In English law, a black letter law is the area of law characterized by technical rules, rather than those having a more conceptual basis. These laws establish the basic standard elements for a particular field of law, and are generally known and free from doubt or dispute. It may be, for example, the standard elements for a contract or the technical definition of battery; contract, tort, and land law are typical black letter law subjects, whereas administrative law, for example, would be considered considerably less black letter.
In the American legal system, a black-letter law is instead just a well-established case law.
Read more about Black Letter Law: History and Etymology, Similar Phrases
Famous quotes containing the words black, letter and/or law:
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
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“These, having not the law, are a law unto themselves.”
—Bible: New Testament St. Paul, in Romans, 2:14.