civil law
Civil law can refer either to a branch of law that governs private rights and obligations, or to a legal system derived from Roman law and based on codified statutes.
As a branch of law, civil law regulates non-criminal legal relationships between individuals, including both natural and legal persons. It encompasses areas such as contracts, torts, family law, property, and trusts. It differs from criminal law, which involves offenses against the state, and from administrative law, which governs relations between individuals and the government.
As a legal system, civil law refers to a framework based primarily on written codes and statutes, rather than common law, which is based on judicial decisions or precedent. In civil law systems, judges play a more investigative role, focusing on applying the law to the facts rather than interpreting prior rulings. The system originated from the revival of Roman law in the Middle Ages and was further developed through the Napoleonic Code and other historic codifications. Today, civil law is the most widely adopted legal system globally, found in countries across Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
[Last reviewed in July of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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