The legal history or documentation of law is basically the study of how laws have developed over time and why it hasn't changed. It provides insight into the politics and legal framework of a country as well as the legal system of the particular country. Such study often involves lengthy hours and may involve reading a number of books on legal issues. Such study is usually related to issues pertaining to war, criminal justice, civil rights, and constitutional law.
Legal history or the history of legal law is intimately connected to the evolution of civilisations and works in the broader context of socio-legal history. A look at the development of the law can show how different societies have developed through time. The most important feature of legal history is case law. It is this that gives us insights into how things used to be in past periods. Case law is also referred to as precedents, which are legal evaluations on how certain acts or instances were applied in earlier times.
Islamic law, for instance, is one of the most distinctive legal systems in the world with some forty different types of Islamic law (tribal law). It is through such Islamic law that an individual is able to understand and interpret his or her place in society under Muslim law. Islamic law, as the Islamic Shari'a law is also called, is based on the guidance of Allah who established the Qur'an and the Islamic religion as the ultimate authority in all matters. It follows a very simple code of conduct, which has been repeatedly tested in history by countless individuals.
Legal history can also shed light on how customary law developed. Under customary law, there were no judges or lawyers; instead, the entire process of settling disputes or filling legal forms was carried out through the local judge and the customary courts. This was in contrast to what we see today, in which the legal system relies on lawyers to provide the expertise necessary for resolving cases.
There is also a difference between customary and common law as it relates to the role of usury in a legal system. Jusuru is the Arabic term for judges or magistrates. Common law courts functioned as tribunals to hear and determine cases. Although most common law courts did not actually deliver decisions, they provided the necessary services to the common law system. One important area that is distinctly different between customary and common law is the concept of takings.
Legal historians have provided much information about the history of customary law over the past four thousand years. The data they have gathered is staggering in its accuracy and provides insight into the lives of people across cultures and times. By closely examining the various legal decisions and cases that were recorded at various points in history, legal historians have been able to piece together a picture of the legal landscape that pervaded human societies for centuries.