Legal Systems of the World PDF

Legal Systems of the World A Very Short Introduction Legal Systems of the World Taxonomy Systems of Law Discussion Taxonomy Taxonomy Civil Law Common Law Customary Law Religious Law Hybrid/Mixed Systems Civil Law Civil Law...

Legal Systems of the World A Very Short Introduction Legal Systems of the World Taxonomy Systems of Law Discussion Taxonomy Taxonomy Civil Law Common Law Customary Law Religious Law Hybrid/Mixed Systems Civil Law Civil Law Origins: Roman Law French Civil Law (The Digest of German Civil Law (Napoleonic Justinian: Corpus (BGB) Code/Code Civil) Juris Civilis) Scandinavian/Nordic Napoleonic Civil Law German Civil Law  Civil Law  German Civil Law Napoleonic Civil Law Civil Law French Law: France, the Benelux countries, Italy, Romania, Spain, some countries in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East Civil Law German Law: Germany, Austria, Russia, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, Portugal, some East Asian countries including Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (Republic of China), some African Countries, Brazil Civil Law Nordic Law: Northern Europe: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden Civil Law Napoleonic Civil Law  German Civil Law: Italy; copied by Portugal (1966), the Netherlands (1992), Lithuania (2000), Brazil (2002) and Argentina (2014) Civil Law German Civil Law  Napoleonic Civil Law: Switzerland; copied by Turkey (1926) Civil Law Applied in approx. 150 countries worldwide Systematic written codes Authoritative sources: codified legislation (in strict hierarchical order) Decisions are binding only to the parties to the case Inquisitorial system (judge as inquisitor; written records) Common Law Common Law “Common” to the entire English realm Doctrine of Reception Canada (excluding Quebec), Australia, New Zealand, most of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland), South Africa, Ireland, India (excluding Goa and Puducherry), Pakistan, Hong Kong, the United States (on state and territorial levels excluding Louisiana and Puerto Rico), Bangladesh etc. Common Law Origins: Anglo-Saxon customary law Equity (Courts of Chancery; Lord Chancellor) Approx. 1/3 of the world’s population live in Common Law countries Black’s Law Dictionary: “The body of law derived from judicial decisions, rather than from statutes or constitutions” Case law (judge-made law)  judicial precedent; stare decisis Adversarial system (judge as referee; party presentation) Juries, Writs Customary Law Customary Law Africa, some Pacific Island Nations, Europe, and the Middle East Customary Law Based on the customs of a community Applied in approx. 40 countries “Primitive Law,” “Indigenous Law;” “Folk Law” Oral or written Social relations Reconciliatory rather than punitive Religious Law Religious Law Canon Law (Christian)  The Holy See Halakha (Judaism)  Orthodox and Conservative Jews Sharia & Figh (Islam)  Afghanistan, Iran, the Maldives, parts of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen Religious Law Based on sacred texts or religios traditions Unalterable (except for Canon Law) Differing in Methodology: Canon Law: codified Halakha: static quality Sharia & Figh: legal precedents Hybrid Systems Hybrid Systems Scotland: Roman and continental law, customary Scottish Law (High Middle Ages), Common Law Louisiana: Louisiana Civil Code (private law); Common Law (criminal and administrative law) Roman-Dutch Law: based on Roman law as applied in the Netherlands (17th and 18th centuries)  Guyana, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Suriname, East Timor