Running head: SOCIOLOGY 1
Sociology
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Comparison of Common Law and Civil Law system
There are some differences and also similarities between common law systems and civil
law system. Many countries in the world fall in either of the two categories. As of now,
approximately 150 nations apply civil law while another 80 states use common law in their
justice systems (Milsom, 2014). The significant difference between this two categories is where
they derive their opinions and rules. In ordinary laws, past cases and precedents, as well as
administrative regulations, get used to deciding any evidence presented to the court. On the other
hand, the civil law applies statutes and ordinances to rule the country where it gets implemented.
To understand how both categories work below is some comparisons that bring out the origin
and application of this legal systems. Civil law systems get characterized by the presence of an
excellent system that contains statutes and core principle thus acting as the primary source of law
, SOCIOLOGY
2
(Glaeser & Shleifer, 2002). The legal system surrounding common law gets characterized by the
use of case codes which attribute their origin to past court decisions concerning similar tribunals.
Another characteristic of civil law systems is that the judge acts as the chief investigator
in a case. As a result, his role revolves around establishing facts that surround the case and after
that applying the necessary provisions and codes to come up with a binding decision. In common
law, the judge acts as a referee between the lawyers representing both sides. Here, judges rarely
carry out investigations and inquiries but instead listen to the arguments from lawyers
representing both sides to determine who wins the case (Locke, 2014). Nevertheless, a judge gets
involved in finding facts only when the jury is absent. Most countries in South America, African
nations, some European countries, China, Germany, and others use civil law while England
mostly uses common law, the United States, Canada and also India among the other nations.
Civil law originates from continental Europe where it got developed and spread during the
colonization era to Spain and Portugal while on the other hand conventional lay systems evolved
from England and also spread to most of its colonies. Another difference is that most countries
that use everyday low do not always have a constitution whereas those that apply civil law
systems must have a constitution. When it comes to public law systems, laws vary according to
where they are being implemented. The jury presence is only involved when dealing with
criminal cases and not civil actions. The judge must ensure that justice and fairness prevail over
passion. This way, the wronged person gets justice, and also, a person who is not in the wrong
cannot end up being convicted. When it comes to conventional law systems, the work of the jury
id to listen, read and understand the evidence provided, weigh it and in the end come up with the
decision of who wins the case.
A similarity between this two is that both extract their laws from the same sources.
Examples of this sources include customs, convection systems and also the international law. As
Sociology
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Comparison of Common Law and Civil Law system
There are some differences and also similarities between common law systems and civil
law system. Many countries in the world fall in either of the two categories. As of now,
approximately 150 nations apply civil law while another 80 states use common law in their
justice systems (Milsom, 2014). The significant difference between this two categories is where
they derive their opinions and rules. In ordinary laws, past cases and precedents, as well as
administrative regulations, get used to deciding any evidence presented to the court. On the other
hand, the civil law applies statutes and ordinances to rule the country where it gets implemented.
To understand how both categories work below is some comparisons that bring out the origin
and application of this legal systems. Civil law systems get characterized by the presence of an
excellent system that contains statutes and core principle thus acting as the primary source of law
, SOCIOLOGY
2
(Glaeser & Shleifer, 2002). The legal system surrounding common law gets characterized by the
use of case codes which attribute their origin to past court decisions concerning similar tribunals.
Another characteristic of civil law systems is that the judge acts as the chief investigator
in a case. As a result, his role revolves around establishing facts that surround the case and after
that applying the necessary provisions and codes to come up with a binding decision. In common
law, the judge acts as a referee between the lawyers representing both sides. Here, judges rarely
carry out investigations and inquiries but instead listen to the arguments from lawyers
representing both sides to determine who wins the case (Locke, 2014). Nevertheless, a judge gets
involved in finding facts only when the jury is absent. Most countries in South America, African
nations, some European countries, China, Germany, and others use civil law while England
mostly uses common law, the United States, Canada and also India among the other nations.
Civil law originates from continental Europe where it got developed and spread during the
colonization era to Spain and Portugal while on the other hand conventional lay systems evolved
from England and also spread to most of its colonies. Another difference is that most countries
that use everyday low do not always have a constitution whereas those that apply civil law
systems must have a constitution. When it comes to public law systems, laws vary according to
where they are being implemented. The jury presence is only involved when dealing with
criminal cases and not civil actions. The judge must ensure that justice and fairness prevail over
passion. This way, the wronged person gets justice, and also, a person who is not in the wrong
cannot end up being convicted. When it comes to conventional law systems, the work of the jury
id to listen, read and understand the evidence provided, weigh it and in the end come up with the
decision of who wins the case.
A similarity between this two is that both extract their laws from the same sources.
Examples of this sources include customs, convection systems and also the international law. As
