unwritten law; common law
Legal term referring to law not codified in written statutes, including customary law and judge-made law. Contrasts with 成文法 (statutory law).
See also: 成文法
In England, unwritten law plays an important role.
Compound of 不 (fu, 'not') + 文 (bun, 'writing') + 法 (hō, 'law'), literally 'unwritten law'. The term is a direct translation of the Western legal concept.