[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

• That would be Apple's problem - Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, November 09 2012 @ 09:25 AM EST

Having comparatively studied UK and US court opinions, I
was definitely struck by the readability of the UK judgments.
In my mind, this is mostly due to the notion of precedence in the UK
being tied to the sense of the judgment or opinion, while US courts
tie it to the wording of the ruling or opinion. Therefore UK courts are
not nearly as constrained to using the specific and precise formulations
that make US rulings and opinions difficult for laypeople to understand.

In more detail: The UK follows an oral legal tradition (seriatim opinions
and oral judicial history), while Chief Justice John Marshall introduced a
written judicial tradition in 1803, which has both plagued and benefited us
ever since. It remains to be seen what the long-term effects of the UK's
introduction of a Supreme Court (formerly part of the House of Lords) will be.
Initially, it seems they have decided to emulate some aspects of the US
Supreme Court, while in other areas following pan-European courts
(ECtHR and ECJ).

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]