The ''Institutes of the Lawes of England'' are a series of legal treatises written by Sir
Edward Coke
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...
. They were first published, in stages, between 1628 and 1644. Widely recognized as a foundational document of the
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...
, they have been cited in over 70 cases decided by the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
, including several
landmark case
Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly ...
s. For example, in ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
'' (1973), Coke's ''Institutes'' are cited as evidence that under old English common law, an
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
performed before
quickening
In pregnancy terms, quickening is the moment in pregnancy when the pregnant woman starts to feel the fetus' movement in the uterus.
Medical facts
The first natural sensation of quickening may feel like a light tapping or fluttering. These sensat ...
was not an
indictable offence
In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...
. In the much earlier case of ''
United States v. E. C. Knight Co.
''United States v. E. C. Knight Co.'', 156 U.S. 1 (1895), also known as the "Sugar Trust Case," was a United States Supreme Court antitrust case that severely limited the federal government's power to pursue antitrust actions under the Sherman Ant ...
'' (1895), Coke's ''Institutes'' are quoted at some length for their definition of
monopolies
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
. The ''Institutes's'' various reprinted editions well into the 19th century is a clear indication of the long lasting value placed on this work throughout especially the 18th century in Britain and Europe. It has also been associated through the years with high literary connections. For example,
David Hume
David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" '' Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment ph ...
in 1764 requested it from the bookseller
Andrew Millar
Andrew Millar (17058 June 1768) was a British publisher in the eighteenth century.
Biography
In 1725, as a twenty-year-old bookseller apprentice, he evaded Edinburgh city printing restrictions by going to Leith to print, which was considered b ...
in a cheap format for a French friend.
Contents
First Part
The First Part's subtitle is a "Commentary upon Littleton", concerning
land law
Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...
and property law. Often called ''Coke on Littleton'' (abbreviated "Co. Litt."), it is a commentary on
Thomas de Littleton
Sir Thomas de Littleton or de Lyttleton KB ( 140723 August 1481) was an English judge, undersheriff, Lord of Tixall Manor, and legal writer from the Lyttelton family. He was also made a Knight of the Bath by King Edward IV.
Family
Thomas ...
's treatise on
land tenure
In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...
.
Second Part
The Second Part's subtitle is "Containing the Exposition of Many Ancient and Other Statutes", particularly
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by t ...
.
[See Second Part]
1797
Third Part
The Third Part's subtitle is "Concerning High Treason and other Please of the Crown and Criminal Causes".
Fourth Part
The Fourth Part's subtitle is "Concerning the Jurisdiction of the Courts".
See also
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English land law
English land law is the law of real property in England and Wales. Because of its heavy historical and social significance, land is usually seen as the most important part of English property law. Ownership of land has its roots in the feudal ...
*
UK constitutional law
The United Kingdom constitutional law concerns the governance of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. With the oldest continuous political system on Earth, the British constitution is not contained in a single code but princ ...
*
English contract law
English contract law is the body of law that regulates legally binding agreements in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries ...
*
Books of authority Books of authority is a term used by legal writers to refer to a number of early legal textbooks that are excepted from the rule that textbooks (and all books other than statute or law report) are not treated as authorities by the courts of England ...
*
Rule of law
The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...
Notes
External links
;First editions
The ''Institutes of the Lawes of England'' are divided into four parts, the first editions of which are as follows:
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**An index of the First Part was published as .
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;Selected later editions
*Editions printed by Andrew Crooke, ''et al.'' (1669–1671).
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*Editions printed by John Streater, ''et al.'' (1670–1671).
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*Editions printed by William Rawlins, ''et al.'' (1680–1684).
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*15th edition (1794–1797).
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Volume I.
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Volume II.
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Volume III.
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*19th edition (1832).
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*1st American edition (1853), based on the 19th London edition.
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*2003 Liberty Fund edition. . 3 vols.
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{{use dmy dates, date=September 2014
17th-century books
17th century in law
Legal history of England
Legal treatises
Works by Edward Coke
1628 books
1642 books
1644 books