It's the difference between Common Law (case law / precedent) as practised in many English speaking countries, and Civil Law (codified law), as practised in Eur

It's the difference between Common Law (case law / precedent) as practised in many English speaking countries, and Civil Law (codified law), as practised in Europe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_%28legal_system%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_%28legal_system%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law I looked into this, as sometimes on Internet fora I saw Americans argue about the interpretations of certain parts of their Constitution (or maybe it was the Bill of Rights). I used to never really pay attention to such discussions (because they do not apply to me) but when I thought about it for a little, it puzzled me very much. I always learned that Law, as it is written isn't supposed to be open for interpretation! That's why it's law, and it's written down very clearly in almost computer-like language in the ... which is when I realized I didn't know the proper English word for "book of law" (I think it's "statute"). Of course it's not nearly quite as clear-cut as that. Many European law systems have partial case law and vice versa in the US. In fact both types of systems are growing towards each other. But it used to be quite a fundamental difference in how law used to be practiced, Common Law being from England, and Codified/Civil Law from Napoleon, inspired by the Romans.