Civil law deals with behavior that constitutes an injury to an individual or other private party, such as a corporation. Examples are defamation (including libel and slander), breach of contract, negligence resulting in injury or death, and property damage.

Comparison chart In a civil law system, the judge’s role is to establish the facts of the case and to apply the provisions of the applicable code. Though the judge often brings the formal charge. In cases of civil law, the opinion of the jury may not have to be unanimous.

The main difference between the two systems is that in common law countries, case law — in the form of published judicial opinions — is of primary importance, whereas in civil law systems, codified statutes predominate. …

The benefit of a civil law system is that you can only be judged by the laws which were actually written down in front of you at the time. The drawback is that even if previous cases show you should win your case, there is no guarantee a judge will interpret the code in the same way on your case.

A Civil law, legal tradition is more accessible. Civil law uses career judges, trained and managed as such; thereby, civil law provides an active and positive approach to assuring a competent and independent judiciary.

The vital role of the civil law today is to provide the foundations for legal institutions, doctrines and transactions at the basis of civil society and commercial law while balancing private rights with legal obligations and responsibilities.

By contrast, civil law can be traced back to Roman law. The use of a codified system here allows for primary sources of law to be recorded in legal codes, which are intended to cover the law in a particular area.

A civil law must promote the common good, reflect equality of proportion, and be in agreement with the Divine Law. Ideally, there would be no conflict between a well-formed conscience and just civil laws since both are rooted in the Divine Law.

The primary purpose of civil law is to resolve disputes and provide compensation for someone injured by someone else’s acts or behavior. The primary purpose of criminal law is to prevent undesirable behavior and punish those who commit an act deemed undesirable by society.

Unlike criminal law, which seeks to punish offenders, civil law provides remedies such as damages (compensation) and injunctions (court orders preventing certain types of behaviour) to restore injured parties, as humanly possible, to their original position prior to the wrongdoing of the defendant.

Law and Values Laws generally reflect and promote a society’s values. Our legal system is influenced by our society’s traditional ideas of right and wrong. For example, laws against murder reflect the moral belief that killing another person is wrong. Most people would condemn murder regardless of what the law said.

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The law is clear, publicized, and stable and is applied evenly. It ensures human rights as well as contract and property rights. The processes by which the law is adopted, administered, adjudicated, and enforced are accessible, fair, and efficient.