Common Legal Systems Of The World:
Legal Systems In The World
Most nations today follow one of two major legal traditions: common law or civil law. The common law tradition emerged in England during the Middle Ages and was applied within British colonies across continents.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 and Portugal.
Common law is generally uncodified.
This means that there is no comprehensive compilation of legal rules
and statutes. While common law does rely on some scattered statutes,
which are legislative decisions, it is largely based on precedent, meaning the judicial decisions that have already been made in similar cases.
Civil Law, in contrast, is codified.
Countries with civil law systems have comprehensive, continuously
updated legal codes that specify all matters capable of being brought
before a court, the applicable procedure, and the appropriate punishment
for each offense. Such codes distinguish between different categories
of law: substantive law establishes which acts are subject to criminal
or civil prosecution, procedural law establishes how to determine
whether a particular action constitutes a criminal act, and penal law
establishes the appropriate penalty.
Customary law,
in its simplest form, is a body of rules, unofficial and generally
unwritten, established through cultural or societal norms. When a
society considers certain behaviors or practices so common as to be
required by law, whether officially recorded or not, those beliefs
establish the basis for customary law.
Islamic law The law according to the Muslim faith and as interpreted from the Koran; also known as Sharia law. Sometimes referred to as Muslim law or even Muhammadan law.