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European Civil Law



Common rules, principles and projects concerning civil law in the European Union

General Part Law of Obligations: general rules Contracts Non contractual obligations Family Law Law of Succession Property law Civil Codes



Warning: a European civil code is not yet a reality; however, while that does not happen, we expose a set of rules within the European Union to govern choice of law in civil and commercial matters as well as projects that aim to unify civil law


General Part

General provisions     Civil-law Rights     DCFR: common principles     Public documents    



Ignorantia juris non excusat or gnorantia legis neminem excusat


The ignorance of the law does not serve as an excuse, because once it has been published, everyone should know it.






Legal principles for resolving conflicts of law


Lex specialis derogat legi generali: a special law (lex specialis) takes precedence over the general law (lex generalis) and therefore has priority in application.

Principle of subsidiarity: the subsidiary legal norm only applies if a situation is not regulated by another legal norm.

Lex posterior generalis non derogat legi priori speciali: if an older special law and a newer general law coincide, the older special law takes precedence.

Lex posterior derogat legi priori: the most recent law repeals the oldest law.

Lex superior derogat legi inferiori: the higher-level law supersedes the lower-level law; therefore, the norm at the higher level of the normative hierarchy takes precedence over the lower level.

Tempus regit actum: the applicable law is determined by the timing of the event in question.




Analogy
Ubi eadem est ratio, ibi idem ius 
(where the reason is the same, the law is the same)

In order to fill in gaps in the civil law, are admissible:

a) the analogia legis, method in which the legal principle applicable to a fact pattern not covered by a legal norm is determined by analogy to a norm that governs a similar situation;

b) the analogia iuris, method in which the analogy is derived not from a legal norm but from fundamental legal or constitutional principles, as if the interpreter had to formulate a new statute within the spirit of the legal system as a whole.




Interpretation of Law

The main interpretation methods are:

  • Grammatical: using the literal meaning of the legal text;
  • Systematic: considering the context in which a legal provision is found;
  • Teleological: considering the aim and the purpose of the law (Latin: ratio legis);
  • Historical: considering the legislative process behind the law, to reveal the intent of the legislator (occasio legis i.e. the circumstances that existed when the law was made, the preambles and the preparatory works).




Legal personality


Legal personality is the right to be a subject before the law.

Can have legal personality:

a) a natural person i.e. a person that is an individual human being. 

b) a legal person, which may be a private (i.e., business entity or non-governmental organization) or public (i.e., government) organization.

Legal personality is a prerequisite to legal capacity.




Legal capacity

Legal capacity is person's power to exercise the rights and obligations personally and freely. 



Age of majority


The age of majority is 18 years.

The age of majority is the age at which a child becomes an adult and acquires full legal capacity. It means that a person can engage in legal activities and is liable for any contractual obligations.





Persons with disabilities


Persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law.

Persons with disabilities must have access to the support they may require in exercising their legal capacity.