THE CIVIL CODE AS A SYSTEMIC FACTOR IN THE FORMATION OF LEGAL SYSTEMS OF COUNTRIES BELONGING TO THE ROMANO-GERMANIC LEGAL FAMILY

Abstract

The article focuses on the role of civil codes in the formation and spread of the Romano-Germanic legal family. The study is based on the analysis of legislation of Ukraine, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as domestic and foreign specialty literature on the development of private law in the Romano-Germanic legal family. The methodological basis of the study is comparative legal, historical, structural and functional research methods. Their application made it possible to clarify the role of civil codes in the formation and spread of the Romano-Germanic legal family in continental Europe and beyond. Their application allowed to comprehensively analyze the subject of research and form a clear author’s position on the issues that were studied in the scientific article. This study has made it possible to state that the codification of private law is the systemic factor which influenced the formation and spread of the Romano-Germanic legal family. The civil codes of France, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland did not remain the property of their respective nations. Their influence went beyond the national legal systems and led to the spread of this legal family far beyond the borders of continental Europe. First of all, civil codes are the chains that connect the legal systems of the countries united in the Germanic legal family. It is found that the ideological basis of civil codes is a number of factors. The legal heritage of Ancient Rome, which is summarized in the Corpus iuris civilis, is central among them. Other sources of civil codes include canon law, legal customs, case law, academic law, etc. It is stated that the legal system of Ukraine was formed under the influence of countries belonging to the Germanic subgroup of the Romano-Germanic legal family. It is argued that the experience of Germany and Austria can become a benchmark for Ukraine: a) for a better understanding of the legal structures which were borrowed into Ukrainian legislation from the law of these countries; b) for the search for new effective models of legal regulation which have proven their effectiveness in these countries and can be introduced in Ukraine; c) to interpret legal categories, explain their nature, content and purpose.