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Both civil (also known as Roman) and common law systems can be considered the most widespread in the world: civil law because it is the most widespread by landmass and by population overall, and common law because it is employed by the greatest number of people compared to any single civil law system. [2] [3] [4]
Civil law is sometimes referred to as neo-Roman law, Romano-Germanic law or Continental law. The expression "civil law" is a translation of Latin jus civile, or "citizens' law", which was the late imperial term for its legal system, as opposed to the laws governing conquered peoples (jus gentium); hence, the Justinian Code's title Corpus Juris Civilis.
Roman law forms the basic framework for civil law, the most widely used legal system today, and the terms are sometimes used synonymously. The historical importance of Roman law is reflected by the continued use of Latin legal terminology in many legal systems influenced by it, including common law .
Roman Dutch common law is a bijuridical or mixed system of law similar to the common law system in Scotland and Louisiana. Roman Dutch common law jurisdictions include South Africa , Botswana , Lesotho , Namibia , Swaziland , Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe .
An additional example, the Twelve Tables are tied into the notion of Jus Commune, which translates as "common law", but is commonly referred to as "civil law" in English-speaking countries. Some countries including South Africa and San Marino still base their current legal system on aspects of jus commune. [25]
In England, the law developed its own tradition separate from most of continental Europe based on its own common law. Scotland has a mixed civil and common law system. Scotland had a reception of Roman law and partial codification through the works of the Institutional Writers, such as Viscount Stair and Baron Hume, among others. Influence from ...
Private law—that is, substantive law between private sector parties, principally contracts and torts—has a civil law character, based on French and Spanish codes and ultimately Roman law, with some common law influences. [1] Louisiana is the only state whose private legal system is based on civil law, rather than the traditional American ...
The provisions of the Corpus Juris Civilis also influenced the canon law of the Catholic Church: it was said that ecclesia vivit lege romana – the church lives by Roman law. [3] Its influence on common law legal systems has been much smaller, although some basic concepts from the Corpus have survived through Norman law – such as the ...