Civil law (legal system)
Legal system originating in mainland Europe and adopted in much of the world.
- Civil law (legal system)500 related topics
Precedent
Principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive without going to courts for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts.
In contrast, civil law systems adhere to a legal positivism, where past decisions do not usually have the precedential, binding effect that they have in common law decision-making; the judicial review practiced by constitutional courts can be regarded as a notable exception.
Code of law
Type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted, by a process of codification.
Though the process and motivations for codification are similar in different common law and civil law systems, their usage is different.
Common law
Body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions.
Today, one-third of the world's population lives in common law jurisdictions or in systems mixed with civil law, including Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Burma, Cameroon, Canada (both the federal system and all its provinces except Quebec), Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom (including its overseas territories such as Gibraltar), the United States (both the federal system and 49 of its 50 states), and Zimbabwe.
Natural law
System of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacted laws of a state or society).
Natural law theory can also refer to "theories of ethics, theories of politics, theories of civil law, and theories of religious morality."
Corpus Juris Civilis
Modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor.
This recovered Roman law, in turn, became the foundation of law in all civil law jurisdictions.
Inquisitorial system
Legal system in which the court, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case.
Inquisitorial systems are used primarily in countries with civil legal systems, such as France and Italy, or legal systems based on Islamic law like Saudi Arabia, rather than in common law systems.
Civil code
Codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations.
The earliest surviving civil code is the Code of Ur-Nammu, written around 2100–2050 BC. The Corpus Juris Civilis, a codification of Roman law produced between 529 and 534 AD by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, forms the basis of civil law legal systems.
Jurisprudence
Theoretical study of the propriety of law.
Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first principles of natural law, civil law, and the law of nations.
Halakha
Collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah.
Historically, in the Jewish diaspora, halakha served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue of law – both civil and religious, since no differentiation of them exists in classical Judaism.
Supreme court
Highest court within the hierarchy of courts in many legal jurisdictions.
Civil law states tend not to have a single highest court.