Civil Law
Definition
A legal system that was developed in mainland Europe based on Roman law principles and that has been adopted throughout most of the world. In contrast to common-law systems, civil-law systems hold caselaw as entirely subordinate to statutory law. Separately, in the environmental-law context, civil law refers to a water-rights doctrine that imposes liability on landowners who interfere with the natural flow of surface water so as to cause damage to other landowners.