- legal system based on comprehensive codified statutes and written legal codes
- originated in Roman law (Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian, 529 AD), refined through the Napoleonic Code (1804)
- the most widespread legal tradition globally: France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, much of Africa and Asia
- inquisitorial system: judges actively investigate facts, less reliance on adversarial argument
- law is created by legislatures, judges apply the code rather than making law through precedent
- structured around systematic codes: civil code, commercial code, criminal code, procedural code
- predictable and uniform: same code applies across jurisdictions within a state
- contrast with common law: codified rules vs case-by-case precedent
- on-chain governance protocols resemble civil law: explicit parameter sets, enumerated rules, deterministic execution
- see also constitution, international law, treaty