CIVIL LAW

also called Romano-germanic Law, the law of continental Europe, based on an admixture of Roman, Germanic, ecclesiastical, feudal, commercial, and customary law. European civil law has been adopted in much of Latin America as well as in parts of Asia and Africa and is to be distinguished from the common law of the Anglo-American countries. The term civil law has other meanings not employed in this article. The term jus civile, meaning civil law, for example, was used in ancient Rome to distinguish the law found exclusively in the city of Rome from the jus gentium, the law of all nations, found throughout the empire. The phrase has also been used to distinguish private law, governing the relations among individuals, from public law and criminal law. Finally, the national law of a country is sometimes called civil law, in contrast to international law. Until the 5th-century invasions of the Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, Roman law prevailed in western Europe. The laws of the Franks, Burgundians, Goths, and Lombards largely replaced it. Several hundred years later, as universities came into being, scholars rediscovered Roman law. Its study and application spread, first throughout northern Italy, then into Germany and the Netherlands, all territories of the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman (or German) emperors regarded themselves as the successors of imperial Rome. They therefore accepted the corpus juris civilis, the code established by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in the 6th century, as being still in effect. The old Germanic feudal and ecclesiastical laws were not wholly replaced, however, but were fused with the Roman laws. In the system thus formed, Roman law was strongest in such matters as contracts, whereas church law dominated marital questions; and a fusion of both with Germanic tradition governed property and the succession to titles and estates. This system took the Latin name jus civile, or civil law, and was one of the chief factors underlying the unity that prevailed in western Europe until the Reformation. The Reformation and the rise of nationalism led to a series of codifications of civil law along national lines, beginning in the 17th century. The most significant of these codifications were the French (the Code Napolon, established in 1804) and the German. These codes each serve as the model for a major division of the civil-law system. The French group includes, in addition to France and its former possessions overseas, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, and many Latin-American countries. The German group includes Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries, and certain countries outside Europe, such as Japan, that have westernized their legal systems. The French Revolution established the idea that the basis of law is statute, not custom. Customs were to be tolerated as the basis of laws only until they were replaced by statutes. The civil code that Napoleon enacted sought to express all laws in written language comprehensible to the average citizen. It also sought to avoid ruptures with tradition where possible. The code is expressed in short articles arranged in a comprehensive and logical manner. It remained almost unchanged until 1875, when the Third Republic introduced many new statutes reflecting the social and economic changes that had taken place since the time of Napoleon. Even more amendments have taken place in the 20th century. The civil code exercises firm jurisdiction over marriage, divorce, inheritance, ownership of real estate and of movable property, and gifts. Contracts and torts are dealt with very briefly in the code, leaving the courts considerable latitude in these matters. The civil law in Germany is largely based on the Juristenrecht, a system worked out by the legal profession over a long period from the 15th century until 1896, when the German civil code was proclaimed. The German system attempts to be more precise than the French and to be more detailed in areas in which the French code is cursory. Its wording is more subdued and its tone less didactic. As modified for conditions in Germany today, the code is aimed at preserving social democracy. also called Romano-Germanic law, the law of continental Europe, based on an admixture of Roman, Germanic, ecclesiastical, feudal, commercial, and customary law. European civil law has been adopted in much of Latin America as well as in parts of Asia and Africa and is to be distinguished from the common law of the Anglo-American countries. The term civil law has other meanings not employed in this article. The term jus civile, meaning civil law, for example, was used in ancient Rome to distinguish the law found exclusively in the city of Rome from the jus gentium, the law of all nations, found throughout the empire. The phrase has also been used to distinguish private law, governing the relations among individuals, from public law and criminal law. Finally, the national law of a country is sometimes called civil law, in contrast to international law. Additional reading Arthur Taylor von Mehren and James Russell Gordley, The Civil Law System, 2nd ed. (1977), is a rich collection of cases and other source materials from France and Germany. A useful introduction for general readers as well as for those with legal training is John Henry Merryman, The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Western Europe and Latin America, 2nd ed. (1985). Helpful guides to the legal systems of particular countries are: F.H. Lawson, A.E. Anton, and L. Neville Brown (eds.), Introduction to French Law, 3rd ed. (1967); Otto Kahn-Freund, Claudine Lvy, and Bernhard Rudden, A Source Book on French Law: System, Methods, Outlines of Contract, 2nd ed. (1979); F.H. Lawson, A Common Lawyer Looks at the Civil Law (1955, reprinted 1977), primarily concerned with French law; E.J. Cohn, Manual of German Law, 2nd rev. ed., 2 vol. (196871), a book written for lawyers; Norbert Horn, Hein Ktz, and Hansi G. Leser, German Private and Commercial Law: An Introduction, trans. from German (1982); Mauro Cappelletti, John Henry Merryman, and Joseph M. Perillo, The Italian Legal System: An Introduction (1967); and Arthur Taylor von Mehren (ed.), Law in Japan: The Legal Order in a Changing Society (1963).