judge-made

1 definition found

judge-made - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Judge-made \Judge"-made`\, a.
     Created by judges or judicial decision; -- applied esp. to
     law applied or established by the judicial interpretation of
     statutes so as extend or restrict their scope, as to meet new
     cases, to provide new or better remedies, etc., and often
     used opprobriously of acts of judicial interpretation
     considered as doing this. Judge-made law is contrasted with
     statutory law and civil law.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
  
           The law of the 13th century was judge-made law in a
           fuller and more literal sense than the law of any
           succeeding century has been.             --Sir
                                                    Frederick
                                                    Pollock.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]