<P> Civil law , civilian law , or Roman law is a legal system originating in Europe , intellectualized within the framework of late Roman law , and whose most prevalent feature is that its core principles are codified into a referable system which serves as the primary source of law . This can be contrasted with common law systems whose intellectual framework comes from judge - made decisional law which gives precedential authority to prior court decisions on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different occasions ( doctrine of judicial precedent , or stare decisis ) . </P>
<P> Civil law , civilian law , or Roman law is a legal system originating in Europe , intellectualized within the framework of late Roman law , and whose most prevalent feature is that its core principles are codified into a referable system which serves as the primary source of law . This can be contrasted with common law systems whose intellectual framework comes from judge - made decisional law which gives precedential authority to prior court decisions on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different occasions ( doctrine of judicial precedent , or stare decisis ) . </P>
where did the concept of civil law in the us orginate
where did the concept of civil law in the us orginate
Europe
Europe