Civil law is the most widespread system of law around the world. It is also sometimes known as Continental European law. The central source of law that is recognized as authoritative are codifications in a constitution or statute passed by legislature, to amend a code. While the concept of codification dates back to the Code of Hammurabi in Babylon ca. 1790 BC, civil law systems mainly derive from the Roman Empire, and more particularly, the Corpus Juris Civilis issued by the Emperor Justinian ca. 529 AD. This was an extensive reform of the law in the Byszantine Empire, bringing it together into codified documents. Civil law was also partly influenced by Religious Laws such as Canon Law and Islamic Law. Civil law today, in theory, is interpreted rather than developed or made by judges. Only legislative enactments (rather than judicial precedent, as in common law) are considered legally binding.
Scholars of Comparative Law and economists promoting the legal origins theory usually subdivide civil law into four distinct groups:
- French civil law: in France, the Benelux countries, Italy, Romania, Spain and former colonies of those countries;
- German civil law: in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Japan, South Korea and the Republic of China;
- Scandinavian civil law: in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. As former colonies, Finland and Iceland inherited the system from their neighbors.
- Chinese law is a mixture of civil law and socialist law.
A comprehensive list of countries that base their legal system on a codified civil law follows:
| Country | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Albania | The Civil Code of the Republic of Albania, 1991 really | |
| Angola | Based on Portuguese civil law | |
| Argentina | The Spanish legal tradition had a great influence on the Civil Code of Argentina, basically a work of the Argentine jurist Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield, who dedicated five years of his life on this task. The Civil Code came into effect on January 1, 1871. Beyond the influence of the Spanish legal tradition, the Argentinian Civil Code was also inspired by the Draft of the Brazilian Civil Code, the Draft of the Spanish Civil Code of 1851, the Napoleonic code and the Chilean Civil Code. The sources of this Civil Code also include various theoretical legal works, mainly of the great French jurists of the 19th century. It was the first Civil Law that consciously adopted as its cornerstone the distinction between i. rights from obligations and ii. real property rights, thus distancing itself from the French model. The Argentinian Civil Code was also in effect in Paraguay, as per a Paraguayan law of 1880, until the new Civil Code went in force in 1987. During the second half of the 20th century, the German legal theory became increasingly influential in Argentina. | |
| Andorra | Courts apply the customary laws of Andorra, supplemented with Roman law and customary Catalan law. | |
| Aruba | Based on Dutch civil law | |
| Austria | The Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) of 1811 | |
| Azerbaijan | ||
| Belarus | ||
| Belgium | The Napoleonic Code is still in use, although it is heavily modified (especially concerning family law) | |
| Benin | ||
| Bolivia | Influenced by the Napoleonic Code | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Influenced by Austrian law. The Swiss civil law (Zivilgesetzbuch) was a model for the Law on Obligations of 1978. | |
| Brazil | Derived from the German and Roman civil law | |
| Bulgaria | Civil Law system influenced by Germanic and Roman law systems | |
| Burkina Faso | ||
| Burundi | ||
| Chad | ||
| People's Republic of China | civil law system; based on native customs and practices with Soviet and German influence | |
| Republic of the Congo | ||
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||
| Cote d'Ivoire | ||
| Cambodia | ||
| Cape Verde | Based on Portuguese civil law | |
| Central African Republic | ||
| Chile | The Spanish legal tradition exercised an especially great influence on the civil code of Chile. On its turn, the Chilean civil code influenced to a large degree the drafting of the civil codes of other Latin-American states. For instance, the codes of Ecuador (1861) and Colombia (1873) constituted faithful reproductions of the Chilean code, but for very few exceptions. The compiler of the Civil Code of Chile, venezuelan Andrés Bello, worked for its completion for almost 30 years, using elements, of the Spanish law on the one hand, and of other Western laws, especially of the French one, on the other. Indeed, it is noted that he consulted and used all of the codes that had been issued till then, starting from the era of Justinian. The Civil Code came into effect on January 1, 1857. Its technique is regarded as perfect; it is distinguished for the clarity, logic and cohesiveness of its provisions. As mentioned by Arminjon, Nolde, and Wolff ('Traite de droit comparé', Paris, 1950-1952) Andrés Bello may be regarded as one of the great legislators of mankind. The influence of the Napoleonic code is great; it is observed however that e.g. in many provisions of property law, the solutions of the French code civil were put aside in favor of pure Roman law. | |
| Colombia | Civil code introduced in 1873. Nearly faithful reproduction of the Chilean civil code | |
| Costa Rica | First Civil Code (a part of the General Code or Carrillo Code) came into effect in 1841; its text was inspired by the South Peruvian Civil Code of Marshal Andres de Santa Cruz. The present Civil Code is into effect since January 1, 1888, and reveals the influenced by the Napoleonic Code and the Spanish Civil Code of 1889 (from its 1851 draft version). | |
| Croatia | Influenced by Austrian and Hungarian law. The Law on Obligations of 2005. | |
| Cuba | Influenced by Spanish and American law with large elements of Communist legal theory. | |
| Czech Republic | Descended from Austro-Hungarian Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, influenced by German (minor influence) and Soviet (major influence) legal codes during occupation periods, substantially reformed after the Velvet Revolution of 1989. | |
| Denmark | Scandinavian-German civil law | |
| Dominican Republic | Based by the Napoleonic Code | |
| Ecuador | Civil code introduced in 1861. Nearly faithful reproduction of the Chilean civil code | |
| El Salvador | ||
| Estonia | ||
| Finland | civil law system based on Swedish law | |
| France | Based on the Napoleonic code (code civil of 1804) | |
| Equatorial Guinea | ||
| Ethiopia | ||
| Gabon | ||
| Guinea | based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree | |
| Guinea-Bissau | ||
| Georgia | ||
| Germany | The Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch of 1900 ("BGB"). The BGB is influenced both by Roman and German law traditions. | |
| Greece | The Greek civil code of 1946, highly influenced by the German civil code of 1900 (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch); the Greek civil code replaced the Byzantine-Roman civil law in effect in Greece since its independence (Νομική Διάταξη της Ανατολικής Χέρσου Ελλάδος, Legal Provision of Eastern Mainland Greece, November 1821: 'Οι Κοινωνικοί Νόμοι των Αειμνήστων Χριστιανών Αυτοκρατόρων της Ελλάδος μόνοι ισχύουσι κατά το παρόν εις την Ανατολικήν Χέρσον Ελλάδα', 'The Social [i.e. Civil] Laws of the Dear Departed Christian Emperors of Greece [referring to the Byzantine Emperors] alone are in effect at present in Eastern Mainland Greece') | |
| Guatemala | Guatemala has had three Civil Codes: the first one from 1877, a new one introduced in 1933, and the one currently in force, which was passed in 1963. This Civil Code has suffered some reforms throughout the years, as well as a few derogations relating to areas which have subsequently been regulated by newer laws, such as the Code of Commerce and the Law of the National Registry of Persons. In general, it follows the tradition of the roman-French system of civil codification. Regarding the theory of 'sources of law' in the Guatemalan legal system, the 'Ley del Organismo Judicial' recognizes 'the law' as the main legal source (in the sense of legislative texts), although it also establishes 'jurisprudence' as a complementary source. Although jurisprudence technically refers to judicial decisions in general, in practice it tends to be confused and identified with the concept of 'legal doctrine', which is a qualified series of identical resolutions in similar cases pronounced by higher courts (the Constitutional Court acting as a 'Tribunal de Amparo', and the Supreme Court acting as a 'Tribunal de Casación') whose theses become binding for lower courts. | |
| Haiti | Influenced by the Napoleonic Code | |
| Honduras | ||
| Hungary | ||
| Iceland | Based on Germanic traditional laws and influenced by Medieval Norwegian and Danish laws. | |
| Italy | Based on codified Roman law, with elements of the Napoleonic civil code; civil code of 1942 replaced the original one of 1865 | |
| Japan | Modeled after European (primarily German) civil law system. Japanese civil code of 1895. | |
| Latvia | Largely influenced by Germany, medium influences from Russian and Soviet law. | |
| Lebanon | Modeled after French civil law | |
| Lithuania | Modeled after Dutch civil law | |
| Luxembourg | Influenced by the Napoleonic Code | |
| Macau | Based on the Portuguese strand of the continental tradition, itself much influenced by Germany; also influenced by the law of the PRC | |
| Mexico | "The origins of Mexico's legal system are both ancient and classical, based on the Greek, Roman and French legal systems, and the Mexican system shares more in common with other legal systems throughout the world (especially those in Latin America and most of continental Europe)..." From: http://www.mexonline.com/lawreview.htm Jaime B. Berger Stender Attorney at Law author, Tijuana, B.C., Mexico | |
| Mongolia | Civil Code of 2002 based on German BGB | |
| Montenegro | First: the General Property Code for the Principality of Montenegro of 1888, written by Valtazar Bogišić. Present: the Law on Obligations of 2008. | |
| Netherlands | Influenced by the Napoleonic Code | |
| Norway | Scandinavian-German civil law. King Magnus VI the Lawmender unified the regional laws into a single code of law for the whole kingdom in 1274. This was replaced by Christian V's Norwegian Code of 1687. | |
| Panama | ||
| Paraguay | The Paraguayan Civil Code in force since 1987 is largely influenced by the Napoleonic Code and the Argentinian Code | |
| Peru | Based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | |
| Poland | The Polish Civil Code in force since 1965 | |
| Portugal | Influenced by the Napoleonic Code and later by the German Civil Law | |
| Republic of China (Taiwan) | Codification derived from German BGB. | |
| Romania | Based on the Napoleonic Code | |
| Russia | Civil Law system descendant from Roman Law through Byzantine tradition. Heavily influenced by German and Dutch norms in 1700-1800's. Socialist-style modification in 1900's, and Continental European Law influences since 1990's. | |
| São Tomé e Príncipe | Based on Portuguese civil law | |
| Serbia | First: the Civil Code of Principality of Serbia of 1844, written by Jovan Hadžić, was influenced by the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch). Present: The Swiss civil law (Zivilgesetzbuch) was a model for the Law on Obligations of 1978. | |
| Slovakia | Descended from Austro-Hungarian law, influenced by German (minor influence prior to 1945) and Soviet (major influence after World War II) law, reformed after the Velvet Revolution of 1989. | |
| Slovenia | A Civil Law system influenced mostly by Germanic and Austro-Hungarian law systems | |
| Spain | Influenced by the Napoleonic Code, it also has some elements of Spain's legal tradition, starting with the Siete Partidas, a major legislative achievement from the Middle Ages. That body of law remained more or less unchanged until the 19th century, when the first civil codes were drafted, merging both the Napoleonic style with the Castilian tradions. | |
| Sweden | Scandinavian-German civil law. Like all Scandinavian legal systems, it is distinguished by its traditional character and for the fact that it did not adopt elements of Roman law. It is indeed worth mentioning that it assimilated very few elements of foreign laws whatsoever. It is also interesting that the Napoleonic Code had no influence in codification of law in Scandinavia. The historical basis of the law of Sweden, just as for all Nordic countries, is Old German law. Codification of the law started in Sweden during the 18th century, preceding the codifications of most other European countries. However, neither Sweden, nor any other Nordic state created a civil code of the kind of the Code Civil or the BGB. | |
| Switzerland | The Zivilgesetzbuch of 1908 and 1912 (obligations; fifth book) | |
| Turkey | Modeled after the Swiss civil law (Zivilgesetzbuch) of 1907; this has been a conscious choice of Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish state, in order to abolish the Islamic law (Sharia), aiming at westernizing the country | |
| Ukraine | Civil Code of Ukraine of 2004 | |
| Uruguay | ||
| Uzbekistan | Represents an evolution of Soviet civil law. Overwhelmingly strong impact of the Communist legal theory is traceable. | |
| Vietnam | Communist legal theory and French civil law |
