Which Countries Do Not Use a Legal System Based on Common Law

Legal systems vary considerably from country to country, but they generally follow civil or common law. At common law, precedents or court decisions are used to decide these cases. According to civil law, codified laws and regulations govern the country. Some countries, such as South Africa, use a combination of civil and customary law. The following countries have common law legal systems: Since its beginnings as a colony of England, the United States has inherited many traditions from British common law, including habeas corpus and jury trials. After the American Revolutionary War, one of the first acts of the new government was to fully adopt existing English common law, unless it contradicted the American Constitution. Although not a rule, common law countries do not always follow a constitution or a code of law. mixed legal system based on Napoleonic civil and criminal law, Islamic religious law and remnants of colonial-era laws; Judicial review of the constitutionality of laws by the High Constitutional Court The Islamic legal system, consisting of Sharia (Islamic law) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), is the most widespread religious legal system and, together with common law and civil law, one of the three most common legal systems in the world. [22] It is based both on divine law derived from the hadith of the Qur`an and Sunnah, and on the decisions of ulema (jurists), who use the methods of ijma (consensus), qiyas (analogous deduction), ijtihad (research) and urf (common practice) to derive fatwā (legal advice). An ulema had to qualify for an ijazah (Doctor of Laws) in a madrasa (law school or college) before he could issue a fatwah. [23] During the Islamic Golden Age, classical Islamic law may have influenced the development of common law[6] and several civil law institutions. [24] Sharia law governs a number of Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, although most countries use Sharia law only as a complement to national legislation. It can concern all aspects of civil law, including property rights, contracts and public law.

The civil law (also known as Roman) and common law systems can be considered the most widespread in the world: civil law, because it is most widely used by the land mass and the general population, and common law, because it is used by the largest number of people compared to any civil law system. [2] [3] [4] English Common Law and Hindu Legal Terms; Note: New Criminal and Civil Codes came into force on August 17, 2018 The United States, Canada, England, India and Australia are generally considered common law countries. As they were all subjects or colonies of Great Britain, they often maintained the tradition of the common law. The state of Louisiana in the United States uses bijural civil law because it was once a colony of the France. mixed legal system based on English common law and Islamic law; Note – In April 2019, the comprehensive Sharia Penal Code entered into force and applies to Muslims and non-Muslims alongside the current common law codes. In addition, some countries have customary laws where patterns of behaviour or customs have been accepted as legal requirements or codes of conduct. Other countries have religious legal systems where religious texts or traditions define the laws of that country. Religious legal systems are widespread in Islamic countries.

Some countries have mixed legal systems that include common law and another type of legal system. As lawyers know, the legal systems of countries around the world generally fall into one of two main categories: common law systems and civil law systems. There are about 150 countries that can be described primarily as civil law systems, while there are about 80 common law countries.