Ugly, Deformed and Grubby: The Common Law and Human Rights 1

Abstract

The English common law springs from the font of the rich man’s insecurities. It is a vast watercourse that powers his mills, irrigates his fields and defines the moat that keeps him in his castle and the poor man at bay. The common law is concerned with the retaining of property, with the preservation of privilege and above all, the status quo. From it springs the principles of larceny, of trespass, of defamation, of confidentiality, of precedent, of deference.