What Is Civil Law? Definition and Examples

Civil law is both a legal system and a branch of law. In the United States, the term civil law refers to court cases that arise over a dispute between two non-governmental parties. Outside of the U.S., civil law is a legal system built upon Corpus Juris Civilis, the Justinian Code which originated in Rome in the sixth century. Most Western European states have a civil law system. In the U.S., Louisiana is the only state that follows the civil law tradition due to its French heritage.

Civil Law Definition

Civil law is the most widely adopted legal system in the world. A legal system is a set of codes and procedures used to carry out laws.

Civil law spread with the creation of the French Napoleonic Code of 1804 and the German Civil Code of 1900. (The German Civil Code served as the legal foundation in countries like Japan and South Korea.) Most civil law systems are broken into four codes: the civil code, civil procedure code, criminal code, and criminal procedure code. These codes have been influenced by other bodies of law like canon law and merchant law.

In general, civil law trials are "inquisitorial" rather than "adversarial." In an inquisitorial trial, judges play a large role, overseeing and shaping every part of the proceeding. Civil law is a rules-based system, meaning that judges do not refer to past rulings to guide their decisions.

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What Is Administrative Law? Definition and Examples

By Robert Longley

In the United States, civil law is not a legal system; rather, it is a way to group non-criminal cases. One of the biggest differences between civil and criminal cases in the U.S. is who brings forward the litigation. In criminal cases, the government bears the burden of charging the defendant. In civil cases, an independent party files suit against another party for wrongdoing.

Common Law vs. Civil Law

Historically, civil law predates common law, which makes the foundation of each system different. While civil law countries trace the origin of their codes back to Roman law, most common law countries trace their codes back to British case law. The common law system was developed using jurisprudence at its outset. Civil law focuses on the legal code and asks judges to act as fact finders, deciding whether a party violated that code. Common law focuses on jurisprudence, asking judges to interpret laws and respect decisions from previous and higher courts.

Juries represent another key difference between the bodies of law. Countries that adopt a civil law system do not use juries to adjudicate cases. Countries that employ common law use lay-juries, groups of individuals without any specific experience, to determine guilt or innocence.

The way a lawyer practicing in each system might approach a case helps highlight the difference between these bodies of law. A lawyer in a civil law system would turn to the text of the country's civil code at the start of a case, relying on it to form the basis of his arguments. A common law lawyer would consult the original code, but turn to more recent jurisprudence to form the basis of his argument.

Civil Law vs. Criminal Law

In the U.S. legal system, there are two branches of law: civil and criminal. Criminal law covers behaviors that offend the general public and must be prosecuted by the state. The state might prosecute someone for battery, assault, murder, larceny, burglary, and possession of illegal narcotics.

Civil law covers conflicts between two parties including individuals and businesses. Examples of cases covered under civil law include negligence, fraud, breach of contract, medical malpractice and marriage dissolution. If someone damages another person's property, the victim may sue the perpetrator in civil court for the cost of the damage.

In general, civil offenses are less serious than criminal offenses. However, some incidents can be tried in both civil and criminal court. For example, theft could be a civil or criminal charge based on how much money was stolen, who it was stolen from, and in what way. A more serious version of a civil crime might be tried as a criminal offense.

Although most civil cases cover disputes like fraud and breach of contract, they can also involve more serious crimes where victims suffer harm. For example, a company could sell an untested product that injures the consumer. That consumer could sue the company for negligence, a civil matter. Negligence can also be tried as a criminal matter if the perpetrator completely departs from the course of action that a reasonable person would take. Someone who is criminally negligent shows indifference and disregard for human life.

Sources

• Sells, William L., et al. “Intro to Civil Law Legal Systems: INPROL Consolidated Response.” Federal Judicial Center. www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/2015/Introduction to Civil Law Legal Systems.pdf.
• Apple, James G, and Robert P Deyling. “A Primer on the Civil-Law System.” Federal Judicial Center. www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/2012/CivilLaw.pdf.
• Engber, Daniel. “Is Louisiana under Napoleonic Law?” Slate Magazine, Slate, 12 Sept. 2005, slate.com/news-and-politics/2005/09/is-louisiana-under-napoleonic-law.html.