General Rule of Law in the Wizard World & Sirius Estate

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 132393


> 
> bboyminn:
> 
> There is no denying that Will and Testiments, as well as patents 
and
> entails, come into play, and that there are rights applied to 
people
> other than the Eldest Male; these all certainly have substantial
> history backing them up, but...

<snip>
> 
>> 
> In the absence of a will or specification of land distribution, the
> rules of primogeniture were invoked, giving the oldest son the 
rights
> to all real property. Erickson explains that "**primogeniture was
> applied more harshly in England**" than elsewhere in Europe...
> 
http://www.umd.umich.edu/casl/hum/eng/classes/434/geweb/PROPERTY.htm
> 
> <snip> 
>

a_svirn:
That's exactly what I mean: "IN THE ABSENCE OF WILL". That means 
that under Common Law if Sirius was disinherited by will of his, 
say, father (or mother?) he wasn't going to get anything. This 
further means that he inherited under some other system – probably 
something like entail. 


> 
> bboyminn:
> 
> True; in my discussion, I acknowledge that we don't know the 
details
> of Wizard's law, but I speculated that strong historical legal
> traditions especially those that were ingrain into historical 
culture
> would likely carry over into the wizard world. 
> 
> As far as Draco having any right of inheritance, I refer you to the
> last item in my link list above. 
> 
> "Nowhere did land descend to any female if there lived a male heir,
> /however remote the relationship/."
> 
> Of course, that statement isn't absolute, it has a context. Women 
did
> have some rights clearly defined in law and tradition, but
> Primogeniture was an dominant social concept especially in England.



a_svirn:

This is very true, but Draco, although unquestionably male, is not a 
heir. At least, not to the Black's estate. To Malfoy's – yes he is. 


> > bboyminn:
><snip> 
> Further, your point about 'decendance' doesn't apply because that 
line
> of decendancy has ended; there are no more decendants. Therefore, 
the
> estate can only go sideways, to the cousins or to the only existing
> blood male. 

a_svirn:

No, you got it wrong again. Because the line is ended, Common Law 
does not apply at all. The inheritance can only descend, remember? 
It is only under the legal mechanism that allows ascendance cousins 
can inherit. And even then Draco would be out of the running, 
because the rule of primogeniture does not normally allow the 
inheritance to pass through the female line. 
>> 
>> bboyminn:
> 
> My continual references to 'OLD', 'traditional', and 'historical' 
were
> intended to separate the historical precedent I was referring too 
from
> modern law and tradition. Further all my research indicates the
> 'Common Law' was /general/ law, not just criminal law. The 
references
> to Common Law that I read seemed to deal with all aspects of life, 
not
> just criminal aspects. The fact that I find references to 
inheritance
> law in the articles on Common Law implies to me that Common Law 
also
> deals with civil matters.

a_svirn:
If you conduct your research even further you discover that the 
difference between Common and Civil Law has nothing to do with 
criminal matters. The former is based on the principle of precedent 
(or case), while the latter based on the written laws. In additions, 
there have been different institutions that applied these two 
systems. Common law has been practiced in courts while Civil Law or 
equity has been the domain of Lord Chancellor and correspondedly the 
courts of chancery. 

> >> bboyminn:
> You can pick all the nits you want, but you will not be able to 
pick
> away the fact that Primogeniture is a long and STRONG thread that 
is
> woven into the history of England, and I speculate, therefore woven
> into the history of wizards.
> 
> Snarky as I may be, that's were I firmly stand.

a_svirn:

Oh, I quite agree about Primogeniture.