Test Your Knowledge of Civil Law

Overview of Civil Law

• Civil law is a legal system originating in mainland Europe and adopted in much of the world.

• The civil law system is intellectualized within the framework of Roman law, and with core principles codified into a referable system, which serves as the primary source of law.

• The civil law system is often contrasted with the common law system, which originated in medieval England.

• Civil law proceeds from abstractions, formulates general principles, and distinguishes substantive rules from procedural rules.

• Civil law is often paired with the inquisitorial system, but the terms are not synonymous.

• Civil law jurisdictions deal with case law apart from any precedent value.

• Civil law is sometimes referred to as neo-Roman law, Romano-Germanic law or Continental law.

• The civil law system is the most widespread system of law in the world, in force in various forms in about 150 countries.

• Codes explain the principles of law, rights and entitlements, and how basic legal mechanisms work.

• An important common characteristic of civil law is the comprehensive codification of received Roman law, i.e., its inclusion in civil codes.

• The earliest codification known is the Code of Hammurabi, written in ancient Babylon during the 18th century BC.

• Despite their differences, the two systems are quite similar from a historical point of view.Civil Law Systems around the World

• The civil law system has its origins in ancient Roman law.

• Civil law systems are based on codified laws, unlike common law systems which rely on judicial precedent.

• Civil law systems are used in many countries around the world, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and many countries in Latin America and Africa.

• Civil law systems can be divided into two main categories: those based on Roman law (Romanistic) and those based on Napoleonic law (Napoleonic).

• The Scottish civil law tradition borrowed heavily from Roman-Dutch law.

• Louisiana is the only U.S. state whose private civil law is based heavily on the French and Spanish codes, as opposed to English common law.

• Quebec law, whose private law is also of French civil origin, has developed along the same lines as Louisiana to the public law and judicial system of Canadian common law.

• Islamic countries have civil law systems that contain elements of Islamic law.

• The Japanese Civil Code is considered a mixture drawing roughly 60% from the German civil code, roughly 30% from the French civil code, 8% from Japanese customary law, and 2% from English law.

• Puerto Rico's Civil Code is based on the Spanish Civil Code of 1889, available jurisprudence has tended to rely on common law innovations due to the code's age and in many cases, obsolete nature.

• Civil law systems are often criticized for being too rigid and inflexible, but proponents argue that they provide greater legal certainty and predictability.

• Civil law systems are constantly evolving and adapting to changing social and economic conditions.