Legal Systems Around The World Vary Greatly

Legal systems around the world vary greatly, but they usually
follow civil law or common law. In common law, past legal precedents

or judicial rulings are used to decide cases at hand. Under civil law,
codified statutes and ordinances rule the land. Some countries like
South Africa use a combination of civil and common law.
Comparison chart
Differences — Similarities —
Civil Law versus Common Law comparison chart
Civil Law Common Law

Legal Legal system originating in Europe Legal system characterized by case law,
System whose most prevalent feature is that its which is law developed by judges through
core principles are codified into a decisions of courts and similar tribunals.
referable system which serves as the
primary source of law.
Role of Chief investigator; makes rulings, Makes rulings; sets precedent; referee
judges usually non-binding to 3rd parties. In a between lawyers.Judges decide matters of
civil law system, the judge’s role is to law and, where a jury is absent, they also
establish the facts of the case and to find facts. Most judges rarely inquire
apply the provisions of the applicable extensively into matters before them,
code. Though the judge often brings the instead relying on arguments presented by
formal charge. the part
Countries Spain, China, Japan, Germany, most United States, England, Australia,
African nations, all South American Canada, India
nations (except Guyana), most of
Europe
Constitutio Always Not always

n
Precedent Only used to determine administrative Used to rule on future or present cases
of constitutional court matters
Role of jury In cases of civil law, the opinion of the Juries are comprised only of laypersons
jury may not have to be unanimous. — never judges. In the U.S., juries are
Laws vary by state and country. Juries employed in both civil and criminal cases.
are present almost exclusively in Their function is to weigh evidence
Civil Law versus Common Law comparison chart
Civil Law Common Law

criminal cases; virtually never involved presented to them, and to find the facts
in civil actions. Judges ensure law and apply the law.
prevails over passion.
History The civil law tradition developed in Common law systems have evolved
continental Europe at the same time and primarily in England and its former
was applied in the colonies of European colonies, including all but one US
imperial powers such as Spain and jurisdiction and all but one Canadian
Portugal. jurisdiction. For the most part, the
English-speaking world operates under
common law.
Sources of 1. Constitution 2. Legislation – statutes 1. Constitution (not in the UK) 2.

Law and subsidiary legislation 3. Custom 4. Legislation – Statutes and subsidiary
International Law 5. [Nota bene: It may legislation 3. Judicial precedent –
be argued that judicial precedents and common law and equity 4. Custom 5.
conventions also function within Convention 6. International Law
Continental systems, but they are not
generally recogn
Type of Inquisitorial. Judges, not lawyers, ask Adversarial. Lawyers ask questions of
argument questions and demand evidence. witnesses, demand production of
and role of Lawyers present arguments based on evidence, and present cases based on the
lawyers the evidence the court finds. evidence they have gathered.
Evidence Evidence demands are within the Widely understood to be a necessary part
Taking sovereign inquisitorial function of the of the litigants’ effective pursuit or
court — not within the lawyers’ role. defense of a claim. Litigants are given
As such, “discovery” by foreign wide latitude in US jurisdictions, but
attorneys is dimly viewed, and can even more limited outside the US. In any
lead to criminal sanctions where the event, the litigants and their lawyers
court’s role is usurp undertake to a
Evolution Both systems have similar sources of Both systems have similar sources of law-
law- both have statutes and both have both have statutes and both have case
case law, they approach regulation and law, they approach regulation and resolve
resolve issues in different ways, from issues in different ways, from different
different perspectives perspectives
Contents: Civil Law vs Common Law

 1 Origins
 2 Modern Common and Civil Law Systems
 3 Countries following Civil or Common Law
 4 Legal representation
 5 Constitutions
 6 Contracts
 7 Precedent
 8 American vs. British Common Law
 9 History
 10 References
Origins
Historians believe that the Romans developed civil law around 600 C.E., when
the emperor Justinian began compiling legal codes. Current civil law codes
developed around that Justinian tradition of codifying laws as opposed to legal
rulings.
Common law dates to early English monarchy when courts began collecting and
publishing legal decisions. Later, those published decisions were used as the
basis to decide similar cases.
Modern Common and Civil Law Systems

Today the difference between common and civil legal tenets lies in the actual
source of law. Common-law systems make refer extensively to statutes, but
judicial cases are considered the most important source of law, allowing judges
to pro-actively contribute to rules. For example, the elements needed to prove
the crime of murder are contained in case law rather than defined by statute. For
consistency, courts abide by precedents set by higher courts examining the
same issue.
In civil-law systems on the other hand, codes and statutes are designed to cover
all eventualities and judges have a more limited role of applying the law to the
case in hand. Past judgments are no more than loose guides. When it comes to
court cases, judges in civil-law systems are more like investigators, while their
equivalents in the common-law systems are rather arbiters between parties
presenting arguments.
Below is a discussion on civil vs common law systems:
Countries following Civil or Common Law

The United States, Canada, England, India, and Australia are generally
considered common law countries. Because they were all once subjects or
colonies of Great Britain, they have often retained the tradition of common law.
The state of Louisiana in the United States uses bijuridicial civil law because it
was once a colony of France.
Civil law countries include all of South America (except Guyana), almost all of
Europe (including Germany, France, and Spain), China, and Japan.
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe are bijuridical, i.e., they follow
a combination of both legal systems.
A map showing legal systems of the world. Click to enlarge.
Legal representation
In both civil and common law countries, lawyers and judges play an important
role.
However, in civil law countries, the judge is usually the main investigator, and
the lawyer's role is to advise a client on legal proceedings, write legal pleadings,
and help provide favorable evidence to the investigative judge.
In common law, the judge often acts as a referee, as two lawyers argue their
side of the case. Generally, the judge, and sometimes a jury, listen to both sides
to come to a conclusion about the case.
Constitutions
Though not a rule, common law countries may not always follow a constitution
or a code of laws.
In civil law, the constitution is generally based on a code of laws, or codes
applying to specific areas, like tax law, corporate law, or administrative law.
Contracts
Freedom of contract is very extensive in common law countries, i.e., very little or
no provisions are implied in contracts by law. Civil law countries on the other
hand have a more sophisticated model for contract with provisions based in the
law.
Precedent
The decisions of judges are always binding in common law countries, althought
that does not mean the decision may not be appealed. In the United States, for
example, cases may be heard by a network of federal or state courts, with the
federal Supreme Court holding ultimate power. Generally, the ruling of the last
court that a case visits remains the final, binding verdict. That case may later be
used as precedent to argue similar cases in the future.
In civil law countries, only the judicial decisions of administrative and
constitutional courts are binding outside the original case. In essence, the
concept of precedent, i.e. past cases can determine the outcome of future ones,
is not used.
American vs. British Common Law

Because it began as a colony of England, the United States inherited many
traditions of British common law, including habeas corpus and jury trials.
After the American Revolutionary War, one of the first acts of the new
government was to adopt existing English common law in full, unless it
contradicted the U.S. Constitution.
However, in 1938, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there will be “no general
common law.” So, from that year forward, federal courts deciding issues that
originated in states had to look to the state judicial interpretations of those
matters.
The 1938 decision was later amended so that the federal government could
develop a common law based on uniquely federal interests, such as war, foreign
policy, taxation, etc.
History
Common law is a peculiar to England in its origin. Until the Norman conquest,
there were different rules for different regions of the country. But as the laws and
the country began to unite, a common law was created based on customs and
rulings across the country. These rules developed organically and were rarely
written down.
European rulers on the other hand ruled on Roman law, and a compilation of
rules issued by the emperor Justinian in the 6th century that was rediscovered in
11th-century Italy. With the Enlightenment of the 18th century, rulers from
different continental countries took to comprehensive legal codes.
References
 What is the Civil Law? - LSU Law Center
 Swift v. Tyson - FindLaw
 Wikipedia: Common_law#United States federal system (1789 and 1938)
 Wikipedia: English law
Related Comparisons
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 Private Law vs Public Law
 Civil Law vs Criminal Law
 Common Law vs Statutory Law
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Legal Systems Around The World Vary Greatly

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Legal systems around the world vary greatly, but they usually

follow civil law or common law. In common law, past legal precedents

Civil Law Common Law

Constitutio Always Not always

Civil Law Common Law

Sources of 1. Constitution 2. Legislation – statutes 1. Constitution (not in the UK) 2.

Contents: Civil Law vs Common Law

Modern Common and Civil Law Systems

Countries following Civil or Common Law

A map showing legal systems of the world. Click to enlarge.

American vs. British Common Law

 Private Law vs Public Law

 Civil Law vs Criminal Law

 Common Law vs Statutory Law

 Circuit Court vs District Court

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