Civil Law Fundamentals and Legal Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards generated from the Civil Law lecture transcript covering foundational terms, legal traditions, codification, and Spanish legal framework.

Institutional Premises of Civil Law

The person, the family, and the patrimony.

Private Law

Law governing horizontal relationships between private individuals or equals; based on freedom.

Public Law

Law governing vertical relationships between the state and individuals; based on authority and power.

Private Law Autonomy

Individuals are free to make their own legal choices and determine terms and conditions.

Public Law Heteronomy

An outside authority, such as the government, imposes the rule or decision.

Autonomy vs Heteronomy

Autonomy = I choose. Heteronomy = authority chooses for me.

Derecho Común

The general or default law. In Spain, the Civil Code acts as Derecho común and is supplemented by special legislation.

Ubi societas, ibi ius

“Where there is society, there is law.”

Negative Function of Law

Preventing and solving conflicts.

Positive Function of Law

Encouraging cooperation and social unity.

Social Contract Theory

Society is formed by leaving the state of nature and accepting organized rules and authority.

State of Nature (Hobbes)

Hobbes described the state of nature as a “war of all against all.”

Codification

The systematic organization of laws into written legal codes.

18th-Century Enlightenment

The movement that encouraged codification, influenced by ideas of natural law, equal treatment, rational legislation, and due process.

Code Napoléon / French Civil Code

French Civil Code enacted in 1804.

Spanish Civil Code

Enacted in 1889 and influenced by the French model.

BGB

German Civil Code, which entered into force in 1900.

Books of the Spanish Civil Code

Book I: Persons; Book II: Property; Book III: Acquisition of property; Book IV: Obligations and contracts.

Derechos Forales

Historical regional civil-law systems in certain Spanish territories.

The Foral Question

The tension between one unified Spanish Civil Code and preserving regional historical civil laws.

Derechos Forales Territories

Catalonia, Aragón, Navarra, Basque Country, Balearic Islands, and Galicia.

Corpus Iuris Civilis

Justinian’s compilation of Roman law.

Parts of the Corpus Iuris Civilis

Digestum, Codex, Institutiones, and Novellae.

Glossators

Medieval scholars who studied Roman legal texts and added explanatory glosses.

Commentators

Later scholars who developed and adapted Roman law.

Ius Commune

The shared European legal tradition formed from Roman law and scholarly interpretation.

Ius Commune vs Derecho Común

Ius Commune = historical shared European law. Derecho Común = general/default law in Spain.

Common Law

English legal tradition developed mainly through royal courts, judicial decisions, and precedent rather than comprehensive codes.

Equity

A body of principles created to soften the strictness of Common Law and reach fairer results.

Declaration of King James I

Declared that “Equity shall prevail.”

Codification in England

England largely rejected codification.

Norm

The actual legal rule or meaning.

Normative Provision

The written legal text that expresses the norm.

Supuesto de hecho

The facts or situation that trigger a legal rule — the “IF” part.

Consecuencia jurídica

The legal consequence that follows — the “THEN” part.

Ius Cogens

A mandatory rule that parties cannot change by agreement.

Dispositive Norm

A default rule that applies unless the parties agree otherwise.

Formal Sources of Spanish Law (Article 1)

Legislation, custom, and general principles of law.

Ratio decidendi vs Obiter dicta

Ratio decidendi = reasoning necessary to decide the case. Obiter dicta = extra comments not necessary to the decision.