Most of Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East, Asia, and some African countries follow the civil law tradition. The common law system is found in the United Kingdom and its former colonies throughout the world. Although each nation has modified specific legal structures and practices, and many have unique historical nuances, there are general trends within the civil law world and across common law nations. The chart below broadly describes these features.
| Judicial Role & Training | Civil Law | Common Law |
| Law schools largely teach through lecture | Law schools implement Socratic and skills-based methods | |
| Career judges usually join the bench after completing a degree, additional professional training, and an internship | Judges are usually seasoned practitioners with a variety of previous experiences | |
| Legislation is designed to cover every eventuality; no perceived need for extensive judicial interpretation | Judicial interpretation is frequently required to apply law to specific situations | |
| Paradigm of inquisitor: judges actively investigate and probes evidence/witnesses | Paradigm of umpire: judges preside over cases and makes rulings when necessary (see next section) | |
| Role of Lawyers & Other Justice Sector Professionals | Investigating judge or prosecutor conducts bulk of criminal investigations Case file is used as evidence in trial Prosecutor/defender may request additional investigation of specific matters | Police conduct bulk of criminal investigation before turning it over to prosecutor Discovery process whereby prosecutor makes evidence available to defense, and defense may gather additional evidence |
Prosecutor may be member of the judiciary; judge may be under the Ministry of Justice
| Defense counsel zealous advocate for client | |
Judge-driven; judges are responsible for:
| Lawyer-driven; lawyers are responsible for:
| |
| Specialized Experts | Sharp distinction between public and private law, with separate courts (and appeals processes) for each, e.g., civil, criminal, labor, administrative | More recent trend: specialized courts for tax, IP, family law, etc. |
| Court Proceedings | Sitting judge can rely on written notes of testimony from investigation When there is live testimony, presented as uninterrupted narrative Preparation of witnesses generally forbidden | Oral testimony from investigation must be presented in court Testimony elicited through questions posed to witness Frequent preparation of witnesses by counsel |
| Free evaluation of evidence; most evidence admitted | Complex rules of evidence, including exclusionary rules | |
| Transcripts rare; judge or court secretary takes notes and submits summary | Contemporaneous record taken by court reporter | |
| Laypersons may be designated as lay judges/assessors and may join with judges in a mixed panel | Trial by jury of laypersons | |
| “Trial” often broken up into series of hearings over the course of weeks or months | Trial is distinct and continuous proceeding | |
| Sources of Law | Written codes may be a starting point, but codes and legislation are used extensively | Case law as starting point |
| Traditional lack of stare decisis | Precedent; stare decisis | |
| Decisions from other courts (e.g., other districts or nations) generally not persuasive | Frequent consideration of other courts’ decisions | |
| Scholarly commentary frequently considered authoritative | Scholarly commentary generally not considered authoritative | |
| International law often incorporated automatically | International law generally not incorporated automatically | |
| Appellate Review | Leave to appeal usually not required; frequent interlocutory appeals | One appeal as of right; leave to appeal often required for subsequent appeals |
| Issues of fact and law reviewed de novo on first appeal | Only issues of law reviewed de novo; issues of fact have narrower standard of review | |
| Additional evidence and legal issues often allowed on appeal | No additional evidence allowed on appeal | |
| Different judicial bodies hear different types of appeals (e.g., constitutional courts, criminal or civil panels within appellate court) | Unified appellate courts hear most appeals | |
| Judicial review of legislation may be restricted to constitutional court, or not permitted at all | All courts may review the constitutionality of legislation |