Civil Law (jus civile) among the Romans was a term nearly corresponding to what in modern times is implied by the phrase positive law, that is, the rules of right established by any government. They contradistinguished it from natural law (jus naturale), by which they meant a certain natural order followed by all living beings; also from the general laws of mankind established by the agreement of all nations and governments (jus gentium). With the growth and multiplication of the edicts issued by the praetors (in whose hands was the supreme administration of justice) for the modification and extension of the positive enactments a further distinction became necessary, the whole body of this praetorian law being known by the name of jus honorarium as opposed to the strict formal law (jus civile). The latter, however, included both the private law (jus privatum), which relates to the various legal relations of the different members of the state - the citizens - and the public law (jus publicum), that is, the rules respecting the limits, rights, obligations, etc, of the public authorities.
The final digest of Roman law was made in the 6th century AD under the Emperor Justinian, but at first was only admitted as formally binding in a small part of Italy. After the llth century, in Upper Italy, particularly in the school of Bologna, the body of the Roman law, put together by Justinian, was formed by degrees into a system applicable to the wants of all nations; and on this model the ecclesiastical and Papal decrees were arranged, and to a considerable degree the native laws of the new Teutonic states. From all these the Roman law was distinguished under the name of civil law. In this sense, therefore, civil law means ancient Roman law; and it is contradistinguished from canon law and feudal law, though the feudalcodes of the Lombards have been received into the corpus juris civilis, or body of civil law. As the Roman code exerted the greatest influence on the private law of modern Europe, the expression civil law is also used to embrace all the rules relating to the private rights of citizens. Under the term civil law, therefore, in both Europe and America, is to be understood not only the Roman law, but also the modern private law of the various countries; for example, in Germany, Das gemeine Deutsche Privatrecht, in France the Code civil des Francais or Code Napoleon. In this sense it is chiefly opposed to criminal law, particularly in reference to the administration of justice, which is to be divided into civil justice and criminal justice. Research Civil Law
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Research Civil Law
