Which term refers to English law that developed from custom?

• A. Common law
• B. Complaint
• C. Calendar
• D. Consanguinity

Answer: (A)

Common law is the system of law that developed in England from local customs and the decisions of courts over time. When judges recognized and applied long-standing practices as binding, those customs gradually coalesced into a coherent body of rules that governs rights and obligations across the realm. Because common law grows through precedent, courts decide new cases by looking to earlier decisions, so the law evolves with consistent guidance from past rulings rather than relying solely on statutes. In contrast, the other terms refer to different legal concepts: a complaint is the pleading that starts a civil action, a calendar is the court’s schedule of proceedings, and consanguinity means blood relation, a concept used in various legal contexts but not a source of law itself.