St Kitts
Legal System
English Common Law is the foundation of St. Kitts Law and its legal system.
Generally speaking common law, as opposed to civil or socialist law, is a type of legal system where legislation is continually evolving. Courts refine and create laws on a case-by-case basis. When resolving a legal dispute, in the ideal world, a common law court looks to precedents set by other courts. What this means is that when a court is resolving a dispute, it must look to see if a similar dispute was resolved in the past. If one has, then the present day court is obligated to following the same reasoning used in the prior case; this principle is called stare decisis. On the other hand, if the dispute is totally unique, the court may resolve the matter itself using general guidelines. This new decision then becomes the precedent to which all future cases are bound. Over the years, the precedents created by past decisions coalesce into a complicated set of rules that apply to a wide array of case; this collection of rules is known as “common law”. Of course, common law systems are much more complex in practice, nevertheless the principle of stare decisis as described above, is the foundation of all common law systems.
VIEW MORE
Latest news
-
College Financial Aid Help - WMBB-TV
Google News - Panama, 17-February-2008
[full story]
College Financial Aid Help
WMBB-TV, FL - 19 hours ago
By Tuquyen Mach Panama City, FL -- The cost of a college education keeps going up, so the folks at Gulf Coast Community College are seeking to help students ... -
More private individuals investing in regional securities market - Jamaica Observer
Google News - St Kitts, 15-February-2008
[full story]
More private individuals investing in regional securities market
Jamaica Observer, Jamaica - 16 hours ago
At its 26th meeting in St Kitts on February 7, 2008, the Regional Debt Co-ordinating Committee (RDCC) noted that since the start of operations in November ... -
More private individuals investing in regional securities market - Jamaica Observer
Google News - St Kitts, 15-February-2008
[full story]
More private individuals investing in regional securities market
Jamaica Observer, Jamaica - Feb 14, 2008
At its 26th meeting in St Kitts on February 7, 2008, the Regional Debt Co-ordinating Committee (RDCC) noted that since the start of operations in November ...


