Comparative law (0)

1.Common law A common law legal system is a system of law characterized by case law which is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals a common law system is based on legal precedents. The roots of the common law legal systems can be traced back to the first common law system created in England during the Middle Ages. Today , most countries that once had ties to England, including the United States , Australia , New Zealand , and Hong Kong, to name a few, operate under common law. Aside from Great Britain , the majority of the countries in Europe operate under a version of civil law modeled after the Roman legal system created centuries ago In a common law system, the law is created by precedents set after judges decide actual cases . When a judge hears a case that has a new issue in it, the judge makes a decision regarding the issue in the case. That decision then becomes a precedent that must be followed by other courts with equal standing within the legal system. The precedent remains law unless and until a higher court overturns the decision. The practice of following decisions made by other courts for similar issues is known as stare decisis. In stark contrast to the concept of stare decisis and precedent found in a common law system, decisions in a civil law system are to be made based on a corresponding statute, in theory. In a civil law system, the legislative or executive branch makes the laws and courts are simply required to follow the laws as they have been written. A judge, therefore , in a civil law system, has considerably less authority or autonomy than a judge in a system based on common law. 2.What is Comparative Family Law? At the most basic level, comparative family law is the comparison of legal systems for the regulation of intimate and family lives . Comparison can be functional , serving to inform the discussion about similar or different institutional arrangements to address analogous legal problems arising all over the world. Comparisons can also reveal the structural nature of law, leading to questions about the role of legal narratives about family law, the effects of those narratives on the state and the structure of society and more importantly law as a form of legal reasoning that travels across time and space to create new institutional forms and doctrinal arrangements. The field of Comparative Family Law is undergoing rapid development despite initial constraints. Scholars of comparative law often overlooked family law as an important and distinctive site for the contestation of norms and values , perhaps because they viewed family law as too political for the technical inquiry carried out by comparativists. Other scholars characterized the family as a unique place , the opposite of the market , where traditional rather than modern discourses are at play and where moral and religious values, often in tension with secular visions, shape legal institutions . Family law scholars tended to focus on single legal regimes, rarely opening their inquiry to comparative methods. 3. Actors in CL The modern founding figure of comparative and anthropological jurisprudence was Sir Henry Maine, a British jurist and legal historian. In his 1861 work Ancient Law: Its Connection with the Early History of Society, and Its Relation to Modern Ideas , he set out his views on the development of legal institutions in primitive societies and engaged in a comparative discussion of Eastern and Western legal traditions . This work placed comparative law in its historical context and was widely read and influential . The first university course on the subject was established at the University of Oxford in 1869, with Maine taking up the position of professor Comparative law in the US was brought by a legal scholar fleeing persecution in Germany , Rudolf Schlesinger. Schlesinger eventually became professor of comparative law at Cornell Law School helping to spread the discipline throughout the US.
4.International Courts European and international courts There are many courts that operate at international level, and it is not always easy to distinguish their jurisdiction. The aim of this summary is to present the European courts and to distinguish between those which are part of the European Union and those which belong to other international organisations. COURTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) refers to the whole judicial system of the EU. It is composed of three courts: the Court of Justice; the General Court; the Specialised Courts. Court of Justice The Court of Justice has jurisdiction in actions brought by Member States or European institutions. It may also have jurisdiction of last resort in judgments delivered by the General Court. In this case, it rules on the questions of law only and not on the facts of the case. General Court The General Court is attached to the Court of Justice and is designed to reduce that Court's workload. The General Court has jurisdiction to hear at first instance actions brought by Member States or individuals in the cases provided for by the European Treaties. Specialised Courts The Specialised Courts were created by the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure. These courts have jurisdiction at first instance in certain categories of action on specific matters . Different types of action The CJEU is responsible for ensuring compliance with European law. It has jurisdiction in actions brought by Member States, other European institutions and European citizens. There are several types of procedure:

• the action for annulment;
• the proceedings for failure to fulfil an obligation;
• the proceedings for failure to act;
• the action for damages;
• the reference for a preliminary ruling.

INTERNATIONAL COURTS There is a wide range of courts and tribunals that hear disputes at international level and which have their headquarters on European territory. However , these courts do not come under the auspices of the European Union. They are:

• the courts of other European organisations, in particular the European Court of Human Rights and the EFTA Court (European Free Trade Association);
• the courts created under the auspices of the United Nations;
• the independent dispute settlement bodies of the United Nations.

5. GERMAN CIVIL CODE German Civil Code, German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, the body of codified private law that went into effect in the German empire in 1900. Though it has been modified, it remains in effect. The code grew out of a desire for a truly national law that would override the often conflicting customs and codes of the various German territories. The code is divided into five parts. The first is general, covering concepts of personal rights and legal personality. The subjects of the other four parts are: obligations, including concepts of sale and contract; things, including immovable and movable property; domestic relations; and succession.
FRENCH CIVIL CODE Napoleonic Code, French Code Napoleon , French civil code enacted in 1804 and still extant, with revisions; it has been the main influence in the 19th - century civil codes of most countries of continental Europe and Latin America. The first book of the code deals with the law of persons: the enjoyment of civil rights, the protection of personality, domicile, guardianship, tutorship, relations of parents and children , marriage, personal relations of spouses, and the dissolution of marriage by annulment or divorce . The code subordinated women to their fathers and husbands, who controlled all family property, determined the fate of children, and were favoured in divorce proceedings. Many of these provisions were only reformed in the second half of the 20th century. The second book deals with the law of things: the regulation of property rights—ownership, usufruct, and servitudes. The third book deals with the methods of acquiring rights: by succession, donation, marriage settlement, and obligations. In the last chapters, the code regulates a number of nominate contracts, legal and conventional mortgages, limitations of actions, and prescriptions of rights.
6.Comparative criminal law Comparative criminal law is a subfield of the study of Criminal Justice that compares justice systems worldwide. Such study can take a descriptive, historical, or political approach . It studies the similarities and differences in structure, goals , punishment and emphasis on rights as well as the history and political stature of different systems.It is common to broadly categorize the functions of a criminal justice system into policing, adjudication (i.e.: courts), and corrections, although other categorization schemes exist. Comparativists study the four different types of societies, their methods of enforcement and their different types of punishment such as capital punishment, and imprisonment. Within these societies they study different types of legal tradition and analyze the issues they solve and create. They use their information in order to learn effective ways of enforcing laws, and to identify and solve problems that may arise within a system due to its methods.