Commentaries on the laws of England

QUESTION 7 It would be most precise to say that, in his magisterial work Commentaries on the Laws of England, William Blackstone sought to identify and codify the general legal principles that had emerged from decisions handed down in English courts since approximately the eleventh century. discover and delineate the ways in which laws that were common in England in the eighteenth century were different from laws that were common in other European countries during the eighteenth century. distinguish cases that involved criminal statutory law during his day from cases that involved civil procedural law during his day. create and defend a set of laws and rules that would be fair to impose upon the common Englishmen of the eighteenth century. define and discuss the common problems that all English judges faced when deciding an case