Civil Law
Civil law is a legal system based on written laws and codes, as opposed to common law, which relies on judicial decisions and precedents. It governs private disputes between individuals or organizations, such as contracts, property, and family matters. Civil law aims to provide a clear and comprehensive framework for resolving conflicts and enforcing rights and obligations.
6 Key excerpts on "Civil Law"
eBook - ePub- Bob Roshier, Harvey Teff, Bob Roshier, Harvey Teff(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...4 Legal Rules in Operation: (2) The Settlement of Disputes in Civil Law Introduction We have seen that the conventional image of criminal justice, as a process culminating in a full-scale adversarial trial, does not correspond with reality in the vast majority of cases. At all stages extraneous considerations present themselves and are frequently decisive. The constraints of operating a system of general application are not fully compatible with formal notions of individualized justice. Police discretion is inevitable. Policeman and accused alike actively seek to have cases disposed of with a minimum of formality and delay. Judges too wish to avoid long trials. In the circumstances, it should not surprise us that techniques more appropriate to office management loom so large. In this chapter we turn our attention to the Civil Law. In contrast to the pronounced public element in criminal law, the bulk of Civil Law is concerned with private rights and obligations. It provides a framework within which people may arrange their affairs and a mechanism whereby an aggrieved individual may seek a remedy. It covers a broad and disparate range of topics, such as the transfer of land, the making of contracts and wills, matrimonial disputes, and accident claims. This diversity of Civil Law and its lack of the public dimension crucial to criminal law require us to approach it in a rather different and more selective manner. Not only do many Civil Law transactions take place without any reference to the possibility of court action, but the institution of civil proceedings is for most purposes a voluntary matter. Unlike the position in criminal law, only the injured person may sue in respect of a civil wrong and he is free to discontinue his action at any time, or to agree to some compromise solution. It is true that in certain civil matters, which are deemed to have a public aspect, some court involvement is obligatory...
eBook - ePub- Tom Craig, David Campbell(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Civil and criminal law are two distinct areas of legal practice and are overseen by separate parts of the judiciary. In matters of Civil Law, individuals can bring other individuals (or legal entities, such as companies) to the judiciary in order to have disputes settled. A civil matter is one in which a legal entity feels that they have a legitimate grievance against another, but the ‘offence’ is a matter which is not serious enough for the state to bring the case to a criminal court. The nature of the ‘offence’ is not considered to be a threat to society as a whole. In civil cases, the judiciary therefore acts as an umpire, ensuring that wrongs are redressed and that fairness is enforced. Once a civil court has made a judgement, the ruling carries the authority of the state. Some of the most common civil disputes concern matters of tort. The Law of Torts concerns legal wrongs against an individual which gives the plaintiff (the party that brings the complaint – see later) a right of civil action for damages, but which do not arise over matters of breach of contract or trust. It is a broad expectation in society that individuals should have the right to pursue their lives without personal offence to their persons, property, etc. and to enjoy their possessions and property without unreasonable intrusion by others. Tort concerns such things as trespass, nuisance, negligence and defamation of character. It gives individuals the right of legal redress when they have been offended against in these matters. A criminal case is one in which the offence is viewed as being of sufficient seriousness that, even although it may be an individual that has been ‘wronged’ the case against the alleged offender is brought by the state (or the Crown) in the form of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for England and Wales...
eBook - ePubEnglish Legal System
An Emerald Guide
- (Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Straightforward Publishing Digital(Publisher)
...In a civil case, the person if found to be liable will be ordered to put right the matter. This is usually done by an award of money as compensation, known as damages although other remedies may be ordered. In criminal cases, the standard of proof is very high. A criminal case must be proven beyond all reasonable doubt. Civil cases are proved on the balance of probabilities. This is a lower standard of proof. Overleaf is a summary of civil and criminal law cases. Civil cases Criminal cases Object of law To uphold the rights of individuals To maintain law and order Person starting case Individuals who are affected Usually State through police or Crown Prosecution Service Terminology Claimant Prosecutor Courts County Court or High Court or Tribunal Magistrates court or Crown Court Standard of proof The balance of probability Beyond reasonable doubt People making Decision Judge Magistrates or jury Decision Liable or not liable Guilty or not guilty Powers of court Usually damages, injunction, performance of contract rescission or rectification Prison, fine, community order, discharge etc. Defining law Having considered the various divisions of law it is now time to consider definitions of law. One broad definition of law was that provided by Sir John Salmond. He defined the law as being ‘the body of principles recognised and applied by the state in the administration of justice’. This neatly encapsulates the meaning and application of law in one brief sentence. Law applies throughout a country to people generally. There are other sets of rules applied more individually to people and organisations, for example rules governing sports or rules which have developed as a result of local customs and traditions. Law and morality Moral values of communities set out a framework for how people should behave. Concepts of morality differ from culture to culture, although there are common denominators, for example outlawing extreme and harmful behaviour such as rape or murder...
eBook - ePubAmerican Judicial Process
Myth and Reality in Law and Courts
- Pamela C. Corley, Artemus Ward, Wendy L. Martinek(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...as mediation and arbitration are neutral, independent, and fair. Alternative Dispute Resolution processes favor repeat players and “haves” particularly when set “in house” or with private third parties. Class action suits advantage plaintiffs. Although class action suits can benefit plaintiffs, the use of binding arbitration has largely neutralized any plaintiff advantage. Coping with Disputes How do disputes arise? It is not remarkable to observe that people can disagree over just about anything (including how exams are graded and what constitutes a reasonable number of pages for a college-level reading assignment). Disputes over politics are settled at the ballot box. Disagreements over sporting teams are settled on the playing field. And disputes about the best film are resolved at the Oscars—at least according to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences! Disputes are commonplace. But only a small fraction of disputes result in a court case being filed. 29 A civil dispute is a legal disagreement between two or more principle individuals or organizations. Divorce, child custody, failure to pay for services rendered (or failure to provide services for which payment has been rendered), defective products, wrongdoing by business associates, medical malpractice, and injuries sustained in automobile accidents are all examples of civil disputes. Unlike criminal matters, where the state initiates the dispute against an individual for violating the law, civil matters are typically between two or more private parties—usually over monetary issues or the performance of duties—and generally do not involve the state as a formal party to the dispute. 30 In general, civil matters fall into three categories: torts, contracts, and property. Torts are wrongful acts (not involving the breach of an agreement, which falls under contracts), whether intentional or accidental, from which injury occurs to another...
eBook - ePub- Janice Denoncourt(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...6 Comparative Legal Systems Civil Law, US Law, Japanese Law, People’s Republic Of China, Sharia and Hindu Law Introduction Business transcends borders and therefore it is important to have an awareness of the legal frameworks of key foreign trade markets such as the USA, Japan and China as well as the world’s important religious-based legal traditions, such as Sharia and Hindu. The European (Romano-German) Civil Law System Now that the United Kingdom is part of the European Union it is important to develop an understanding of the European Civil Law system. The Civil Law system is the most widespread legal system in the world. It derives from 450 BC when Rome adopted the Twelve Tables, a code of laws applicable to Roman citizens. A compilation of Roman law, called the Corpus Juris Civilis (the Body of Civil Law), was completed in AD 534. Later, two national codes, the French Civil Code of 1804 (the Napoleonic Code) and the German Civil Code of 1896, became the preferred models for countries that sought to adopt civil codes. In contrast to the English legal system, where laws are created by legislation as well as the judicial system, the European Civil Code and parliamentary statutes that expand and interpret them are the sole sources of law in most Civil Law countries. This means that, when a case is adjudicated in court, it is a matter of applying the relevant code provisions to the particular fact situation. The United States’ Anglo-American Legal System The USA is Britain’s largest single export market, taking £33.3 billion of UK goods in 2010 (14.3 per cent of the UK’s exports). The UK is the sixth biggest exporter to the USA, after Canada, Mexico, China, Japan and Germany. The USA is also the leading overseas destination for British investment. In terms of law, the Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the country...
eBook - ePubComparative Contract Law
An Introduction
- Ermanno Calzolaio(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...2 The sources of contract law DOI: 10.4324/9781003251606-2 In the Civil Law tradition, the general principles and the doctrinal structure of contract law lie on the civil codes provisions. This observation remains true, notwithstanding that the traditional centrality of codes has been progressively eroded by the enactment of many statutes, affecting both specific areas of contract law (such as, for instance, consumer contracts) and certain types of contracts (sale of goods, agency, etc.). In contrast, in the common law tradition, given the absence of codes, the ‘general part’ of contract law continues to be a combination of rules and principles predominantly based on case law. This being the traditional way of introducing the topic of the sources of contract law, it needs now to be clarified in more detail. 2.1 Civil Law: the meaning of code It is important not to take for granted what a code is. Sometimes, it is assumed that a code is simply a set of rules put in a statutory form. In reality, it is much more than this. Very briefly, the word code comes from the Latin ‘codex’, which meant a book that is bound, in contrast with ‘volumen’, which meant a scroll. The word ‘codex’ identified a format, rather than a content. Its legal meaning emerged gradually, hand in hand with the use of the word by public authorities (e.g. the Emperors), when they wanted to issue a collection of statutes to be kept for a long time. In this way, the meaning of the word shifted from a format to the content itself and it indicated a collection of statutes and rules, ordered in a coherent way. The modern meaning of code goes far beyond this. As a consequence of the will theories laid down by Hobbes and then by Von Pufendorf in the 17th century and later by other eminent philosophers, law came to be conceived as the product of the will of the supreme authority, expressed through statutes...
