Common Law has been hugely important in the development of the English legal system. For example, until 1861 there was no Statute Law criminalising murder. Murder had, however, always been considered a crime since courts had from the earliest times considered it to be grossly wrong and therefore obviously criminal. Common Law works through the system of Precedent. If a judge makes a decision in a case then other judges will usually follow the example that has been set and give a similar verdict in cases involving similar facts. If the decision of the first judge should happen to be overruled by a higher court, then subsequent judges would follow the decision of the higher court instead. The judge who makes the first decision effectively makes a law since his or her ruling will be followed in the future. Even in the case of Statute Laws the judges have a vital role to play since it is their task to interpret the laws made by Parliament. Since a judge can only look at what the law actually says, not what Parliament meant it to say, Parliament has to be incredibly careful when drafting new laws.
Common law is used in many different contexts. The word common law is used in the present context to describe the body of legal principles and concepts which were evolved over many centuries by judges in the English courts of law. Common law became part of the law of Australia as a consequence of the settlement of Australia as a British colony.The common law was influential in moulding both the area of and restrictions on freedom in England and those parts of the world which have the common law tradition as their legal foundation. A study of the history, development and modern undermining of the common law is crucial to an analysis of the democratic order, which it has helped to shape and underpin.The common law is the product of long evolved social values which are judicially articulated and interpreted. "Its roots strike deep into the soil of national ideas and institutions" . These rights are ingrained in the national psyche and conduct and command respect.
The crucial importance of the common law has tended to be forgotten in recent times in the course of searching for ad hoc solutions to social problems. This tendency has been the result of the pursuit of particular goals by special interest groups in disregard of long term damage to the foundations of liberty. Even persons who recognise the importance of these rights in their general application sometimes urge departures in relation to matters of particular concern to them.One of the greatest virtues of the common law system is to be found in its capacity to balance the individual interests in liberty with the common concerns and interests of the community.