ABSTRACT
Common law and statute law are the two most important sources of law in the Anglo-American legal systems so this topic should have an inherent appeal for students of jurisprudence. However the common law and statutory law are both a useful lens through which to view legal theorists, as different legal theorists tend to focus on common law or statute law and give one of them pre-eminence in their legal theories depending on the focus of their own theory of law. Modern legal positivists such as Professor Raz and Professor John Gardner view the essence of law as being an exercise of authority to change the normative position of others, so there is an emphasis on the finality of legislation as a legal source. Professor Dworkin has concentrated in his legal theory on judicial adjudication so the common law tends to be the focus of his legal theory.
