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Professor Craig Charles Beles
Seattle, Washington, USA

the central.pdf
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¡
System Features
Common Law
Civil Law
Continuity of Legal System
Evolutionary
Revolutionary
Major Source of Law
Custom & Practice
Legislative Statutes
Reliance on Precedent
Strong
Weak
Judicial Role in Law Making
Active/Creative
Passive/Technical
Role of Legal Scholarship
Secondary & Peripheral
Extensive & Influential
Judicial Review of Statutes & Executive Actions
Yes
No
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¡Subject Matter Jurisdiction
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¡Personal (In Personam) Jurisdiction
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¡In Rem Jurisdiction
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¡Enforcement Jurisdiction
§
§
§
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¡“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution . . . are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the people.”
¡
¡Subject Matter Jurisdiction delegated to the federal courts in Article III of Constitution:
§Federal Question (“Arising Under”)
§Alienage (International Diversity)
§Special Cases (Admiralty, Diplomatic Immunity)
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2000px-US_Court_of_Appeals_and_District_Court_map.svg.png
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¡[T]here is no federal general common law.”
¡ Erie Railroad v. Tomkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
¡
¡In the absence of federal legislation, federal courts must apply state substantive law, including
state common law.
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¡Federal Courts may fashion Federal Common Law in a Few & Restricted Areas:
¡
1)Areas involving a “Uniquely Federal Interest” e.g., foreign relations, and
2)
2)Only to Prevent Significant Conflict Between State & Federal Policy
§
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¡Treaties & Conventions
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¡Customary International Law (General & Consistent Practice of Concerned States)
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¡General Principles of International Law (Common Domestic Law)
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¡Judicial Decisions & Writings of Experts
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