law

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Body of rules and principles under which justice is administered or order enforced in a state or nation. In Western Europe there are two main systems: Roman law and English law. US law is a modified form of English law.

Roman law
The legal system of ancient Rome is now the basis of civil law, one of the main European legal systems. It began under the republic, was developed under the empire, and continued in use in the Byzantine Empire until 1453. First codified 450 BC, and finalized under Justinian AD 528–534, it advanced to a system of international law (jus gentium), applied in disputes between Romans and foreigners or provincials, or between provincials of different states. Church influence led to the adoption of Roman law throughout western continental Europe, and it was spread to Eastern Europe and parts of Asia by the French Code Napoléon in the 19th century. Scotland and Québec (because of their French links) and South Africa (because of its link with the Netherlands) also have it as the basis of their legal systems.

English law
has its roots in Anglo-Saxon customs, which were too firmly established to be broken by the Norman Conquest and still form the basis of the common law, which by 1250 had been systematized by the royal judges. Unique to English law is the doctrine, or principle, of stare decisis (Latin ‘to stand by things decided’), which requires that courts abide by former precedents (or decisions) when the same points arise again in litigation (law suits).

The stars stand for the two islands. Red recalls the struggle for independence. Yellow is said to represent the country's cocoa plantations. Effective date: 12 July 1975. >>