Common Law Vs Civil Law Essay

Law is a system of rules that has been set up by the legislative branch of our government. It is a must that every person in that country follow these laws, or severe consequences will be held against that person. In every court house legal systems are held. There are two common types of legal systems used, common law and civil law. Common law is used by countries that are from the British colonies, as this type of system was originated from England, when King Henry II wanted to combine the laws and customs together. Whereas, the countries that use civil law are from the European colonies (Common Law vs Civil Law,2009). Even though, both laws are commonly used, they differ in terms of the constitution, the jury’s opinion, the role of the

Another difference would be the consideration of the jury duty. It seems like common law cares about the jury’s opinion when it comes to solving murderous crimes. As the job of the jury duty is to decide whether the person on the stand is guilty or not. Unlike civil law, where it seems like they do not really care about the jury’s opinion because to them it is no more than a guide (The Economist Explains, 2013). In addition, force of law is considered when the court has to make it's decisions in the civil jurisdictions, whereas in the common jurisdictions, there is a force of law when the court makes it's decision, also they tend to follows up with the precedent, which are earlier events that may be used to help out with the case (Common Law vs Civil Law, 2009). The third difference between common law and civil law system is the role the judges conduct in these systems. According to the common law system, the judge has an active role, as his job is to develop rules and then applying them according to the case. However, during the trial, his role is to listen to both parties and then judge. Meanwhile, the judge's role in the civil law system is to be an investigator, since his role is limited and can only judge on existing lawful