Black-letter law
In common law legal systems, black-letter law refers to well-established legal rules that are no longer subject to reasonable dispute.[1] Black-letter law can be contrasted with legal theory or unsettled legal issues.
Etymology
[edit]The phrase derives from the historic blackletter script and typeface that originated in Europe during the Middle Ages.[2] It became particularly associated with English court documents in the 17th century.[3]
Historical usage
[edit]'Trite law'
[edit]In the 15th-century case of T Pasch, Chief Justice Thomas Bryan described the principle that people cannot be prosecuted for their thoughts alone as "trite law," in the sense that this doctrine was well-established and obvious.[4][5]
'Black-letter law'
[edit]The phrase 'black-letter law' was, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, used to critique textualists and promote purposive interpretations of evidence.[6][7][8]
In 1783, Hervey Redmond Morres, member of the Irish House of Lords, used the phrase during a debate about the legality of the Irish Volunteers militia.[7] He argued that "even if [the militia was] not authorised by... black letter law, they had an higher law for their foundation, self-preservation, that greatest and first of laws."[7] In a 1797 biography of Judge William Murray, English barrister John Holliday praised an instance of Murray applying "common sense against the black-letter-law."[8] That same year, Scottish writer George Chalmers published an essay on the Ireland Shakespeare forgeries that criticised historians who relied on the "black-letter law" of formal records while dismissing contextual evidence.[6]
In the United States, the term was first used in a legal context by the Supreme Court in 1831.[9] Justice William Johnson opined: "It is seldom that a case in our time savours so much of the black letter; but the course of decisions in New York renders it unavoidable."[10]
Modern usage
[edit]In modern usage, the phrase is used to refer to "well-established legal rules that are certain," and "no longer disputable" or "no longer subject to reasonable dispute."[1][11]
Synonymous phrases
[edit]In the United States, 'black-letter law' is synonymous with the phrases 'hornbook law' or 'settled law.'[12][1] In Commonwealth jurisdictions, the phrase 'trite law' is used to refer to a legal principle that is obvious or well-established.[4][13][14][15]
Examples
[edit]What is considered black-letter law is dependent upon region or jurisdiction. Examples of black-letter law in common law jurisdictions include the fundamentals of contracts, which must have an offer, acceptance, and consideration.[1][16][17] The first two elements are similarly required in most civil law jurisdictions; consideration, however, is not.[18][19]
In federalist countries, what is considered to be black-letter law may also differ by administrative area.[20] In most of Canada, it is "trite law" that an employer is liable for wrongful dismissal when they fire an employee without sufficient notice.[20] However, this is not always the case in Alberta.[20]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Legal Information Institute (1 May 2020). "Wex: blackletter law". LII. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ Vault Editions (22 January 2024). "The Evolution and Origins of Blackletter Typeface: From Medieval Mastery to Modern Adaptations". VaultEditions. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ Tagg, Caroline; Evans, Mel (8 June 2020). Message and Medium: English Language Practices Across Old and New Media. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 243. ISBN 978-3-11-067083-7.
- 1 2 Haigh, Richard (24 January 2025). ""It is Trite and Ancient Law": The High Court and the Use of the Obvious". Federal Law Review. 28 (1): 87–102. doi:10.22145/flr.28.1.4. ISSN 0067-205X.
- ↑ Archive, National Case Law (28 August 2025). "Brogden v Directors of The Metropolitan Railway Company (1877) 2 App Cas 666". National Case Law Archive. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- 1 2 Chalmers, George (1797). An apology for the believers in the Shakspeare-papers, which were exhibited in Norfolk-street . T. Egerton. pp. 320–321.
- 1 2 3 "House of Lords – Monday, Dec 1". Belfast News-Letter. 9 December 1783. p. 2.
- 1 2 Holliday, John (1797). The life of William late Earl of Mansfield. Cambridge: Peter Elmsley (bookseller). p. 127.
- ↑ Jackson ex dem. Bradstreet v. Huntington, 30 U.S. 402, 434 (1831).
- ↑ "Jackson v. Huntington, 30 U.S. 402 (1831)". Justia Law. Archived from the original on 25 June 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ University of Law (15 February 2023). "Black letter laws: Do I need them for the SQE solicitor route?". www.law.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 14 September 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ Shiner, Roger A. (1992). Norm and Nature: The Movements of Legal Thought. Clarendon Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-19-825719-6.
- ↑ Haroun, Fawaz. "Learn Nigerian Law: Trespass to Land". Learn Nigerian Law. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ Bukhari, Huzaima; Haq, Ikramul (1 January 2018). "Law Of Binding Precedents". Courting The Law. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ Guthrie, Neil (8 May 2019). "Trite law". tips.slaw.ca. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ Fixter, Brian (2023). "Contract Law in Canada Part I: Creating a Contract". Foundations of Canadian Business Law. British Columbia: BCCampus.
- ↑ Intensity Law (13 August 2024). "Understanding Black Letter Law: The Basics". Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ Inoue, Aoi (8 September 2023). "Know How Construction Arbitration 2023". Mondaq. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ Boardman, Charlotte (19 December 2013). "Considering consideration : a critical and comparative analysis of the doctrine of consideration in the Anglo-Canadian common law". Graduate Theses and Dissertations. doi:10.14288/1.0077779.
- 1 2 3 Buchanan, Dennis D. (2 October 2019). "Defining Wrongful Dismissal: The Alberta Schism". Alberta Law Review: 95–95. doi:10.29173/alr2567. ISSN 1925-8356.