Legal Education Britannica

In France, a civil code was promulgated in 1804 under the leadership of Napoleon. With revisions, it remains in force and has a major impact on the legal systems of most European and Latin American countries. The Napoleonic Code was necessitated by the variety and confusion of laws that had developed in France and other parts of Europe in the Middle Ages and early modern times. The premise of the code was the idea that, for the first time in history, a law based solely on common sense had to be created, free from all the prejudices and injustices of the past. Under the code, all citizens were recognized as equal and all class privileges were abolished. The code was originally introduced in 1804 in the regions under French control: Belgium, Luxembourg, northwestern Italy and parts of Germany. After the Napoleonic conquests, it was introduced to conquered Italy, the Netherlands and most of Germany. It was adopted voluntarily in a number of other places in the 19th century, including Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Argentina. In the United States, only Louisiana has a civil code closely linked to the Napoleonic Code.

Lenin and the other leaders of the 1917 revolution lacked a precise model for a legal system, since Karl Marx and his collaborator Friedrich Engels had left no plan for such a system. The revolutionaries therefore issued decrees intended to create a framework for the new society. These decrees deprived individuals of ownership of land, banks, insurance companies, fleets of ships and large industry; created restrictions on the employment of workers; and removed marriage and divorce from the scope of Church activities. The law is the subject of a number of articles. For a description of legal education and general context, see Legal Profession, Legal Education and Legal Ethics. The articles that delimit the relationship between law and political structures are constitutions; Ideology; political party; and the political system. For articles on the importance of law in relation to social justice and other social issues, see Human rights; Land reform; and social services. For a discussion of comparative law and the relationship between law and the social sciences, see Comparative Law. For a description of canon law, see Canon Law.

For a description of Islamic law, see Shariʿah. For a description of Jewish law, see Talmud and Midrash. For an analysis of the role of law in public administration, see Administrative Law. For an overview of social restrictions and their application, see censorship; crime and punishment; and the police. For a description of the legal aspects of war and the military, see War, Law of. For a discussion of the philosophy of law, see Law, Philosophy of. For an overview of the different types of historical and contemporary legal systems, see Chinese Law; Civil law; Common law; Courtyard; Egyptian law; European law; German law; Greek law; Indian law; Israeli law; Japanese law; Roman law; Scandinavian law; Scots law; Soviet law; and Welsh law. For international aspects of law, see International Law; and the United Nations.

For a review of legislation in specific areas, see Agency; Air law; Bankruptcy; Merchandise; Act of commerce; Contract; Constitutional law; Criminal law; Family Law; Inheritance; Labour law; Law of the Sea; Forensic medicine; Procedural law; Property law; Tax law; and tort. Most of the laws of continental European legal systems are traditionally classified as civil law. This term should not be confused with the civil law discussed above in relation to criminal law. Rather, it derives from the ancient Roman term jus civile, meaning «civil law,» which was used to distinguish the correct or ancient law of the city of Rome from the laws that applied to the people of the Roman Empire. It was founded in 1817 at Harvard University. Im spät 19. In the nineteenth century, Harvard instituted a series of practices that ultimately defined American legal education, including the use of the «case method» of teaching (see Doctrine below), the requirement that students complete three years. In the field of criminal law, new definitions of crimes that reflected socialism emerged under Stalin. In addition to the traditional crimes dealt with in other legal systems – crimes against persons and property – the Soviet Union added certain «economic crimes» and counterrevolutionary activities. Economic crimes included the private employment of workers for production purposes. Counterrevolutionary activities, later called state crimes, represented a wide range of actions considered to undermine state power.

Criticism of the state itself or its socialist policies often resulted in severe sanctions. The practice of religious activities was also within the scope of the Criminal Code until 1990. A significant number of lawyers form partnerships or law firms because they are not legally allowed to form partnerships. The reason for this is that shareholders of a corporation have limited liability or legal liability for the company`s shares, but lawyers are supposed to be fully responsible for their actions. They may be deprived of their authorisation to exercise this right if they do not properly represent their clients. In some states, lawyers can now form special corporations to take advantage of federal income tax rules, but in these corporations, shareholder attorneys have unlimited liability, just like in a partnership. In Europe, the civil similarities that had been realized in the late Middle Ages were divided by the Reformation and the rise of strong nationalism in many countries. Individual nations organized and wrote all their specific laws. In Denmark, this happened in 1683. Norway followed four years later. Sweden-Finland codified the law in 1734, Prussia in 1791. The France did the same with the Napoleonic Code of 1804.

Due to the different dates of codification and the different styles of learning law in Europe, the civil law of the continent is divided into French and Germanic branches. The civil law system in both branches is still widespread in Europe and has been widely accepted in other parts of the world, except where the common law tradition of England has prevailed.