The ''Institutes of the Lawes of England'' are a series of legal treatises written by Sir Edward Coke. 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 omnipres ...

, they have been cited in over 70 cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, 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 s ...

'' (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 the much earlier case of '' United States v. E. C. Knight Co.'' (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 phil ...

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 be ...

in a cheap format for a French friend.

Portrait of Edward Coke (1669) by R White

First Part

The First Part's subtitle is a "Commentary upon Littleton", concerning land law 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.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".

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: *. **An index of the First Part was published as . *. *. *. ;Selected later editions *Editions printed by Andrew Crooke, ''et al.'' (1669–1671). **. **. **. *Editions printed by John Streater, ''et al.'' (1670–1671). **. **. **. **. *Editions printed by William Rawlins, ''et al.'' (1680–1684). **. **. ** **. **. *15th edition (1794–1797). **. 3 vols.: *** Volume I. *** Volume II. *** Volume III. **. **. **. *19th edition (1832). **. **. *1st American edition (1853), based on the 19th London edition. **. **. *2003 Liberty Fund edition. . 3 vols. **. **. **. {{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