Civil and common law system also differ considerably in criminal procedure.

In general, the judge in a civil law system plays a more active role in determining the facts of the case. Most civil law countries investigate major crimes using a so-called inquisitorial system.

Also, civil law systems rely much more on written argument than oral argument

The term "civil law" as applied to a legal tradition actually originates in English-speaking countries, where it was used to lump all non-English legal traditions together and contrast them to the English common law.

However, since continental European traditions are by no means uniform, scholars of comparative law and economists promoting the legal origins theory usually subdivide civil law into three distinct groups:

· French civil law: in France, the Benelux countries, Italy, Spain, Portugal and former colonies of those countries.

1. German civil law: in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Japan, South Korea and the Republic of Taiwan

2. Scandinavian civil law: in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland.

3. Chinese law is a mixture of civil law and socialist law.