Advantages And

Disadvantages of Common
Law & Civil Law
By: Dr Deepak Sharma
 Advantages of Common Law
• Unforeseen Cases
• Speed & efficiency in law making process
• Consistency
• Specificity
• Political Independence
 Disadvantages of Common Law

• Lack of Certainty
• Complexity
• Slow Process
• Limited Legislative Role
• Lack of Uniformity
• Undemocratic
• Following Bed Precedents
 Advantages of Civil Law
• more accessible
• Judges are Subject Experts
• competent and independent judiciary
• specialized tribunals.
• Legal codes and statutes in general are written in a simple and logical
manner.
• The Civil Law Guide to Making Better Judges
• A. Professionalism
Continued..
• B. The mechanics of independence and enforcing integrity
• C. Assuring competence and independence in the litigation itself
• D. Special courts and the implications for judging
II. Civil Law Guide to Making Judges More Effective
 Disadvantages of Civil Law

• lack of technical knowledge:

Judges have limited knowledge of subject matter as it may be technical
or obscure in nature.
Slow process:
Despite the civil procedure rules the civil justice system is still slow and
delays do occur.
lack of flexibility:
The parties have little control over the court process and procedure.
Evidence at a trial is restricted by technical rules
Cont…
• Need for lawyers:
Due to the complexity of the law lawyers are required by parties.

General cost:
Parties must pay fees which can run into hundreds of pounds, to the
court when commencing a claim