Legal Issues: Civil And Common Law, History Of French Law (Research Paper Sample)

Legal Issues
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Executive summary
The aim of the current study is to perform a comparative analysis of the American and French legal systems. It is found that both systems have their history in the Greek and Roman traditions of the law. The French system is solely based on a gradual evolution from the roman papal system while the American system is largely inherited from the British common law system. It is also found that the French tend to centralize the training of both lawyers and judges. This is opposed to the American way where lawyers are trained based on state laws. American judges are also either appointed or elected, thus becoming more of a political office as opposed to a civil one. French lawyers were initially trained in the roman and canon laws, signifying the country’s leanings towards religion. In addition, learning in academic law schools has leaned towards the professor with student participation being limited. The law student gain access to the bar association in the middle of their four-year course, which is unlike the US where the student takes the examination before joining law school. Given the numerous differences that exist between the two nations, it is recommended that aspiring students take care to study the legal careers and processes that must be followed in their jurisdictions before embarking on their journey to a promising career.
Introduction
The legal profession is one of the oldest among modern practices CITATION Rob15 \l 1033 (Roberts, 2015). In ancient Greece, it was common for an individual who was facing trail to represent the facts of the case on his own. However, there was an increasing culture where the person was allowed to call upon the help of another person who would help him argue out the case. Soon, it was the practice that there were professionals who specified in the trail of specific cases. While the ancient Greeks did not take time to learn and study law, the practice was founded among Romans who had a class of people who took time to study previous cases and current law. This would then be translated to the French culture where there was the establishment of law schools to train such individuals. The American legal system was then borrowed from the European structure. In the modern world, the legal profession is paramount in both the French and American way of life. While significant differences exist between the two countries, their lawyers continue to shape not only the legal profession but also business, medicine, among others. Indeed, both countries depend upon the rule of law in order to achieve a systematic way of achieving their goals. This is highly dependent on the education that has been imparted upon each country’s lawyers for in order to have outstanding laws, then the individuals trained in the profession must have an acute understanding of the people’s needs and what should be done to resolve their problems. Given this background, the current study aims at investigating the French and American legal education systems. The study will adopt a comparative approach in achieving its goals.
Civil and common law
Civil law refers to that part of a country’s principles that are codified in an act or its alternative. Civil laws can be argued to those laws that are based on a written document as the primary document. In this case, the document becomes the primary source of reference when arguing out a case. Therefore, civil law is a set of doctrines that can only be changed when the document in question is altered CITATION Rob15 \l 1033 (Roberts, 2015). For example, it is illegal to drive in the United States if the individual is under the age of 16. However, each state has its individual regulations that govern the practice of driving. These regulations are spelt in black and white in that a person who is found driving at the age of 15 is certain to be tried as being an unlawful driver. There are also laws that govern the disposal of waste and other daily activities. Civil law can emerge from directives issued by the executive arm of the government such as the one where it is illegal in most countries to take unauthorized photographs of military institutions. They can also emerge from the legislative arm of government as seen in the form of acts that are discussed before being made law.
However, there are cases where it is not accurate or just to use the civil law in trying an individual. In these instances, it becomes vital to understand the context under which the act of commission or omission occurred. It is under these circumstances that it becomes necessary for the judge and lawyers to present their cases based on the context instead of the facts as they are presented in a legal document. This then forms part of the nation’s common law as contained in previous court rulings CITATION Smi13 \l 1033 (Smits, 2013). When a country gives great weight to previous court rulings in deciding a current case, then it is possible to create an entire legal system that is based on common law. In the modern legal context, a majority of developed nations lean towards a mixture of common and civil law. This allows for civil laws to be understood and interpreted in the context that the act occurred while leaving the civil law unaltered.
History of French law
Like the rest of Europe, French law has its origins in Roman law, which in turn had its origins in Greek law CITATION Dav72 \l 1033 (David, 1972). It is notable that the French territory did not exist until the middle ages when various regions in modern France aligned themselves to the Roman Catholic Church. As such, the first laws to be formally applied in the country were divine laws. With time and the decline of the Holy Roman Empire, the French region would seek to distance itself from divine laws. It was during this time that kings recognized the customs that had been left out during the time the kingdom was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Even then, the country still held that the papacy was higher than the political office of king until the fourteenth century. The departure between the papacy and the king’s office marked a step towards the distinction between papal laws and those dictated by the king and the citizens. The parliamentary system was created during the fifteenth century. During this time, the southern end of the French kingdom applied civil law while the northern end applied common law CITATION Kub94 \l 1033 (Kublicki, 1994). These laws would then be based on a caste system made up of the clergy, the nobility, and common men. The French revolution removed the first two classes and accordant laws. King Napoleon would then create four chapters of law that dealt with procedure, commerce, crimes, and criminal instruction. This marked a more modern approach to laws in France with each of the four chapters all being altered in the twentieth century.
History of law schools in France and their impact on French law
As mentioned earlier, the legal system in France is based on the mediaeval Roman legal system. By the time the Roman legal system was established, it was common for the individual to hire a legal representative trained in oratory skills to make a formal representation on his behest. These orators had no legal training and often practiced as a friend to the individual given that it was illegal to hire such a person. However, the Roman system changed that perception by allowing these representatives to charge some fee for their services. With this and other developments, it became profitable for one to study law.
The first legal academic institutions in France specified in teaching the Roman and canon law in Latin CITATION Ell06 \l 1033 (Elliott, Vernon, & Jeanpierre, 2006). However, the middle ages saw a decline in the quality of education that was offered in these institutions. The legal system received revival in the seventieth century where it became the national norm that legal academic faculties would teach the French national law. The edict also established the modern system of bachelors, license, and doctorate in law under the French system. However, the French revolution did away with the system of teaching but the years that followed restored some of its qualities such as the three-tier system of learning.
The Napoleon era helped establish the modern academic institution as it is today. Under the Napoleon era, the teaching of law in French academic schools would be focused on the nation’s private laws. Students would be taught by legal professionals who had themselves been assessed to be qualified in their disciplines. This would be modified in the nineteenth century to accommodate the growing desire to have lawyers qualified in certain divisions. The twentieth century saw the codification of these changes and the move towards student participation as opposed to the traditional system that focused on the professor. The current system is made up of studies in civil, commercial, public international, administrative, private international, labor, family, bankruptcy, and negotiable instruments law.
Studying law in France
The academic system of teaching law is governed by act of 1971 which dictates the judiciary profession. The act was amended in 2004 and is matched by a decree in the same year. In order for one to become a lawyer, it is necessary to first pass an examination that permits the person to enter French law school. The examination is done after the student has finished the first year of a four-year masters’ class in law. However, many students prefer taking the entry examination after their second year. The entry examination can only be taken a maximum of three times. Those who pass the entry examination are trained at any of the fifteen law schools that offer a mix of both professional and practical education on law. The ...