Common Law is that law which is developed and based on a Judge's (and Jury's) decisions in case trials. As a result it is, while based on common sense and so on, the result of the work of Judges and due legal process.
Statute law, while dictated and written by Governments, is administered by Judges. The fact that so many people end up in prison under decisions based by Judges on Statute Law as well as Common Law shows that the two are equally valid laws in this country, and that you cannot choose to follow only the Common Law. That was, really, what I was driving at.