COMPARATIVE PUBLIC LAW

 
LAW 669

LEGAL SYSTEMS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

Prof Arun Upadhyay

 MODULE 2 Classification of Legal Systems

1. Common law, Civil law, Socialist law, Faith-based laws

2. Salient features of all these Systems
3. Major Countries belonging to various Systems
4. India as a Common Law Country
5. Civil Law Belts in India
6. Elements of Socialist and Religious Laws in Indian Legal
System
 LEGAL SYSTEMS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

Originally, common law meant judge-made law that filled in gaps when there was no written law. Judges looked to prior

decisions to determine the unwritten judge-made law and apply it to new cases.

However, today, almost all law is in writing and enacted by a legislature as statutes. Many statutes codify established

common law, change it, or abolish it altogether, depending on the societal requirements.

In a common law system such as the one in the United States, the courts’ reliance on precedent is referred to as stare decisis,

or a policy of using judicial decisions made in the past to interpret written laws and appropriately apply those laws to the

facts in the present case.

The court interprets written laws, and these interpretations and applications of precedent from prior interpretations

constitute what is meant by common law today.

Common law is practiced in Canada (excluding Quebec), Australia, New Zealand, most of the United Kingdom (England,

Wales, and Northern Ireland), South Africa, Ireland, India Pakistan, Hong Kong, United States of America , Bangladesh,

and many other places.

 LEGAL SYSTEMS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

Most of Europe and South America use a civil law system. France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Switzerland,

Estonia, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia,

Greece, Portugal, Turkey, and East Asian countries including Japan, South Korea, and Republic of China,

Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland are some example of civil law countries.

Many Middle Eastern countries use religious law systems for all or part of their laws.

Sharia law governs a number of Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen and

Iran, though most countries use Sharia law only as a supplement to national law. It can relate to all aspects of

civil law, including property rights, contracts, and public law.

Israel also uses some religious laws and courts to determine cases.

For example, religious courts in Israel include Jewish Rabbinical courts, Islamic sharia courts, Druze religious

courts, and Ecclesiastical courts of the 10 recognized Christian communities.

 LEGAL SYSTEMS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

In Israel, these courts are limited to some specific issues of family law. The secular court system decides all

other matters.

Andorra, a small country in the Pyrenees bordering Spain and France, relies partly on customary law.

In the United States, some customary laws may be used in tribal matters on tribal lands recognized by the US

government.

Most of Europe and South America use a civil law system.

There is a growing worldwide movement to recognize tribal autonomy and customary legal systems.

 For example, some Maori customary law is recognized in New Zealand.

Many countries have mixed legal systems incorporating common, civil, religious, and customary law

systems. 
 LEGAL SYSTEMS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

 For example, the US state of Louisiana has a hybrid system. Louisiana uses some common

law, but it also utilizes a civil law system for much of its state law and procedures because of

its origins as a French territory. Also, on recognized tribal lands, customary laws of the tribe

may be used rather than state or federal laws.

 Another example is the Philippine system, which includes French civil law, US-style

common law, Sharia law, and Indigenous customary law due to its history. 

 Many African countries include a parallel tribal or ethnic legal system to adjudicate family

law matters.
Q&A