I. Common Law System
- Origins: English legal tradition, developed through judicial decisions
- Stare decisis: doctrine of precedent — courts follow previous rulings
- Sources: case law (judge-made law), statutes, customs
- Countries: UK, USA, Canada, Australia, India
- Adversarial system: parties present their case before a neutral judge/jury
II. Civil Law System
- Origins: Roman law tradition, codified by Napoleon (1804)
- Codification: comprehensive codes as primary source of law
- Sources: codes, statutes, regulations (jurisprudence is secondary)
- Countries: France, Germany, Spain, Japan, most of continental Europe
- Inquisitorial system: judge actively investigates the facts
III. Key Differences
- Role of judges: Common Law judges "make" law; Civil Law judges "apply" law
- Precedent: binding in Common Law; persuasive only in Civil Law
- Legal reasoning: inductive (case-based) vs deductive (code-based)
Point clé : Understanding the fundamental differences between Common Law and Civil Law systems is essential for the CRFPA English exam, as it forms the basis for many comparative law questions.