Definition of civil law

The term "civil law" can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it referred to the legal system that governed the activities of private individuals and organizations, as opposed to the legal system that governed the activities of the state, which was known as "public law" or "law of nations" (jus civile and jus publicum, respectively). In the Roman legal system, the civil law jurisprudence was codified and systematized by Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century CE, and became widely known as the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law). This system laid down detailed rules on matters such as property, family law, contract, and tort, and influenced the legal systems of many European countries for centuries. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the civil law tradition was revived in medieval Italy, where it became known as the ius commune (common law). This system, based on Justinian's codification, was taught at the University of Bologna and spread throughout Europe, where it became the basis for the legal systems of many countries, such as Italy, Spain, France, and Germany. In contrast, the common law tradition, which evolved in England, developed case law, rather than a codified legal system, becoming based on legal precedent and court decisions. The common law tradition forms the basis for the legal systems of many countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Today, the civil law tradition is still widely applied, particularly in continental Europe, where it forms the basis for most legal systems, while the common law tradition is primarily applied in countries of the common law tradition. Despite these differences, however, the legal systems of practically all modern countries draw on and integrate both civil and common law.