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88-412: The German legal system is a civil law mostly based on a comprehensive compendium of statutes , as compared to the common law systems. In criminal and administrative law, Germany uses an inquisitorial system where the judges are actively involved in investigating the facts of the case, as compared to an adversarial system where the role of the judge is primarily that of an impartial referee between

176-451: A jury or judge are often changed if cross-examination casts doubt on the witness. On the other hand, a credible witness may reinforce the substance of their original statements and enhance the judge's or jury's belief. Though the closing argument is often considered the deciding moment of a trial, effective cross-examination wins trials. Attorneys anticipate hostile witnesses' responses during pretrial planning, and often attempt to shape

264-405: A statute and a code. The most pronounced features of civil systems are their legal codes , with concise and broadly applicable texts that typically avoid factually specific scenarios. The short articles in a civil law code deal in generalities and stand in contrast with ordinary statutes, which are often very long and very detailed. The civil law system is the most widespread system of law in

352-530: A witness by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (known as examination-in-chief in Ireland , the United Kingdom , Australia , Canada , South Africa , India and Pakistan ) and may be followed by a redirect (known as re-examination in the aforementioned countries). A redirect examination, performed by the attorney or pro se individual who performed the direct examination, clarifies

440-465: A broad sense as jus commune . It draws heavily from Roman law, arguably the most intricate known legal system before the modern era. In civil law legal systems where codes exist, the primary source of law is the law code , a systematic collection of interrelated articles, arranged by subject matter in some pre-specified order. Codes explain the principles of law, rights and entitlements, and how basic legal mechanisms work. The purpose of codification

528-585: A civil code whose interpretations rely on both the civil and common law systems. Because Puerto Rico 's Civil Code is based on the Spanish Civil Code of 1889, available jurisprudence has tended to rely on common law innovations due to the code's age and in many cases, obsolete nature. Several Islamic countries have civil law systems that contain elements of Islamic law . As an example, the Egyptian Civil Code of 1810 that developed in

616-413: A common corps in that they are recruited through a common process and their career is governed largely by federal law. However, most judges are state ( Länder ) civil servants and follow state rules on legal education, appointment, and promotion. As a rule, each decision on the initial employment, vesting with lifetime tenure or promotion of a judge is taken by the department of justice. Yet in some of

704-424: A direct examiner, on the other hand, may only be treated as hostile by that examiner after being permitted to do so by the judge, at the request of that examiner and as a result of the witness being openly antagonistic and/or prejudiced against the party that called them. Cross-examination is a key component of a trial and the topic is given substantial attention during courses on trial advocacy . The opinions of

792-579: A mixture of French and German civil law in the 19th century. After the reunification of Poland in 1918, five legal systems (French Napoleonic Code from the Duchy of Warsaw , German BGB from Western Poland, Austrian ABGB from Southern Poland, Russian law from Eastern Poland, and Hungarian law from Spisz and Orawa ) were merged into one. Similarly, Dutch law , while originally codified in the Napoleonic tradition, has been heavily altered under influence from

880-592: A much lesser extent the Napoleonic Code . German law is not impregnated with legal positivism to the extent of Napoleonic legal systems, so Germany's judiciary is not subordinated to the legislature; the Basic Law directly invests supreme judicial power in the Constitutional Court as well as other federal courts and the courts of each Länder, and case law has greater importance, though not to

968-532: A new term begins. Welfare institutions, sports clubs, financial and health insurance institutions, trade unions, industrial companies and other public authorities are sometimes called upon to nominate candidates. Except for most crimes for which the trier of fact is a single professional judge and serious political crimes which are tried before a panel of professional judges, all charges are tried before mixed tribunals on which lay judges sit alongside professional judges. The German Code of Criminal Procedure requires

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1056-524: A person is convicted of a crime, they can be put on a probationary sentence where they do not have to go to prison if "the person sentenced should demonstrate that being sentenced was itself sufficient warning that he will not commit any further crimes". Despite having to be put under "supervision of a probation officer", the person is able to avoid the negative aspects of prison such as being "torn away from his previous life, work, and social contracts". Sentences of six months or less are automatically suspended by

1144-474: A political compromise. Public discussion about candidates is very unusual. Lay judges (Schöffen) are ordinary members of the public selected for this role by a special committee, at the suggestion of a municipal council , for a five-year term. Lay judges must be German citizens who have neither been convicted of nor are under investigation for any serious crime. In addition, certain groups of individuals shall not be chosen as lay judges, such as people under

1232-646: A probationary period of up to five years before being appointed as judges for life. The judicial system is established and governed by part IX of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany . Article 92 of the Basic Law establishes the courts, and states that "the judicial power shall be vested in the judges; it shall be exercised by the Federal Constitutional Court, by the federal courts provided for in this Basic Law, and by

1320-409: A state examination before they can continue on to an apprenticeship that provides them with broad training in the legal profession over two years. They then must pass a second state examination that qualifies them to practice law. At that point, the individual can choose either to be a lawyer or to enter the judiciary. Judicial candidates start working at courts immediately. However, they are subjected to

1408-487: A suspended sentence after serving at least fifteen years. Just like any other probation sentence, if the offender breaks their probation or commits another crime, they can have their freedom revoked and be sent back to prison. Selection of lay judges has been described as a "highly political and discriminatory process". It has been argued that personal acquaintance, political affiliation and occupation have all historically played an important, if publicly unacknowledged, role in

1496-453: A two-thirds majority for most decisions unfavorable to the defendant; denial of probation by simple majority is an important exception. In most cases, lay judges do not have access to the case file. The lay judges needed to staff the various tribunals are selected by a selection committee from lists that are passed by the municipal councils ( Gemeinderat  [ de ] ) with a two-thirds majority of attending local councillors. Given

1584-501: A witness on matters not raised during direct examination, though California restricts cross-examination to "any matter within the scope of the direct examination". Similarly, courts in England, South Africa, Australia, and Canada allow a cross-examiner to exceed the scope of direct examination. Since a witness called by the opposing party is presumed to be hostile , leading questions are allowed on cross-examination. A witness called by

1672-613: Is judicial review , and it may declare any federal or state legislation unconstitutional , thus rendering them ineffective. In this respect, it is similar to other supreme courts with judicial review powers, like the Supreme Court of the United States ; yet the Court possesses a number of additional powers, and is regarded as among the most interventionist and powerful national courts in the world. Unlike other supreme courts ,

1760-729: Is based heavily on the French and Spanish codes, as opposed to English common law . In Louisiana, private law was codified into the Louisiana Civil Code . Current Louisiana law has converged considerably with American law, especially in its public law , judicial system, and adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code (except for Article 2) and certain legal devices of American common law. In fact, any innovation, whether private or public, has been decidedly common law in origin. In theory, codes conceptualized in

1848-638: Is considered mainly influenced by the German civil code and partly influenced by the French civil code. The civil code of the Republic of Turkey is a slightly modified version of the Swiss code, adopted in 1926 during Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 's presidency as part of the government's progressive reforms and secularization. Some systems of civil law do not fit neatly into this typology, however. Polish law developed as

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1936-447: Is creeping into civil law jurisprudence , and is generally seen in many nations' highest courts. Some authors consider civil law the foundation for socialist law used in communist countries, which in this view would basically be civil law with the addition of Marxist-Leninist ideals. Even if this is so, civil law was generally the legal system in place before the rise of socialist law, and some Eastern European countries reverted to

2024-481: Is expected for prosecutors and administrative officials). Defense attorneys are grouped into divisions of their local or state bar associations in which membership is mandatory. If a defendant is convicted, the court will usually credit the period of pre-trial confinement as part of the sentence. Sentences can range from one month to life, and typically do not exceed 15 years. Defendants sentenced to life in prison can typically apply for parole after 15 years, and if

2112-424: Is laid down in the federal constitution (article 97 para. 1) only refers to the judicial decision-making process of any individual judge, not to the judicial power as a whole. In line with this, the courts are administrative bodies subordinate to the respective department of justice, special rules only applying to the judicial decision-making process and the status of the judges. All professional judges are members of

2200-475: Is no statutory requirement that any case be reported or published in a law report , except for the councils of state and constitutional courts. Except for the highest courts, all publication of legal opinions is unofficial or commercial. Civil law systems can be divided into: A prominent example of a civil law code is the Napoleonic Code (1804), named after French emperor Napoleon . The Napoleonic code comprises three components: Another prominent civil code

2288-700: Is often contrasted with the common law system, which originated in medieval England . Whereas the civil law takes the form of legal codes, the common law comes from uncodified case law that arises as a result of judicial decisions, recognising prior court decisions as legally binding precedent . Historically, a civil law is the group of legal ideas and systems ultimately derived from the Corpus Juris Civilis , but heavily overlain by Napoleonic , Germanic , canonical , feudal, and local practices, as well as doctrinal strains such as natural law , codification, and legal positivism . The Napoleonic Code

2376-402: Is regarded as a threat to judicial independence that with a view to their personal career judges might be inclined to specially regard possible political effects of their decisions or may choose to support a political party. Federal judges are picked in an in camera procedure by a body composed of a Minister of the federal state, federal MPs and ministers of the states (article 95 para. 2 of

2464-547: Is short, concise and devoid of explanation or justification, in Germanic Europe , the supreme courts can and do tend to write more verbose opinions, supported by legal reasoning. A line of similar case decisions, while not precedent per se , constitute jurisprudence constante . While civil law jurisdictions place little reliance on court decisions, they tend to generate a phenomenal number of reported legal opinions . However, this tends to be uncontrolled, since there

2552-529: Is the German Civil Code ( Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch or BGB), which went into effect in the German empire in 1900. The German Civil Code is highly influential, inspiring the civil codes in countries such as Japan, South Korea and Switzerland (1907). It is divided into five parts: Civil law takes as its major inspiration classical Roman law ( c . AD 1–250), and in particular Justinian law (6th century AD), and further expanded and developed in

2640-503: Is the supreme constitutional court established by the constitution or Basic Law of Germany . Since its inception with the beginning of the Federal Republic of Germany, the court has been located in the city of Karlsruhe —intentionally in a certain geographical distance from the other federal institutions in Berlin (earlier in Bonn ), Munich , and Frankfurt . The sole task of the court

2728-464: Is the comprehensive codification of received Roman law, i.e., its inclusion in civil codes. The earliest codification known is the Code of Hammurabi , written in ancient Babylon during the 18th century BC. However, this, and many of the codes that followed, were mainly lists of civil and criminal wrongs and their punishments. The codification typical of modern civilian systems did not first appear until

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2816-444: Is the most widespread system of law in the world, in force in various forms in about 120 countries. Conceptually, civil law proceeds from abstractions, formulates general principles, and distinguishes substantive rules from procedural rules . It holds case law secondary and subordinate to statutory law . Civil law is often paired with the inquisitorial system , but the terms are not synonymous. There are key differences between

2904-409: Is to provide all citizens with manners and written collection of the laws which apply to them and which judges must follow. Law codes are laws enacted by a legislature , even if they are in general much longer than other laws. Rather than a compendium of statutes or catalog of case law , the code sets out general principles as rules of law. While the typical French-speaking supreme court decision

2992-647: The Amtsgericht composed of a single judge. Specialized courts deal with five distinct subject areas: administrative, labour, social, fiscal, and patent law. Like the ordinary courts, they are organized hierarchically with the state court systems under a federal appeals court. Each one of the Länder has its own state constitutional court (see e.g. the Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin or

3080-556: The Bordeaux trade. Consequently, neither of the two waves of Roman influence completely dominated in Europe. Roman law was ultimately a secondary source that was applied only when local customs and laws were found lacking on a certain subject. However, after a time, even local law came to be interpreted and evaluated primarily on the basis of Roman law, since it was a common European legal tradition of sorts, and thereby in turn influenced

3168-508: The Constitutional Court of Saxony ). These courts are administratively independent and financially autonomous from any other government body. For instance, a state constitutional court can write its own budget and hire or fire employees, powers that represent a degree of independence unique in the government structure. The courts of each state are also directly authorized by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic. The Federal Constitutional Court ( Bundesverfassungsgericht , or BVerfG )

3256-564: The Napoleonic Code expressly forbade French judges to pronounce general principles of law. There is no doctrine of stare decisis in the French civil law tradition. There are regular, good quality law reports in France, but it is not a consistent practice in many of the existing civil law jurisdictions. In French-speaking colonial Africa there were no law reports and what little is known of those historical cases comes from publication in journals. Civil law codes must be changed constantly because

3344-526: The Netherlands (1838), Serbia (1844), Italy and Romania (1865), Portugal (1867) and Spain (1888). Germany (1900), and Switzerland (1912) adopted their own codifications. These codifications were in turn imported into colonies at one time or another by most of these countries. The Swiss version was adopted in Brazil (1916) and Turkey (1926). Louisiana is the only U.S. state whose private civil law

3432-540: The United States federal courts , a cross-examining attorney is generally limited by Rule 611 of the Federal Rules of Evidence to the "subject matter of the direct examination and matters affecting the witness's credibility". The rule also permits the trial court, in its discretion, to "allow inquiry into additional matters as if on direct examination". Many state courts do permit a lawyer to cross-examine

3520-752: The legal system of Japan , beginning in the Meiji Era , European legal systems—especially the civil law of Germany and France—were the primary models for emulation. In China, the German Civil Code was introduced in the later years of the Qing dynasty , emulating Japan. In addition, it formed the basis of the law of the Republic of China , which remains in force in Taiwan. Furthermore, Taiwan and Korea, former Japanese colonies, have been strongly influenced by

3608-402: The prosecutor or plaintiff and the defendant or defense counsel . In Germany, the independence of the judiciary is historically older than democracy. The organisation of courts is traditionally strong, and almost all federal and state actions are subject to judicial review. Judges follow a distinct career path. At the end of their legal education at university, all law students must pass

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3696-815: The Chamber for International Commercial Disputes of the Landgericht Frankfurt am Main was established. There is also the Commercial Court based in Stuttgart and Mannheim specializing in major commercial and international disputes. Trial courts in criminal matters are composed of: The appellate courts in criminal matters are composed of: For a comparison of the relative activity of the ordinary courts , in 1969 there were 468,273 criminal cases in Germany, and 388,619 or 83% of these were held in

3784-454: The Dutch native tradition of Roman-Dutch law (still in effect in its former colonies). Scotland 's civil law tradition borrowed heavily from Roman-Dutch law. Swiss law is categorized as Germanistic, but it has been heavily influenced by the Napoleonic tradition, with some indigenous elements added in as well. Quebec law, whose private law is also of French civil origin, has developed along

3872-407: The German civil code, roughly 30% from the French civil code, 8% from Japanese customary law, and 2% from English law . Regarding the latter, the code borrows the doctrine of ultra vires and the precedent of Hadley v Baxendale from English common law system. Some countries where civil law is practiced include: Cross-examination In law , cross-examination is the interrogation of

3960-655: The Japanese legal system. Civil law is primarily contrasted with the English common law that influenced the legal traditions of the English-speaking countries. The primary contrast between the two systems is the role of written decisions and precedent as a source of law (one of the defining features of common law legal systems). While common law systems place great weight on precedent, civil law judges tend to give less weight to judicial precedent. For example,

4048-568: The Justinian Code. Germanic codes appeared over the 6th and 7th centuries to clearly delineate the law in force for Germanic privileged classes versus their Roman subjects and regulate those laws according to folk-right . Under feudal law, a number of private custumals were compiled, first under the Norman empire ( Très ancien coutumier , 1200–1245), then elsewhere, to record the manorial —and later regional—customs, court decisions, and

4136-574: The Länder's constitutional courts: The main difference between the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court is that the Federal Constitutional Court may only be called if a constitutional matter within a case is in question (e.g., a possible violation of human rights in a criminal trial), while the Federal Court of Justice may be called in any case. Only the Constitutional Court can declare an Act of Parliament invalid. Ordinary courts are

4224-420: The United States, U.S. states began codification with New York's 1850 Field Code (laying down civil procedure rules and inspired by European and Louisiana codes). Other examples include California's codes (1872), and the federal revised statutes (1874) and the current United States Code (1926), which are closer to compilations of statute than to systematic expositions of law akin to civil law codes. For

4312-644: The West. It was first received in the Holy Roman Empire partly because it was considered imperial law , and it spread in Europe mainly because its students were the only trained lawyers. It became the basis of Scots law , though partly rivaled by received feudal Norman law . In England, it was taught academically at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge , but underlay only probate and matrimonial law insofar as both were inherited from canon law, and maritime law , adapted from lex mercatoria through

4400-481: The age of 25 or over the age of 69, or individuals working in the court system in a professional capacity (such as lawyers and judges). In addition, individuals over the age of 65 may refuse to serve, as may, for instance, members of federal or state legislatures, doctors, nurses, and those who have served as lay judges in the preceding term. Applications to become lay judges can be made by interested citizens and local governments will typically encourage applications before

4488-472: The application is rejected, the defendant can re-apply after a set period no longer than two years. If the court determines that there is a "severe gravity of guilt", parole can be delayed for a non-specific period beyond 15 years. In addition to reducing an offender's sentence, Germany's corrections system has a form of punishment called suspended sentencing. Depending on the crime, some sentences can take away jail or prison time and replace it with probation. If

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4576-414: The bench is not only accepted but encouraged so as to allow for the greatest amount of experience. A lawyer can only qualify as a defense attorney if they fulfill/possess the so-called Befähigung zum Richteramt . This translates literally as "aptitude to be a judge"; however, the basic meaning is to have successfully completed a study of law at roughly a master's degree level, being finally examined by

4664-592: The civil law system should go beyond the compilation of discrete statutes, and instead state the law in a coherent, and comprehensive piece of legislation, sometimes introducing major reforms or starting anew. In this regard, civil law codes are more similar to the Restatements of the Law , the Uniform Commercial Code (which drew from European inspirations), and the Model Penal Code in the United States. In

4752-467: The codification of Continental European private laws moved forward. Codifications were completed by Denmark (1687), Sweden (1734), Prussia (1794), France (1804), and Austria (1811). The French codes were imported into areas conquered by Napoleon and later adopted with modifications in Poland ( Duchy of Warsaw / Congress Poland ; Kodeks cywilny 1806/1825), Louisiana (1807), Canton of Vaud (Switzerland; 1819),

4840-593: The constitution. Constitutional amendments or changes passed by the Parliament are subject to its judicial review, since they have to be compatible with the most basic principles of the Grundgesetz (per the " eternity clause "), those being the principles of human dignity , unalienable human rights , democracy , republicanism , social responsibility , federalism and separation of powers . The court's practice of enormous constitutional control frequency on

4928-488: The constitutional court is not an integral stage of the judicial or appeals process (aside from in cases concerning constitutional or public international law), and does not serve as a regular appellate court from lower courts or the Federal Supreme Courts on any violation of federal laws. The court's jurisdiction is focused on constitutional issues and the compliance of all governmental institution with

5016-430: The court as well as those sentences between six months to a year unless it is "necessary for the person to serve the sentence to preserve legal order". After an offender serves two thirds of their prison sentence, it is possible to have their sentence suspended. The process for having a sentence suspended after serving time is the same as applying for parole. It is also possible for offenders serving life sentences to receive

5104-757: The courts of the Länder ." Germany used jury trials from the Middle Ages onwards, for example in the Landgerichte . The jury system was implemented in the German Empire by the Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz (GVG) of 27 January 1877 with the jury court ( Schwurgericht ) consisting of 3 judges and 12 jurymen. During a state of emergency under Article 48 (of the Weimar Constitution ), and about one month before

5192-599: The early 19th century—which remains in force in Egypt is the basis for the civil law in many countries of the Arab world where the civil law is used— is based on the Napoleonic Code, but its primary author Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri attempted to integrate principles and features of Islamic law in deference to the unique circumstances of Egyptian society. Japanese Civil Code is considered a mixture drawing roughly 60% from

5280-435: The extent of common law systems. In contrast to the adversarial system used by common law countries, the German system of criminal (and administrative) procedure is inquisitorial . Rather than allowing cross-examination between the defense and prosecutors, the judges conduct the majority of the trial. During a trial, the parties are expected to give all their evidence to the judges, who will then call forward and question

5368-406: The federal constitution). Candidates do not have to be professional judges, but must be lawyers. There are neither public hearings, nor would the identity of any candidate even be disclosed to the public. Judicial members of the federal constitutional court are elected in turns by the federal chambers (article 94 of the federal constitution). This decision requiring a large majority, it usually follows

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5456-584: The high threshold for inclusion on the municipal council lists, in practice these lists are first compiled by municipal bureaucracies and the political parties in Germany , but some municipal councils rely on registers of residents and generate names randomly. The selection committee consists of a judge from the Amtsgericht , a representative of the state government, and ten "trusted citizens" ( Vertrauenspersonen , German: [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ənspɛʁˌzoːnən] ) who are also elected by two thirds of

5544-577: The judiciary was not empowered to adjudicate under the established principles of the common law of contracts - they could only apply the code as written. Codification , however, is by no means a defining characteristic of a civil law system. For example, the statutes that govern the civil law systems of Sweden and other Nordic countries and the Roman-Dutch countries are not grouped into larger, expansive codes like those in French and German law. In actual practice, an increasing degree of precedent

5632-616: The land for their realms, as when Charles VII of France in 1454 commissioned an official custumal of Crown law. Two prominent examples include the Coutume de Paris (written 1510; revised 1580), which served as the basis for the Napoleonic Code, and the Sachsenspiegel (c. 1220) of the bishoprics of Magdeburg and Halberstadt which was used in northern Germany, Poland, and the Low Countries . The concept of codification

5720-401: The late Middle Ages under the influence of canon law . The Justinian Code's doctrines provided a sophisticated model for contracts , rules of procedure, family law , wills, and a strong monarchical constitutional system. Roman law was received differently in different countries. In some it went into force wholesale by legislative act, i.e., it became positive law , whereas in others it

5808-400: The legal principles underpinning them. Custumals were commissioned by lords who presided as lay judges over manorial courts in order to inform themselves about the court process. The use of custumals from influential towns soon became commonplace over large areas. In keeping with this, certain monarchs consolidated their kingdoms by attempting to compile custumals that would serve as the law of

5896-508: The main source of law. Eventually, the work of civilian glossators and commentators led to the development of a common body of law and writing about law, a common legal language, and a common method of teaching and scholarship, all termed the jus commune , or law common to Europe, which consolidated canon law and Roman law, and to some extent, feudal law . An important common characteristic of civil law, aside from its origins in Roman law,

5984-519: The most numerous by far. Currently there are 828 ordinary courts (687 local, 116 regional, 24 appellate, one federal), 142 labour courts (122 local, 19 appellate, one federal), 69 administrative courts (52 local, 16 higher, one federal), 20 tax courts (19 local, one federal), 86 social courts (69 local, 16 appellate, one federal) and 17 constitutional courts (16 State Constitutional Courts, one Federal Constitutional Court). More recently, specialized commercial courts have been created. In January of 2018,

6072-400: The municipal council. Lay judges have historically been predominantly middle-aged men from middle-class backgrounds; more recently, the share of male and female judges was about the same. A study conducted in 1969 found that, of the lay judges in its sample, approximately 25% were civil service employees, compared to only about 12% from blue-collar backgrounds. A study published in 2009 put

6160-590: The nation's constitution), which sets up the modern judiciary, but the law adjudicated in court comes from the German Codes; thus, German law is primarily codal in nature. The court system adjudicates (1) public law ( öffentliches Recht ), that is, administrative law (civil-government litigation or litigation between two government bodies) and criminal law , and (2) private law ( Privatrecht ). German law—especially private law—is mainly based on early Byzantine law , specifically Justinian's Code , and to

6248-407: The notion of a nation-state implied recorded law that would be applicable to that state. There was also a reaction to law codification. The proponents of codification regarded it as conducive to certainty, unity and systematic recording of the law; whereas its opponents claimed that codification would result in the ossification of the law. In the end, despite whatever resistance to codification,

6336-405: The one hand, and the continuity in judicial restraint and political revision on the other hand, have created a unique defender of the Grundgesetz since World War II and given it a valuable role in Germany's modern democracy. The federal courts are administered by the federal government; all the other courts belong to a state and are administered by it. The independence of the judiciary that

6424-557: The original one of 1865, introducing German elements as a result of its World War II Axis alliance. This approach has been imitated by other countries, including Portugal (1966), the Netherlands (1992), Brazil (2002) and Argentina (2014). Most of them have innovations introduced by the Italian legislation, including the unification of the civil and commercial codes . Germanistic to Napoleonic influence : The Swiss civil code

6512-683: The pre-socialist civil law following the fall of socialism, while others continued using a socialist legal systems. The term civil law comes from English legal scholarship and is used in English-speaking countries to lump together all legal systems of the jus commune tradition. However, legal comparativists and economists promoting the legal origins theory prefer to subdivide civil law jurisdictions into distinct groups: However, some of these legal systems are often and more correctly said to be of hybrid nature: Napoleonic to Germanistic influence : The Italian civil code of 1942 replaced

6600-538: The precedent of courts is not binding and because courts lack authority to act if there is no statute. In some civil law jurisdictions the judiciary does not have the authority to invalidate legislative provisions . For example, after the fall of the Soviet Union , the Armenian Parliament , with substantial support from USAID , adopted new legal codes. Some of the codes introduced problems which

6688-465: The proportions at 27% civil service employees versus 8% of the general population and noted the relatively high numbers of housewives , the relatively low number of private sector employees, and the relative old age of lay judges. Public prosecutors, who earn as much as judges, are nonetheless simple ordinary servants lacking the independence of the Bench. The switching between prosecutorial office and

6776-539: The same lines, adapting in the same way as Louisiana to the public law and judicial system of Canadian common law . By contrast, Quebec private law has innovated mainly from civil sources. To a lesser extent, other states formerly part of the Spanish Empire, such as Texas and California, have also retained aspects of Spanish civil law into their legal system, for example community property . The legal system of Puerto Rico exhibits similarities to that of Louisiana:

6864-490: The selection procedure. Civil law (legal system) Civil law is a legal system originating in Italy and France that has been adopted in large parts of the world. Modern civil law stems mainly from the Napoleonic Code of the early 19th century, and it is a continuation of ancient Roman law . Its core principles are codified into a referable system, which serves as the primary source of law. The civil law system

6952-557: The state itself ( Staatsexamen ), and to have served for two years as an associate to different lawyers from each of their most popular occupations (attorney, judge, administrative official, etc.; this is called the Referendariat ). However, to actually become a judge, besides the Befähigung zum Richteramt the expectations include outstanding results in the respective exams, which is not expected for attorneys (but, roughly,

7040-503: The states there is some kind of a parliamentary body that needs to be heard or even has a say in some of the decisions on careers of individual judges ( Richterwahlausschuss ). The mostly decisive influence of the administration on the career of judges is exceptional in continental Europe, where mostly bodies of judges, elected by and within the judiciary take this kind of decision (e.g., France: conseil superieur de la magistrature , Italy: consiglio superiore della magistratura ). By some it

7128-631: The trial of Adolf Hitler February 1924 for the Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923, the Emminger Reform (a Notverordnung , or emergency decree) was passed in January 1924 abolishing juries and replacing them with the mixed system of judges and lay judges that is still used today. Germany's legal system is a civilian system whose highest source of law is the 1949 Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (which serves as

7216-421: The truth of his testimony are tested." Another key component affecting a trial outcome is jury selection , in which attorneys will attempt to include jurors from whom they feel they can get a favorable response or at the least an unbiased fair decision. So while there are many factors affecting the outcome of a trial, the cross-examination of a witness will often influence an open-minded unbiased jury searching for

7304-420: The witness' testimony provided during cross-examination including any subject matter raised during cross-examination but not discussed during direct examination. Recross examination addresses the witness' testimony discussed in redirect by the opponent. Depending on the judge 's discretion, opponents are allowed multiple opportunities to redirect and recross examine witnesses (this may vary by jurisdiction). In

7392-411: The witnesses' perception of the questions to draw out information helpful to the attorney's case. Typically during an attorney's closing argument, they will repeat any admissions made by witnesses that favor their case. In the United States, cross-examination is seen as a core part of the entire adversarial system of justice, in that it "is the principal means by which the believability of a witness and

7480-581: The witnesses, after which the defense counsel and prosecutor may question the witnesses. The primary legislation concerning court organization is the Courts Constitution Act ( Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz , or GVG ). The courts are characterized by being specialist, regional, and hierarchically integrated at the federal level. There are five basic types of courts, plus the Federal Constitutional Court and

7568-504: The world, in force in various forms in about 150 countries. Civil law is sometimes referred to as neo-Roman law, Romano-Germanic law or Continental law. The expression "civil law" is a translation of Latin jus civile , or "citizens' law", which was the late imperial term for its legal system, as opposed to the laws governing conquered peoples ( jus gentium ); hence, the Justinian Code's title Corpus Juris Civilis . Civil law practitioners, however, traditionally refer to their system in

7656-543: Was diffused into society by increasingly influential legal experts and scholars. Roman law continued without interruption in the Eastern Roman Empire until its final fall in the 15th century. However, given the empire's influence on the continent in Late Antiquity and then multiple incursions and occupations by Western European powers in the late medieval period, its laws became widely implemented in

7744-478: Was further developed during the 17th and 18th centuries AD, as an expression of both natural law and the ideas of the Enlightenment . The political ideals of that era was expressed by the concepts of democracy , protection of property and the rule of law . Those ideals required certainty of law; recorded, uniform law. So, the mix of Roman law and customary and local law gave way to law codification. Also,

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