and there is no [[Codification (law)|codification]] of laws.<ref name=DUKELAW>{{cite web |url=https://law.duke.edu/lib/researchguides/english/ |title=English Law |publisher=Duke Law School |access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref> However, there are [[wikt:unofficial|unofficial]] [[publication]]s that provide [[organize]]d [[wikt:list|list]]s of current laws.<ref name=DUKELAW/> [[Parliament]] has the power to create laws which are [[wikt:automatically|automatically]] considered [[wikt:valid|valid]] and may not be [[wikt:review|review]]ed by the courts.<ref nam