Civil law has been contextualized in various countries, including parts of Continental Europe and former European colonies and settlements. In such countries, statutes or legislations, also known as codes, are the main drivers of the law.
Examples of countries that follow the civil law system: Germany, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia
Other terms with the same meaning and function: Roman legal tradition
See also definition of legal family (ies), primary texts, legislature in the primer on public law and regulation. Compare and contrast common law.
Heavily adapted from: Berkeley School of Law, The Common law and Civil law Traditions, 2010 the Robbins Collection, available at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CommonLawCivilLawTraditions.pdf, accessed on 1 November 2024