Learn About the Origin Of Civil Law

Civil law originates from the legal system established by the Roman Empire to administer the large territory over which it exercised authority through the first half of the first millennium A.D. Specifically, legal scholars trace the “civil” approach to legal systems, as can be differentiated from the other primary approach, common law,from the Code of Justinian (Codex Justinianus in the original Latin) which dates back to April 7, 529.

Civil law was further impacted following the Roman Empire’s fall by additional practices and principles adopted during the medieval period by such authorities as the Catholic Church and feudal lords. Many of the civil laws now maintained throughout the world can be traced back to the comparatively more recent document of the Napoleonic Code, which was enacted by Napoleon Bonaparte in order to standardize the legal codes of countries which he had conquered. Civil law provides for standardization and consistency.

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