Common Law is the unwritten law, the law that receives its binding force from immemorial usage and universal reception, in distinction from the written or statute law; sometimes from the civil or canon law; and occasionally from the lex mercatoria, or commercial and maritime jurisprudence. It consists of that body of rules, principles, and customs which have been received from former times, and by which courts have been guided in their judicial decisions. The evidence of this law is to be found in the reports of those decisions and the records of the courts. Some of these rules may have originated in edicts or statutes which are now lost, or in the terms and conditions of particular grants or charters; but it is quite certain that many of them originated in judicial decisions founded on natural justice and equity, or on local customs. It is contrasted with (1) the statute law contained in acts of parliament; (2) equity, which is also an accretion of judicial decisions, but formed by a new tribunal, which first appeared when the common law had reached its full growth; and (3) the civil law inherited by modern Europe from the Roman Empire. Wherever statute law, however, runs counter to common law, the latter is entirely overruled; but common law, on the other hand, asserts its pre-eminence where equity is opposed to it. Research Common Law
The Council of Basel was a celebrated oecumenical council of the church convoked by Pope Martin V and his successor Eugenius IV. It was opened on the 14th of December 1431, under the presidency of the Cardinal Legate Juliano Cesarini of St Angelo. The objects of its deliberations were to extirpate heresies (that of the Hussites in particular), to unite all Christian nations under the Catholic church, to put a stop to wars between Christian princes, and to reform the church. But its first steps towards a peaceable reconciliation with the Hussites were displeasing to the pope, who authorized the cardinal legate to dissolve the council. That body opposed the pretensions of the pope, and, notwithstanding his repeated orders to remove to Italy, continued its deliberations under the protection of the emperor Sigismund, of the Overman princes, and of France. On the pope continuing to issue bulls for its dissolution the council commenced a formal process against him, and cited him to appear at its bar. On his refusal to comply with this demand the council declared him guilty of contumacy, and, after Eugenius had opened a counter-synod at Ferrara, decreed his suspension from the papal chair on January the 24th, 1438.
The removal of Eugenius, however, seemed so impracticable, that some prelates, who until then had been the boldest and most influential speakers in the council, including the Cardinal Legate Juliano, left Basel, and went over to the party of Eugenius. The Archbishop of Aries, Cardinal Louis Allemand, was now made first president of the council, and directed its proceedings with much vigour. In May, 1439, it declared Eugenius, on account of his disobedience of its decrees, a heretic, and formally deposed him. Excommunicated by Eugenius, they proceeded, in a regular conclave, to elect the dukeAmadeus of Savoy to the papal chair. Felix V - the name he adopted - was acknowledged by only a few princes, cities, and universities. After this the moral power of the council declined; its last formal session was held on May the 16th, 1443, though it was not technically dissolved until May the 7th, 1449, when it gave in its adhesion to Nicholas V, the successor of Eugenius. The decrees of the Council of Basel are admitted into none of the Roman collections, and are considered of no authority by the Roman lawyers. They are regarded, however, as of authority in points of canon law in France and Germany, as their regulations for the reformation of the church have been adopted in the pragmatic sanctions of both countries, and, as far as they regard clerical discipline, have been actually enforced. Research Council of Basel
The Counter Reformation was a movement within the Roman Catholic church in the 16th and 17th centuries that sought to revitalise the church and to oppose Protestantism. Some historians object to the term as implying only the negative elements in the movement, and they prefer designations such as Catholic Reformation or Catholic Restoration. They stress the high spirituality that animated many leaders of the movement, which often had no direct relation to the Protestant Reformation. Research Counter reformation
Divorce is a separation, by law, of husband and wife, and is either a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, that is, a complete dissolution of the marriage bonds, or a divorce a mensa et thoro (from bed and board), whereby the parties are legally separated, but not unmarried.
The causes admitted by different codes of laws as grounds for the modification or entire dissolution of the marriage contract, as well as the description of tribunal which has jurisdiction of the proceedings, and the form of the proceedings, are various.
Divorce was permitted by the law of Moses, but forbidden in the New Testament, except for unchastity. The early laws of Rome permitted the husband to divorce his wife for adultery and many other alleged offences. The facility of divorce continued, without restriction, under the Roman emperors, but as the modern nations of Europe emerged from the ruins of the Roman Empire, they adopted the doctrine of the New Testament. Marriage, under the Roman Church, instead of a civil contract, came to be considered a sacrament of the church, which it was unlawful to dissolve. The ecclesiastical courts could indeed annul a marriage, but only for a cause that existed at the time the marriage was contracted, such as prior contracts, impotency, etc. For any cause arising after marriage they could only pronounce a divorce a mensa et thoro, which did not leave either party free to marry again, except by papal dispensation.
A divorce a vinculo matrimonii, for any cause arising subsequent to marriage, could formerly be obtained in England only by an act of parliament, and the ecclesiastical courts must have previously pronounced a divorce a mensa et thoro. The act passed in 1857, however, established a new court for trying divorce causes, called the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, subsequently absorbed into the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice.
In Victorian England, the husband could obtain a divorce for simple adultery; but if the wife is the petitioner, she had to show that her husband had been guilty of certain kinds of adultery, or of adultery coupled with desertion or gross cruelty. Either party could marry again after divorce. A divorce could not be obtained if it appeared that the petitioner had been guilty of the same offence, or that there had been collusion between the parties to obtain a divorce, or if they had condoned the offence by living together as man and wife after discovery. The husband could claim damages from the adulterer, and the court could also order the adulterer to pay the costs of the proceedings, in whole or in part. The act also abolished divorces a mensa et thoro, substituting, however, judicial separations. Since the late 20th century, divorce in BritainEngland has become a simple affair with either party simply having to claim that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
A decree for a divorce is always in the first instance a decree nisi. In Scotland, from the time of the Reformation, divorce might be obtained by either party on the ground of adultery, marriage being held to be only a civil contract, and as such under the jurisdiction of the civil courts. Condonation or collusion was sufficient to prevent a divorce from being obtained on the ground of adultery, but not recrimination, that is, a counter charge of adultery. Wilful desertion was also held a valid reason for divorce.
In France divorce was legalized in 1884, with conditions, after having been prohibited for many years. Research Divorce
Dominant ideology means the principal ideas, values and morals in a given society. It is a particular version of reality but only one of a number of possible versions. These ideas may, however, be so well established that members of society believe them to be naturally given and beyond question (like when people thought the earth was flat). It is possible for different ideologies to exist within a given society different versions of reality but they lack the persuasive power and generalised acceptance enjoyed by the
dominant ideology. Marxist sociologists have pointed out that ideologies are rarely neutral, and serve to justify and support the interests of a powerful social group over less-powerful groups. The dominant ideology thesis asserts that working-class subordination in capitalist societies is largely the outcome of the cultural dominance achieved by the capitalist class. For Marx, the ruling ideas in a given society are always the ideas of the ruling social group. This theory is well supported by evidence of the general blindacceptance of the 'goodness' of pharmaceuticals purveyed by the immensely powerful pharmaceutical industries in the west, despite negative evidence such as dependency and side effects. Feminine sociologists make a similar point, but starting from a different premise. Some sociologists, such as Abercrombie, criticise the dominant ideology thesis, arguing that its proponents overestimate the extent to which different groups are integrated into the dominant culture, and underestimate the extent to which different
groups can generate ideas which run counter to dominant ideologies. However, evidence to support this criticism is sparse, but contrary evidence is widespread in the persecution of Copernicus, Galileo, and the 20th century AIDS dissidents, all of which questioned a dominant ideology only to be hounded and ridiculed at the time. Research Dominant Ideology
A Fabian policy is a policy of delays and cautions. It is so called after the style of policy used by Fabiu Maximus, who, by carefully avoiding decisive contests, foiled Hannibal, harassing his army by marches, counter- marches, and Ambuscades. Research Fabian Policy
The Nehru Report was a constitution drafted for India in 1928. After Indian nationalists rejected the Simon Commission of 1927, an all-party committee was set up, chaired by Motilal Nehru to map out a constitution. Established to counter British charges that Indians could not find a constitutional consensus among themselves, it advocated that India be given dominion status of complete internal self-government. Many members of the Congress preferred complete independence to dominion status, and in 1929 announced a campaign of civil disobedience to support their demands. Research Nehru Report
A shadoof (shaduf) is a device used for irrigation in Egypt and other eastern countries. It consists of a bucket at one end of a long suspended rod, with a counter-balance weight at the other end. Research Shadoof
Smoking is the practice of drawing into the mouth or nose the fumes of a burning vegetable substance with narcotic, sedative or stimulant properties. The chief substances thus used are tobacco, opium and cannabis. Cannabis smoking was traditionally practised in central Asia and India and across Africa from the Middle East to South Africa, and is referred to by Herodotus among the Scythians. Tobacco smoking was practised by the Neolithic age mound builders of the upper Ohio, and for over 300 years for its health-giving properties in Britain until competition from the pharmaceutical manufacturers led to a campaign of counter information claiming connections between tobacco smoking and disease. During the 20th century a widespread campaign of oppression of all forms of smoking commenced, starting with opium, then cannabis and finally tobacco, the oppression being more prevalent in the USA and Britain than other parts of the world. Research Smoking
The lapwing (Vanellus) is a genus of bird of the plover family Charadridae, native to every continent except North America and Antarctica. Most are birds of fresh water wetlands, but some inhabit dry grassland or moorland. Many have sharp spurs at the bend of the wing, and some have facial wattles or crests. Best known is the northern lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, a grasslandbird of Eurasia that has occasionally strayed across the Atlantic to north-eastern North America. It is about 30 centimetres long, with a long thin crest. It is dark iridescent green above and white below, with a black throat and breast; the throat is white in winter. Its counter part over much of South America is the southern lapwing, Vanellus chilensis, which has flashy white are as on the wings and tail, and acts as a noisy sentinel for other birds when disturbed. Two other lapwings occur in South America, two in Australia, and the rest in Asia and Africa. Research Lapwing
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Common Law
