The reception of English law abroad has antecedents that can be traced back as far as the English invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century. But it is to the settlement of Virginia 400 years ago that the legal systems of the former colonial empire owe their beginnings.
As with the English language, transposing the law overseas produced different accents and usages involving adjustments and change to many of its rules. None of the legal systems of the 100 or more places that now use English law or derivative forms of it is today an exact replica of what it was at the time when it parted from its matrix.
This book has been many years in the making, occupying all of the time that could be spared from the demands of judicial office in Queensland. The experience of sitting in Courts in Solomon Islands and Fiji has added an extra dimension to the author’s understanding of the reception process abroad.
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