Legal families trace colonial lineage, with common law following British colonization

Evidence

The legal system of the United States belongs to the family of commonlaw legal systems. So, too, do the legal systems of other former British colonies, such as Australia, India, and Nigeria. Most legal systems on the European continent belong to the civil-law family, as do the legal systems of most Latin American countries and of former French and Belgian colonies in Africa and Asia. In some countries-for instance, in Japan-the legal system defies easy categorization into a legal fam- ily, because it has derived elements from French, German, English, and American law. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 104

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to comparative-law lineage and postcolonial legal studies covered in the reader’s earlier A Mission to Civilize and colonial law readings. — connects to: World legal systems divide into common-law and civil-law families by origin — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 104

Broader Connections

• World legal systems divide into common-law and civil-law families by origin #expands (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 104