Civil Law

Common Law

Legal System Legal system originating in Europe whose most

prevalent feature is that its core principles are
codified into a referable system which serves as the
primary source of law.

Legal system characterized by case law, which is law

developed by judges through decisions of courts and
similar tribunals.

Role of judges Chief investigator; makes rulings, usually nonbinding to 3rd parties. In a civil law system, the
judges role is to establish the facts of the case and to
apply the provisions of the applicable code. Though
the judge often brings the formal charge

Makes rulings; sets precedent; referee between

lawyers.Judges decide matters of law and, where a
jury is absent, they also find facts. Most judges rarely
inquire extensively into matters before them, instead
relying on arguments presented by the part

Countries Spain, China, Japan, Germany, most African nations,

all South American nations (except Guyana), most
of Europe
Constitution Always
Precedent Only used to determine administrative of
constitutional court matters
Jury opinion In cases of civil law, the opinion of the jury may not
have to be unanimous. Laws vary by state and
country. Juries are present almost exclusively in
criminal cases; virtually never involved in civil
actions. Judges ensure law prevails over passion.
History The civil law tradition developed in continental
Europe at the same time and was applied in the
colonies of European imperial powers such as Spain

United States, England, Australia, Canada, India

Not always
Used to rule on future or present cases
Juries are comprised only of laypersons never
judges and, in practice, only rarely lawyers and
are rarely employed to decide non-criminal matters
outside the United States. Their function is to weigh
evidence presented to them, and to find fa
Common law systems have evolved primarily in
England and its former colonies, including all but
one US jurisdiction and all but one Canadian

Civil Law

Common Law
and Portugal.

jurisdiction. For the most part, the English-speaking

world operates under common law.

Sources of Law 1. Constitution 2. Legislation statutes and

subsidiary legislation 3. Custom 4. International
Law 5. [Nota bene: It may be argued that judicial
precedents and conventions also function within
Continental systems, but they are not generally
recogn

1. Constitution (not in the UK) 2. Legislation

Statutes and subsidiary legislation 3. Judicial
precedent common law and equity 4. Custom 5.
Convention 6. International Law

Type of argument Inquisitorial. Judges, not lawyers, ask questions and

and role of demand evidence. Lawyers present arguments based
lawyers on the evidence the court finds.

Adversarial. Lawyers ask questions of witnesses,

demand production of evidence, and present cases
based on the evidence they have gathered.

Evidence Taking Evidence demands are within the sovereign

inquisitorial function of the court not within the
lawyers role. As such, discovery by foreign
attorneys is dimly viewed, and can even lead to
criminal sanctions where the courts role is usurp
Evolution Both systems have similar sources of law- both have
statutes and both have case law, they approach
regulation and resolve issues in different ways, from
different perspectives

Widely understood to be a necessary part of the

litigants effective pursuit or defense of a claim.
Litigants are given wide latitude in US jurisdictions,
but more limited outside the US. In any event, the
litigants and their lawyers undertake to a
Both systems have similar sources of law- both have
statutes and both have case law, they approach
regulation and resolve issues in different ways, from
different perspectives