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Maybe an expert in the history of "civil law" will chime in, but my guess is that the "spirit of the law" principle has been in the legal systems of continental
by hollerith 6y ago
Maybe an expert in the history of "civil law" will chime in, but my guess is that the "spirit of the law" principle has been in the legal systems of continental Europe since ancient Rome.
- dnautics 6y agoI guess I should have been clear that I meant stability + a democratic/republican system that preserves civil liberties, not stability with respect to the continuity of governments in the absolute sense.
- MeinBlutIstBlau 6y agoTo add with common law systems, we also can completely ignore the law. The state can as well just because there are so many laws. So stupid laws like "you can't chain a donkey to a tree with a wheelbarrow" are often ignore because the culture has just changed significantly.
- betwixthewires 6y agoYes, particularly legal systems that derive from Roman law (France, Spain, Italy) rely more heavily on this concept than those that derive from English Common law. There's a saying I've heard somewhere, in England everything is allowed unless it is prohibited, in Germany everything is prohibited unless it is allowed and in France everything is allowed even if it is prohibited.