Legal tradition is a concept that is widely referred to within the law context to imply the historical dimension. Specifically, legal tradition is defined as a set of deeply rooted and historically conditioned attitudes regarding the nature of law, the role of law in the society and the polity, the proper organization and operation of the legal system, and the way law is or should be made, applied, studied, perfected, and taught (Duve, 2017). There are various legal traditions that are utilized by different countries across the globe. The two main legal traditions that are utilized by a majority of nations throughout the globe is common law and civil law. Common law is a tradition that emerged in England during the middle ages and was applied by Britain across its colonies in different continents. Civil law also emerged at the same time in continental Europe and was applied to colonies of Imperial European nations such as Spain, Portugal, and France.

Another concept that has been widely used is legal systems. The term legal system is used to refer to processes or procedures that are utilized to interpret and enforce the law. The primary purpose of legal systems is to elaborate, in a variety of ways, the rights and responsibilities on individuals and other legal entities. Every country has a legal system of some sort which describes the various laws that the country has, the processes through which such laws are made, and the various channels, mediums, and processes that ensures such laws have been strictly followed. There are hundreds of legal systems in the world. However, the major legal systems that are utilized by many countries are civil law, common law, and religious law. The primary source of law in common law are judicial proceedings, the primary source of law in civil law are strict codes of procedures, while the source of law in religious law are divine inspiration.

References

Duve, T. (2017). Legal traditions: A dialogue between comparative law and comparative legal history. Comparative Legal History, 6(1). 15-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/2049677X.2018.1469271