The civil law systems of continental Europe, Latin America and other parts of the world, including Japan, share a common legal heritage derived from Roman law.

One of the great and lasting influences on the course of Western culture, Roman law occupies a unique place in the history of the civilized world. Originally th

Excerpt from Introduction to the Study and Use of the Civil Law, and to Commentaries on the Modern Civil Law The Civil Law may be looked upon in two different a