civil law

noun

often capitalized C&L

1

: Roman law especially as set forth in the Justinian code

2

: the body of private law developed from Roman law and used in Louisiana and in many countries outside the English-speaking world

3

: the law established by a nation or state for its own jurisdiction

4

: the law of civil or private rights

Examples of civil law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Under English civil law, a claimant who wins a court judgment that is lower than what they were offered to settle, has to pay the legal bills for both sides. —Max Taylor, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2025

Any attempt by the Entrant to deliberately damage the Website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. —USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2025

This is a common feature of civil law systems, granting one party the right to use and profit from property owned by another. —Virginia La Torre Jeker, J.d., Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024

The hawala would go on to influence the development of the agency concept in common and civil laws throughout Europe. —Harris Irfan, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2015

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1500, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Legal Definition

civil law

noun

often capitalized C&L

1

: Roman law especially as set forth in the Code of Justinian

2

: the body of law developed from Roman law and used in Louisiana, in continental Europe, and in many other countries outside of the English-speaking world including especially those that were colonized by countries of continental Europe compare common law

Note: Although Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. whose law is based entirely on civil law, remnants of civil law remain in other states (as Texas and California) in which countries of continental Europe had a strong influence.

3

: the law established by a nation or state for its own jurisdiction

4

: the law that applies to private rights especially as opposed to the law that applies to criminal matters compare criminal law