The Law

I was recently trying to learn more about common law and the distinction between common and statutory law. I initially was curious if common law used common in the same sense as the economic concept of the tragedy of the commons. It appears that it does not.

Here are some definitions from the web:

English common law was largely customary law left unwritten, until discovered, applied, and reported by the courts of law. In theory, a judge did not create law but rather discovered it in the customs and habits of the English people. (reference)

Laws or legal principles that have been established by courts over the years. May be codified into a statute or overruled by a statute passed by the government. (reference)

This idea that so much of our law and courts are based solely on legal tradition and precedence is amazing to me. I would imagine that at this point in time much of common law has been codified in statutory law, but I don't know. It makes me think that judges have more influence than I previously thought.