Where does law come from? The law has been defined in many ways by various leaders and thinkers, but there is no universal definition. There are numerous sources and the English legal system adopts the rules derived from these different sources to form English law. Sources of law include common law and equity, legislation and international conventions such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It should be noted that constitutional customs or conventions are not law. It is a common misconception that customs or conventions are law. The judiciary has repeatedly stated that the agreements are not law and therefore are not binding. The case of Attorney General v Jonathan Cape Ltd adequately demonstrated this point as the court held that the parliamentary confidentiality convention is only a convention and has no legal force. However, it is essential to understand what and how the sources of law are created and what possible dangers can arise from these sources.Common LawCommon law arose during the reign of William the Conqueror who created a set of common laws binding on everything in the country. In the 15th century, the Chancellor was given the responsibility of deciding cases and later created his own court, the Court of Chancery, which decided cases on the basis of equity. As a result of the Judicature Act 1873, common law and equity were merged in the same courts to ensure that one reinforced, rather than opposed, the other. Consequently, the only distinction between common law and equity concerns the remedies available to the parties to the dispute. Today, common law is considered to be jurisprudence that consists of decisions made by judges in cases. The common law is based on two concepts of equal importance, namely the do...... middle of paper ......and Human Rights Act 1998 Third edition, 2006THBingham Articles, "The European Convention on Rights humans: it's time to incorporate' (1993) LQR 390 Table of Cases AG v Jonathan Cape Ltd [1976] QB 752 Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association Ltd [1999] 4 All ER 705Miliangos v George Frank (Textiles) Ltd [1975] 3 WLR 758R v Goldstein, R v Rimmington [2005] UKHL 63R v R [1991] 4All ER 481Royal College of Nursing v Department of Health and Social Security [1981] 2 WLR 279, CATTable of laws and other instrumentsStatutes: Abortion Act of 1967 c87European Communities Act c68Human Rights Act 1998 c42Interpretation Act 1978 c30Judiciary Act 1873 c66Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 c51Parliament Act 1949 c103Public Interests Disclosure Act 1998 c23European Legislation: European Covenant on Rights of man (1951)