The

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

refers to the legal systems of Europe. Europe saw the birth of both the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

and the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, which form the basis of the two dominant forms of legal system of private law,

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

and

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

History

The law of Europe has a diverse history.

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...

underwent major codification in the

Corpus Juris Civilis The ''Corpus Juris'' (or ''Iuris'') ''Civilis'' ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor. It is also sometimes referred ...

of Emperor

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

, as later developed through the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

by medieval legal scholars. In

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, judges retained greater power than their continental counterparts and began to develop a body of precedent. Originally civil law was one common legal system in much of

, but with the rise of

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

in the 17th century

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

and around the time of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, it became fractured into separate national systems. This change was brought about by the development of separate national codes, of which the French Napoleonic Code and the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and Swiss codes were the most influential. Around this time civil law incorporated many ideas associated with the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

's Law is based on a codified set of laws, laid down in the

Treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

. Law in the EU is however mixed with precedent in case law of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

. In accordance with its history, the interpretation of European law relies less on policy considerations than U.S. law. Kristoffel Grechenig & Martin Gelter, The Transatlantic Divergence in Legal Thought: American Law and Economics vs. German Doctrinalism
''Hastings International and Comparative Law Review 2008, vol. 31, p. 295-360''
Martin Gelter & Kristoffel Grechenig
''History of Law and Economics''
forthcoming in Encyclopedia on Law & Economics.

Supranational law

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

European Union law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

Law by countries

Law of Albania The law of Albania is civil law. Constitution There have been constitutions of 1914, 1925, 1928, 1939, 1946, 1976 and 1998. Legislation The legislature is the Parliament of Albania. The gazette is the Fletorja Zyrtare. List of legislation *Cr ...

Law of Andorra The law of Andorra includes customary law and legislation. Constitution The Constitution of Andorra was the subject of a referendum on 14 March 1993. Legislation The legislature is the Consell General (English: General Council). The gazette is ca ...

Law of Armenia Armenian law ( hy, Հայ իրավունք), that being the modern Legal system of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի իրավական համակարգ), is a system of law acted in Armenia. History of law in Armenia The modern legal system of Arm ...

Law of Austria Judiciary system Austria in 2008 had 141 district courts (Bezirksgerichte), 20 provincial courts (Landesgerichte), and four higher provincial courts (Oberlandesgerichte). There is also a Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof), Constitutional Court ...

Law of Azerbaijan The legal system of Azerbaijan is based on civil law. As the country was a republic of the Soviet Union until 1991, its legal history has also been influenced heavily by socialist law. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan bec ...

Law of Belarus Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

Law of Belgium The legal system of Belgium is based on the Napoleonic code. The Napoleonic code is the French civil code which was issued between 1804 and 1810. It clearly presents the French legal system. Belgium’s constitution is influenced by earlier const ...

Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Law of Bulgaria Bulgarian law is a largely civil law system, based on epitomes in French law and German law. It retains increasingly fewer elements of Soviet law. This makes the state's approach to criminal law inquisitorial rather than adversarial, and is gene ...

Law of Croatia The law of Croatia is part of the legal system of Croatia. It belongs to the civil law legal system. It is grounded on the principles laid out in the Constitution of Croatia and safeguarded by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia. C ...

Law of Cyprus The law of Cyprus ( gr, Κυπριακό Δίκαιο) is a legal system which applies within the Republic of Cyprus. Although Cypriot law is extensively codified, it is still heavily based on English common law in the sense that the fundamental p ...

* Law of Czech Republic *

Law of Denmark Law in Denmark follows a civil law system. Private law * The governs labour law concerning salaried employees. The governs vacation time for employees. * The governs consumer law. * The governs landlord–tenant law. * Privacy law in Denmark ...

Law of Estonia According to the Constitution of Estonia ( et, Põhiseadus), the supreme power of the state is vested in the people. The people exercise their supreme power of the state on the elections of the Riigikogu through citizens who have the right to vot ...

Law of Finland The law of Finland is based on the civil law tradition, consisting mostly of statutory law promulgated by the Parliament of Finland. The constitution of Finland, originally approved in 1919 and rewritten in 2000, has supreme authority and sets the ...

Law of France The Law of France refers to the legal system in the French Republic, which is a civil law legal system primarily based on legal codes and statutes, with case law also playing an important role. The most influential of the French legal codes is t ...

Law of Georgia The law of the U.S. state of Georgia consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law. The ''Official Code of Georgia Annotated'' forms the general statutory law. Sources The ...

Law of Germany The law of Germany (german: das Recht Deutschlands), that being the modern German legal system (german: Deutsches Rechtssystem), is a system of civil law which is founded on the principles laid out by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of G ...

Law of Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Law of Hungary The law of Hungary is civil law. It was first codified during the socialist period. Constitution The constitution of 2011 replaced that of 1949. Legislation The legislature is the Magyar Országgyűlés (English: National Assembly). * Act I o ...

Law of Iceland Law of Iceland during the Commonwealth (930—1262) was decided by the Althing. It has changed over the years but the legislative body is still called Althing. History Prior to 1262 the law-code was ''Grágás''. Following the '' Gamli sáttmá ...

Law of Italy Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Law of Kazakhstan The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Конституциясы, Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Konstitutsiasy, ) is the highest law of Kazakhstan, as stated in Article 4. The Constit ...

Law of Latvia Latvian law is a part of a legal system of Latvia. It is largely civil, as opposed to a common, law system, based on epitomes in the German and French systems. The Latvian legal system is grounded on the principles laid out in the Constitut ...

Law of Liechtenstein Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

Law of Lithuania Lithuanian law is a part of the legal system of Lithuania. It belongs to the civil law legal system, as opposed to the common law legal system. The legal system of Lithuania is based on epitomes of the French and German systems. The Lithuan ...

* Law of Luxembourg * Law of Republic of Macedonia *

Law of Malta The law of Malta incorporates continental law, common law and local traditions, such as Code de Rohan. A municipal code was enacted in 1784 and replaced in 1813. Maltese law has evolved over the centuries and reflected the rule of the context of ...

Law of Moldova Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

Law of Monaco Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

* Law of Montenegro *

Law of the Netherlands The Netherlands uses civil law. The role of case law is small in theory, although in practice it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without also taking into account the relevant case law. The Dutch system of law is based on the Fr ...

Law of Northern Cyprus Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Law of Norway Law in Norway follows a Civil law (legal system), civil law system. The Supreme Court of Norway, Supreme Court is the highest in the nation, with 20 justices. Overview The highest level of law is the Constitution of 17 May 1814. Statutes made unde ...

Law of Poland The Polish law or legal system in Poland has been developing since the first centuries of Polish history, over 1,000 years ago. The public and private laws of Poland are codified. The supreme law in Poland is the Constitution of Poland. Poland ...

Law of Portugal The Law of Portugal is the legal system that applies to Portugal. It is part of the family of the civil law legal systems, based on Roman law. As such, it has many common features with the legal systems found in most of the countries in Continen ...

Law of the Republic of Ireland The law of Ireland consists of constitutional, statute, and common law. The highest law in the State is the Constitution of Ireland, from which all other law derives its authority. The Republic has a common-law legal system with a written const ...

Law of Romania The law of Romania is civil law. History The Romanian judicial system experienced a major overhaul in the early 2010s, with the introduction of four new codes: the Civil Code (2011), the Civil Procedure Code (2013) and the Penal and Penal Proced ...

Law of Russia The primary and fundamental statement of laws in the Russian Federation is the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Hierarchy Constitutionism Adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 with 54.5% of the vote, the Constitution took ...

Law of San Marino Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

Law of Serbia The Law of Serbia comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the Serbian Constitution. Sources The Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia () is the government gazette containing the laws, ...

Law of Slovakia The law of the Slovak Republic is civil law. Constitution The Constitution was passed in 1992. Legislature The legislature is the National Council. Legislation Legislation includes Acts. Acts *Act No 277/1994 Coll *Act No 136/1995 Coll *Ac ...

Law of Slovenia Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Law of Spain The Law of Spain is the legislation in force in the Kingdom of Spain, which is understood to mean Spanish territory, Spanish waters, consulates and embassies, and ships flying the Spanish flag in democratically elected institutions. Characteristi ...

Law of Sweden The law of Sweden is a civil law system, whose essence is manifested in its dependence on statutory law. Sweden's civil law tradition, as in the rest of Europe, is founded on classical Roman law, but on the German (rather than Napoleonic) model. B ...

Law of Switzerland Swiss law is a set of rules which constitutes the law in Switzerland. Structure and Sources There is a hierarchy of political levels which reflects the legal and constitutional character of Switzerland. The Federal law (german: Bundesrecht, f ...

Law of Turkey The judicial system of Turkey is defined by Articles 138 to 160 of the Constitution of Turkey. With the founding of the Republic, Turkey adopted a civil law legal system, replacing Ottoman law and the Sharia courts. The Civil Code, adopted i ...

Law of Ukraine The legal system of Ukraine is based on the framework of civil law, and belongs to the Romano-Germanic legal tradition. The main source of legal information is codified law. Customary law and case law are not as common, though case law is oft ...

Law of United Kingdom The United Kingdom has four legal systems, each of which derives from a particular geographical area for a variety of historical reasons: English and Welsh law, Scots law, Northern Ireland law, and, since 2007, purely Welsh law (as a result of ...

Law of England and Wales English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, been ...

Law of Northern Ireland The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Prior to 1921, Northern Ireland was part of ...

Law of Scotland Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland ...

Law of Vatican City State The law of Vatican City State consists of many forms, the most important of which is the canon law of the Catholic Church. The organs of state are governed by the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State. The Code of Penal Procedure governs tribunals ...

Dependencies, autonomies and territories

Law of Abkhazia Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

* Law of Åland * Law of Akrotiri and Dhekelia * Law of Crimea *

Law of the Faroe Islands Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

Law of Gibraltar The law of Gibraltar is a combination of common law and statute, and is based heavily upon English law. The ''English Law (Application) Act 1962'' stipulates that English common law will apply to Gibraltar unless overridden by Gibraltar law. How ...

Law of Guernsey The Law of Guernsey originates in Norman customary law, overlaid with principles taken from English common law and French law, as well as from statute law enacted by the competent legislature(s) – usually, but not always, the States of Guernsey ...

Law of the Isle of Man The legal system on the Isle of Man is Manx customary law, a form of common law. Manx law originally derived from Gaelic Brehon law and Norse Udal law. Since those early beginnings, Manx law has developed under the heavy influence of English com ...

Law of Jersey The law of Jersey has been influenced by several different legal traditions, in particular Norman customary law, English common law and modern French civil law. and The Bailiwick of Jersey is a separate jurisdiction from that of the United Kingdo ...

* Law of Nagorno-Karabakh * Law of Nakhichevan * Law of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Law In Europe Legal systems

History

Supranational law

Law by countries

Dependencies, autonomies and territories

See also

References