"The general principles of the constitution are with us the result of judicial decisions"

Question

"are with us" just sounds wrong. Is it? I'm not familiar 1885 English.

Anne Dennett. Public Law Directions (1 ed 2019). p. 149.

Dicey set out his principles on the rule of law in 1885 (Introduction to the Study of Law and Constitution) and they are still relevant today. Dicey suggested three views of the rule of law based on the supremacy of law and the idea that no man is above the law (‘Englishmen are ruled by the law, and by the law alone’). It is useful to know in advance that Dicey did not trust wide governmental power.

I skip here.

‘[T]he general principles of the constitution (as for example the right to personal liberty, or the right of public meeting) are with us the result of judicial decisions determining the rights of private persons in particular cases brought before the Courts; whereas under many foreign constitutions the security (such as it is) given to the rights of individuals results, or appears to result, from the general principles of the constitution.’

In the UK, rights and freedoms are the result of the common law, not a written constitution or code of rights; therefore the UK’s unwritten constitution is the result of the ordinary law of the land and is ‘pervaded by the rule of law’. (While this was true at the time that Dicey was writing, rights and freedoms are now also protected by statutes such as the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998.)

Just guessing -- maybe it means the principles are, with us, the result of etc. — aparente001, Feb 04 '20 at 07:55
@aparente001 - more likely it means the principles are with us as the result of ... — AmI, Feb 04 '20 at 09:53
'...) which exist in the UK have arisen in the UK as the result of ...'. — Edwin Ashworth, Feb 04 '20 at 14:45
[T]he general principles of the constitution (as for example the right to personal liberty, or the right of public meeting) [are with us the result of] / [which exist in the UK have arisen in the UK as the result of] judicial decisions determining the rights of private persons in particular cases brought before the Courts — Edwin Ashworth, Feb 05 '20 at 10:46
@EdwinAshworth - got it. Thank you. You expanded on what Aml wrote (with us as the result of etc.). I hope one of you will write an answer. — aparente001, Feb 06 '20 at 23:48
@aparente001 - and 'with us' indicates a mild form of possession: "are with us" = "are ours" ("[as] the result of" = "because of"). — AmI, Feb 07 '20 at 02:09

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 04 '20 at 13:15

Throughout the 19th c. with where contemporary speakers are more likely to use a different preposition, such as for or among, was fairly common.

With us it [a type of mint] is rather rare; growing in waste ground, generally where there is moisture; and flowering in August and September. — English Botany; Or, Coloured Figures of British Plants, 1802.

Nevertheless, let truth be ever sacred with us ; for God sees and abhors all deceit. — Job Orton, Robert Gentleman, A short and plain exposition of the Old Testament, 1805.

Among the Turks, a beard is a mark of dignity; with us, of negligence. Shaving the head is, with them, a custom; with us, a punishment … With us, the women parade in gay colours, and the men in sombre ; with them, in both cases, it is the reverse. — A Handbook for Travellers in the Ionian Islands, Greece, Turkey, ..., 1840.

While this usage seems antiquated to us, I can think of one context where it doesn’t sound out of date:

But Gregory and Justin—the boys, as we call them—that's not the case with them. When they have an idea, they see it through. — Gear & Sea | Faery Ink Press, 4 Oct. 2019.

I think that was the way it was with my father. He cleaned offices and he never thought about being owner of that company. — Vida 'Sister' Goldman Prince, — That's the Way it Was, 2013.

"The general principles of the constitution are with us the result of judicial decisions"

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