Comparison of Civil Law and Common Law

The codes of civil law and court procedures vary* widely, but in general are distinguished from* common law in several ways. In civil law judicial interpretations* are based primarily on a system of written law, rather than on the rule of precedent emphasized in common law. The law of evidence, important in common-law countries, has no counterpart* in civil law. Much more systematically than common law, civil law separates public and private law. Finally, trial by jury*, a major feature of common law, is not often used in civil law. However, despite divergences* in methods and terminology, a basic similarity is found in the ultimate results* reached by both systems.

Notes

expansion — распространение

spread to — простираться

vary — различаться, варьироваться

distinguish from — отличаться от

judicial interpretation — судейское толкование

counterpart — соответствие

trial by jury — процесс с судом присяжных заседателей

divergences — расхождения

ultimate result — конечный результат

CIVIL LAW IN WESTERN EUSOPE (A)

£ western Roman empire collapsed in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. Six hundred years later the scholarly study of law revived, starting in Bologna, the first university in Western Europe, around 1088 AD. Despite the gap in time, Charlemagne (768-814) and his successors, the "Holy Romar Emperors of the German nation", had been treated in the West as Justinian's heirs. So Justinian's laws were stiil the laws of Western Europe. The universities therefore taught law students Justinian's civil law, as opposed to the customary law of Saxony, Burgundy, Castile, England and so on.

Between 1100 and 1500 universities spread all over Europe, from Sicily to Scotland and Portugal to Poland. The law syllabus* was everywhere the same: Justinian's civil law. At the same time lawyers of the Western church began to collect and study church laws*, or canons. The most important collection of these dates from about 1140. Canon law*, as church law was called, was studied in the universities alongside civil law. Since the Western church had jurisdiction over marriage, wills* and lawsuits* between clerics, canon law was a separate system. Civil and canon law, however, both being basically Roman, had much in common. Each influenced the other.

At first civil lawyers studied the texts in Justinian's codes* one by one. Then they began to search for the general principles to be found in them, and tried to fit the customary laws* of the states where they were living into the civil law. The drawbacks of Justinian's law books now proved to be merits. They were a treasure house in which the lawyer or administrator could almost always, if he looked hard enough, find ideas and solutions adapted to the changed conditions of the later Middle Ages and Renaissance. The contradictions they contained were a help. They gave the civil lawyer a choice between different rules.

Notes

syllabus — программа

canon law — каноническое право

church law — церковное право

will — завещание

lawsuit — судебное дело, иск, тяжба

code — кодекс законов

customary law — обычное право