Another of Henry's innovations developed into the
"grand jury." Before his time many offenders went unpunished,
especially if they were so powerful that no private individual dared accuse
them. Henry provided that when the king's justices came to a county court a
number of selected men should be put upon their oath and required to give the
names of any persons whom they knew or believed to be guilty of crimes. Such
persons were then to be arrested and tried. This "grand jury," as it
came to be called, thus had the public duty of making accusations, whether its
members felt any personal interest in the matter or not.
THE COMMON LAW
The decisions handed down by the legal experts who
composed the royal court formed the basis of the English system of
jurisprudence. It received the name Common law because it grew out of such
customs as were common to the realm, as distinguished from those which were
merely local. This law, from Henry's II's time, became so widespread and so
firmly established that it could not be supplanted by the Roman law followed on
the Continent. Carried by English colonists across the seas, it has now come to
prevail throughout a great part of the world.
