Government > Civil law system: Countries Compared

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COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION
Albania	The Civil Code of the Republic of Albania, 1991 [1]
Andorra	Courts apply the customary laws of Andorra, supplemented with Roman law and customary Catalan law.
Angola	Based on Portuguese civil law
Argentina	The Spanish legal tradition had a great influence on the Civil Code of Argentina , basically a work of the Argentine jurist Dalmacio V\u00e9lez S\u00e1rsfield , who dedicated five years of his life on this task. The Civil Code came into effect on 1 January 1871. Beyond the influence of the Spanish legal tradition, the Argentinian Civil Code was also inspired by the Draft of the Brazilian Civil Code, the Draft of the Spanish Civil Code of 1851, the Napoleonic code and the Chilean Civil Code . The sources of this Civil Code also include various theoretical legal works, mainly of the great French jurists of the 19th century. It was the first Civil Law that consciously adopted as its cornerstone the distinction between i. rights from obligations and ii. real property rights, thus distancing itself from the French model. The Argentinian Civil Code was also in effect in Paraguay, as per a Paraguayan law of 1880, until the new Civil Code went in force in 1987. During the second half of the 20th century, the German legal theory became increasingly influential in Argentina.
Aruba	Based on Dutch civil law
Austria	The Allgemeines b\u00fcrgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) of 1811
Azerbaijan	Based on German, French, Russian and traditional Azerbaijani Law
Belgium	The Napoleonic Code is still in use, although it is heavily modified (especially concerning family law)
Bolivia	Influenced by the Napoleonic Code
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Influenced by Austrian law . The Swiss civil law ( Zivilgesetzbuch ) was a model for the Law on Obligations of 1978.
Brazil	Based on Portuguese civil law
Bulgaria	Civil Law system influenced by Germanic and Roman law systems
Cape Verde	Based on Portuguese civil law
Chile	The Spanish legal tradition exercised an especially great influence on the civil code of Chile. On its turn, the Chilean civil code influenced to a large degree the drafting of the civil codes of other Latin-American states. For instance, the codes of Ecuador (1861) and Colombia (1873) constituted faithful reproductions of the Chilean code, but for very few exceptions. The compiler of the Civil Code of Chile, Venezuelan Andr\u00e9s Bello , worked for its completion for almost 30 years, using elements, of the Spanish law on the one hand, and of other Western laws , especially of the French one, on the other. Indeed, it is noted that he consulted and used all of the codes that had been issued till then, starting from the era of Justinian . The Civil Code came into effect on 1 January 1857. Its technique is regarded as perfect; it is distinguished for the clarity, logic and cohesiveness of its provisions. As mentioned by Arminjon, Nolde, and Wolff ('Traite de droit compar\u00e9', Paris, 1950\u20131952) Andr\u00e9s Bello may be regarded as one of the great legislators of mankind. The influence of the Napoleonic code is great; it is observed however that e.g. in many provisions of property law , the solutions of the French code civil were put aside in favor of pure Roman law .
China	civil law system; based on native customs and practices with Soviet and German influence
Colombia	Civil code introduced in 1873. Nearly faithful reproduction of the Chilean civil code
Costa Rica	First Civil Code (a part of the General Code or Carrillo Code) came into effect in 1841; its text was inspired by the South Peruvian Civil Code of Marshal Andres de Santa Cruz . The present Civil Code went into effect 1 January 1888, and was influenced by the Napoleonic Code and the Spanish Civil Code of 1889 (from its 1851 draft version).
Croatia	Influenced by Austrian and Hungarian law. The Law on Obligations of 2005.
Cuba	Influenced by Spanish and American law with large elements of Communist legal theory .
Czech Republic	Descended from the Civil Code of the Austrian Empire (1811), influenced by German (1939\u201345) and Soviet (1947/68-89) legal codes during occupation periods, substantially reformed to remove Soviet influence and elements of socialist law after the Velvet Revolution (1989).
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Based on Belgian civil law
Denmark	Scandinavian-German civil law
Dominican Republic	Based by the Napoleonic Code
East Timor	Based on Portuguese civil law
Ecuador	Civil code introduced in 1861. Nearly faithful reproduction of the Chilean civil code
Egypt	Family Law (personal Statute) for Muslims based on Islamic Jurisprudence, Seaerate Personal Statute for non Muslims, and all other branches of Law are based on French civil law system
Estonia	Largely influenced by German civil law.
Finland	Civil law system based on Swedish law
France	Based on the Napoleonic code ( code civil of 1804)
Germany	The B\u00fcrgerliches Gesetzbuch of 1900 ("BGB"). The BGB is influenced both by Roman and German law traditions.
Greece	The Greek civil code of 1946, highly influenced by traditional Roman law and the German civil code of 1900 ( B\u00fcrgerliches Gesetzbuch ); the Greek civil code replaced the Byzantine\u2013Roman civil law in effect in Greece since its independence (\u039d\u03bf\u03bc\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae \u0394\u03b9\u03ac\u03c4\u03b1\u03be\u03b7 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u0391\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae\u03c2 \u03a7\u03ad\u03c1\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u0395\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2, Legal Provision of Eastern Mainland Greece, November 1821: '\u039f\u03b9 \u039a\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03bf\u03af \u039d\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u0391\u03b5\u03b9\u03bc\u03bd\u03ae\u03c3\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03ce\u03bd \u0391\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03ba\u03c1\u03b1\u03c4\u03cc\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u0395\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bc\u03cc\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b9\u03c3\u03c7\u03cd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03ac \u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03cc\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u0391\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae\u03bd \u03a7\u03ad\u03c1\u03c3\u03bf\u03bd \u0395\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac\u03b4\u03b1', 'The Social [i.e. Civil] Laws of the Dear Departed Christian Emperors of Greece [referring to the Byzantine Emperors] alone are in effect at present in Eastern Mainland Greece')
Guatemala	Guatemala has had three Civil Codes: the first one from 1877, a new one introduced in 1933, and the one currently in force, which was passed in 1963. This Civil Code has suffered some reforms throughout the years, as well as a few derogations relating to areas which have subsequently been regulated by newer laws, such as the Code of Commerce and the Law of the National Registry of Persons. In general, it follows the tradition of the roman-French system of civil codification. Regarding the theory of 'sources of law' in the Guatemalan legal system, the 'Ley del Organismo Judicial' recognizes 'the law' as the main legal source (in the sense of legislative texts), although it also establishes 'jurisprudence' as a complementary source. Although jurisprudence technically refers to judicial decisions in general, in practice it tends to be confused and identified with the concept of 'legal doctrine', which is a qualified series of identical resolutions in similar cases pronounced by higher courts (the Constitutional Court acting as a 'Tribunal de Amparo ', and the Supreme Court acting as a 'Tribunal de Casaci\u00f3n') whose theses become binding for lower courts.
Guinea	based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree
Guinea-Bissau	Based on Portuguese civil law
Haiti	Influenced by the Napoleonic Code
Hungary	Based on codified Roman law , with elements of the Napoleonic civil code
Iceland	Based on Germanic traditional laws and influenced by Medieval Norwegian and Danish laws.
Indonesia	Based on civil law of Holland and adat (cultural law of Indonesia)
Italy	Based on codified Roman law , with elements of the Napoleonic civil code ; civil code of 1942 replaced the original one of 1865
Japan	Modeled after European (primarily German) civil law system. Japanese civil code of 1895.
Jordan	Mainly based on French Civil Code and Ottoman Majalla , Islamic law applicable to family law
Latvia	Based on codified Roman law with strong German traditions in civil and administrative law and procedure, as it was historically before the Soviet occupation, elements of French legal system are also common in Latvian law. While general principles of law are prerequisites in making and understanding the law, case law is also broadly applied to present legal arguments in courts and to explain application of law in similar cases. Rapidly decreasing remains of Soviet understanding of criminal acts can be found in criminal law, while criminal procedure law has been fully modeled after practice accepted in Western Europe. Civil law of Latvia enacted on 1937.
Lebanon	Modeled after French civil law
Libya	Influenced by Ottoman, French, Italian, and Egyptian sources
Lithuania	Modeled after Dutch civil law
Luxembourg	Influenced by the Napoleonic Code
Macau	Based on the Portuguese strand of the continental tradition, itself much influenced by Germany; also influenced by the law of the PRC
Mexico	"The origins of Mexico's legal system are both ancient and classical, based on the Roman and French legal systems, and the Mexican system shares more in common with other legal systems throughout the world (especially those in Latin America and most of continental Europe)..."
Mongolia	Civil Code of 2002 based on German BGB
Montenegro	First: the General Property Code for the Principality of Montenegro of 1888, written by Valtazar Bogi\u0161i\u0107 . Present: the Law on Obligations of 2008.
Morocco	Based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law system
Mozambique	Based on Portuguese civil law
Netherlands	Influenced by the Napoleonic Code
Norway	Scandinavian-German civil law. King Magnus VI the Lawmender unified the regional laws into a single code of law for the whole kingdom in 1274. This was replaced by Christian V 's Norwegian Code of 1687.
Paraguay	The Paraguayan Civil Code in force since 1987 is largely influenced by the Napoleonic Code and the Argentinian Code
Peru	Based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Poland	The Polish Civil Code in force since 1965
Portugal	Influenced by the Napoleonic Code and later by the German Civil Law
Qatar	Based on Islamic law and Egyptian civil law system (after the French civil law system)
Romania	title=Drept civil. Drepturile reale principale | publisher=C.H. Beck | author=Valeriu Stoica | year=2009 | location=Bucharest | pages=XIII}}</ref>
Russia	Civil Law system descendant from Roman Law through Byzantine tradition. Heavily influenced by German and Dutch norms in 1700-1800's. Socialist-style modification in 1900's, and Continental European Law influences since 1990's.
Serbia	First: the Civil Code of Principality of Serbia of 1844, written by Jovan Had\u017ei\u0107, was influenced by the Austrian Civil Code ( Allgemeines b\u00fcrgerliches Gesetzbuch ). Present: The Swiss civil law ( Zivilgesetzbuch ) was a model for the Law on Obligations of 1978.
Slovakia	Descended from the Civil Code of the Austrian Empire (1811), influenced by German (1939\u201345) and Soviet (1947/68-89) legal codes during occupation periods, substantially reformed to remove Soviet influence and elements of socialist law after the Velvet Revolution (1989).
Slovenia	A Civil Law system influenced mostly by Germanic and Austro-Hungarian law systems
Spain	Influenced by the Napoleonic Code , it also has some elements of Spain's legal tradition, starting with the Siete Partidas , a major legislative achievement from the Middle Ages. That body of law remained more or less unchanged until the 19th century, when the first civil codes were drafted, merging both the Napoleonic style with the Castilian traditions.
Sweden	Scandinavian-German civil law. Like all Scandinavian legal systems, it is distinguished by its traditional character and for the fact that it did not adopt elements of Roman law. It is indeed worth mentioning that it assimilated very few elements of foreign laws whatsoever. It is also interesting that the Napoleonic Code had no influence in codification of law in Scandinavia. The historical basis of the law of Sweden, just as for all Nordic countries, is Old German law. Codification of the law started in Sweden during the 18th century, preceding the codifications of most other European countries. However, neither Sweden, nor any other Nordic state created a civil code of the kind of the Code Civil or the BGB.
Switzerland	The Swiss Civil Code of 1908 and 1912 (obligations; fifth book)
Syria	Based on Islamic law and French civil law system
Turkey	Modeled after the Swiss civil law ( Zivilgesetzbuch ) of 1907.
Ukraine	Civil Code of Ukraine of 2004
United Arab Emirates	Based on Islamic law and Egyptian civil law system (after the French civil law system)
Uzbekistan	Represents an evolution of Soviet civil law. Overwhelmingly strong impact of the Communist legal theory is traceable.
Vietnam	Communist legal theory and French civil law

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