Civil law is a term with several meanings. The term is often used to describe the rules of private law and to set them apart from the rules of criminal law. When used in this way, civil law covers such matters as contracts, ownership of property, and payment for personal injury. These matters usually involve private citizens. But the state may become party to a civil suit when it enters into a contract or causes personal injury. Criminal law deals with actions that are harmful to society and that society has made a crime.
The term civil law can also mean the law of most European countries, as opposed to the common law of the United Kingdom and every state of the United States except Louisiana. Under this type of civil law, codes (sets of rules) approved by legislatures are the primary sources used by judges to decide cases. Under common law, judges base their decisions chiefly on previous court decisions in similar cases. See Common law ; Louisiana (Courts) .
Originally, civil law referred to the code of laws collected by the Roman emperor Justinian in the A.D. 500’s. These laws were used to govern the Roman Empire. A new civil law became popular in most of Europe after it took effect in France in 1804. This law, called the Code Napoleon or Code Civil, combined the Roman law and the law of northern France. It is the basis of present law in Quebec, Mexico, and some South American nations. In the United States, many areas of law have been arranged into codes. Examples include the law of business and the law of crimes.
