The history or legal history of laws is the study of why the law has developed and how it has progressed over time. It is the account of how legal systems develop and evolve from their earliest forms of institution to the legal systems of today. It is also the study of why particular laws were created and how those laws impact society at large. In short, legal history works in the broader context of societal history and is closely associated with the development of legal civilisations.While legal history is a highly complex field of study, one which has been the subject of rigorous academic scrutiny since the 12th century, it is still very much in its infancy in comparison to other disciplines. The discipline is characterised by rigorous analysis, controlled research and the documentation of all previous authoritative works on the history of laws. This article will focus on the second half of the history of laws, namely the legal histories of European countries.
Europeans have been writing legal histories since the 12th century. Legal historians study these written histories in order to understand and interpret legal developments in Europe's history and especially in the contemporary world. Two broad perspectives dominate the working of legal historians. The first is that the history of laws can be seen as the history of legal systems while the second is that the history of legal histories attempts to explain the evolution of legal systems within a given country.What makes the field of legal history about as wide-ranging and varied as it is? There are many different areas of concentration within the field. Many legal historians are interested in studying constitutional history, judicial history, administrative law, criminal law, corporate law, international law, labour law and human rights law. Within each of these areas, there are many sub-fields of specialization. For example, constitutional scholars spend their time researching and writing about national governments and their relation to the courts as they exercise their rights and powers.
Judicial historians study judicial cases within jurisdictions outside of their own country. For example, judicial history includes cases from decisions courts with which other institutions are associated. They include decisions about mandatory sentencing, voting rights, civil rights, the role of juries and countless other aspects of the functioning of society. Administrative law scholars spend their time studying administrative law and its impact upon public policy and practices. The area of corporate law is one where experts from many different fields of expertise come together to analyze, debate and ultimately determine what is legal in a specific context.How does a legal history differ from a European or Asian legal history? First and foremost, courts are based entirely on the law. Unlike Europe, there is no equivalent of the jury in courts. There are no juries involved in a decision as they decide on the facts and the law based on evidence presented by lawyers for a case. While some have suggested that the lack of a jury makes the legal system less democratic, legal history shows that the decisions made by juries have been nearly always consistent across time.