Civil law

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The continental way of doing law. Derives, they will claim, from Julius Caesar and the romance tradition, but basically means a lot of legislation. Less emphasis on precedent, they’re in denial about the existence of trusts, but otherwise sensible, if long-winded. You may prefer the common law if, like us, you are tickled by the idea that the entire law of civil wrongs can be derived from a rotten snail in a bottle of ginger-beer.

See also

• Common law
• Civil law jurisdictions
• Common law jurisdictions