Proceedings of the 2026 12th International Conference on Digital Humanities and Frontiers in Social Sciences (DHFSS 2026)

2026 12th International Conference on Digital Humanities and Frontiers in Social Sciences (DHFSS 2026)

📍Beijing, China🗓️ 29-31 May 2026
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Distinctiveness of Common Law

Authors
Yang Liao1, *
1Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
*Corresponding author. Email: vicky_liaoyang@163.com
Corresponding Author
Yang Liao
Available Online 7 September 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_102How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Common law; Civil law; Stare decisis; Legal tradition
Abstract

This essay examines the distinctive characteristics of the common law tradition. It first analyses the conceptual meanings of ‘common law’ from semantic, historical and comparative perspectives, demonstrating how common law emerged. The essay then explores the macro- and micro-level features that distinguish common law, including the central role of judicial precedent, the doctrine of stare decisis, the comparatively limited role of statutes, and the pragmatic orientation of legal reasoning. The essay further investigates how these characteristics manifest in three substantive legal domains: contract law, tort law, and private international law. Through comparative analysis, it argues that the common law tradition is characterised by incremental case-based development, procedural pragmatism, and a strong emphasis on practical dispute resolution, whereas the civil law tradition tends to prioritise codification and conceptual coherence. The common law continues to maintain a distinctive legal mentality rooted in its historical development and judicial method.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2026 12th International Conference on Digital Humanities and Frontiers in Social Sciences (DHFSS 2026)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
7 September 2026
ISBN
978-2-38476-611-6
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_102How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Yang Liao
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/07
TI  - Distinctiveness of Common Law
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 12th International Conference on Digital Humanities and Frontiers in Social Sciences (DHFSS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 944
EP  - 950
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_102
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_102
ID  - Liao2026
ER  -