Civil law systems

Most Western European countries and their former colonies have a "civil law" system. Scotland, due to its long-standing alliance with France and the Netherlands, also has such a system. The Scots complain, and not without reason, that their system is clogged with numerous legislative acts of the British Parliament, which are valid throughout its territory without exception. In addition, since some principles of Scottish law are identical to those of English law, both countries freely borrow laws from each other. For example, the precedent on liability for negligence, which first arose in English law, is also a Scottish precedent. These days, the differences between contract law, torts (called "torts" in Scotland) and criminal law are fundamental. On the other hand, in many areas of modern law, they rely on written laws (employment laws, unfair dismissal laws, equal pay for equal work, etc.), Scottish law is identical to English law.

Differences between civil and common law

European Union law is a civil law system. The civil law approach to the creation and interpretation of written laws is fundamentally different from that of English law. This means that when British courts have to look to European Union law (and in the UK it now has supremacy over all domestic law, it is contrary to it), many of them are faced with an almost foreign system.

Civil law relies on written laws (usually called "codes"), establishing a series of broad principles and leaving it up to judges to interpret them. In doing so, they can seek help from cases that have been decided in the past, including similar controversial issues, or resort to the reasoning of the authors of well-known manuals. In contrast, UK laws are much more detailed and attempt to cover every possible scenario that can be envisaged. Of course, not every situation can be taken into account, so British judges are also forced to engage in interpretation, involving the use of precedents and other sources, including the study of textbooks. However, we should not overemphasize this hypothetical distinction, since relevant regulations and directives have been adopted to detail the Treaty of Rome and other primary legislation of the European Union.

On the interpretation of laws, the English (and therefore the British) method involves the need to consider the literal meaning of the adopted words and give them force. It does not matter too much whether the literal meaning will have consequences different from those originally intended, only the result was not patently absurd or nonsense. In this case, the literal meaning can be modified, but only to the extent necessary for the provision to make sense.

An example of a literal approach to the interpretation of the laws of Fisher v. Bell (1961)

The Offensive Weapons Restriction Act 1959 made it an offense to "offer for sale" of a range of offensive weapons, including knock-off knives. The store owner displayed miscarriage knives in the window with price tags attached to them. Did he commit an offense? Although it is clear that the purpose of the law was to punish those who supply the general public with dangerous weapons, it was held that no offense had been committed since, under the law of contract, goods with price tags attached to them are not offered for sale, but for inspection. Therefore, if we take a literal approach, there was no offer to sell.

The civil law method, on the other hand, is to analyze the purpose of the provision and interpret the words used to formulate it in order to achieve that purpose. This approach is often called a "targeted" approach. The discrepancy between the literal approach (which is still applied in purely domestic law) and the purposive approach (which must be applied when interpreting law made in accordance with our obligations under the European treaties) creates certain problems in the English courts.

An example of different interpretations of written laws

The Transfer of Undertakings Regulation 1981 was passed to give effect to EU Directive 77/187. It aims to protect the labor rights of employees of an enterprise that is transferred into the ownership of another entrepreneur. The decree stipulates that the employment contracts of the enterprise's employees must transfer to the new owner immediately before the transfer. The question arose as to what immediately before meant, since buyers who wished to avoid the burden of transferring to them the seller's employees along with the enterprise itself were inducing him to dismiss the workers shortly before the transfer of the enterprise was to take place. Compliance with the law of such actions was strengthened in 1986 by an appeals court decision in which the words immediately before were prescribed their literal meaning and it was determined that employees laid off at 3:00 before the transfer of the enterprise were not employed immediately before the transfer . However, the House of Lords subsequently adopted a purposive approach and accepted that the words immediately before delivery should be interpreted in a way that enables the regulation to substantially achieve the purpose for which it was enacted, that is, EU Directive 77/187 came into force.

The phrase “civil marriage” has been used very often in recent years, and the person pronouncing it can mean a variety of things: from a secular marriage, an officially registered family union to actual cohabitation.

Oddly enough, all this is really true, since civil marriage is a multi-valued concept.

Misconceptions about civil marriage

First of all, it is worth saying that in Russian legislation, a registered marriage between a man and a woman is understood as a civil legal marriage (also known as secular). This is due to the fact that the Family Code is the main legal act regulating legal relations related to the family, the procedure for concluding and dissolving a union, the rights and obligations of spouses, parental relations, etc., relates to civil law and any ordinary marriage under the Family Code - civilian.

Since the church in the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution, is separated from the state, church marriage that occurs after the wedding ceremony (or the corresponding ceremony in other faiths) is not mentioned in the legislation at all.

Thus, a family union registered in the prescribed manner through the civil registry office is called the only “official” marriage in the Russian Federation (i.e., from the point of view of the law, a civil marriage is official).

At the same time, very often they are called unregistered ones. but essentially a family relationship.

Most often, in everyday use, the concept of “civil marriage” refers to actual family relationships (cohabitation, housekeeping, support, etc.) between men and women, without official registration (registration). In another way, such relationships are called cohabitation, less often - de facto or marriage without registration.

Any of the above definitions has the right to exist, since it denotes a permanent relationship, although without registration through the registry office. However, it should be remembered that only a registered union is properly protected by the law, and cohabitation is not regulated in the Family Code.

Civil marriage, marriage without registration, cohabitation, actual marriage - differences

The ambiguity of the everyday definition of “civil marriage” is understandable historically: until 1917, relationships had to be registered in the church, it was almost impossible to dissolve them, in contrast to this, cohabitation without a church ceremony was called “civil.”

The official regulation of family relations by religious norms is a thing of the past, but the understanding of a “non-church” union is still associated with the civil union of a man and a woman.

Despite this, in modern conditions, many of us, having heard about a family union called a civil marriage or cohabitation, a marriage without registration, understand that we are talking about an unregistered marriage, not registered in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. From the point of view of a lawyer, given the freedom of citizens to enter into or not enter into family relationships, such marriages have a right to exist, although in this case they are not regulated by the norms of the Family Code in the same way as registered ones.

What does the Civil Code of the Russian Federation say?

Neither the Family nor the Civil Codes provide a definition of official marriage, although they understand it as a legally registered union of a man and a woman, concluded voluntarily, with the aim of creating a family, giving rise to the corresponding legal relations: the rights and obligations of spouses (both personal and property).

Actual relationships (without legal registration) can be quite long-term, with running a joint household and raising children, but they are not considered family relationships and are not protected by the state to the same extent as official ones (according to the RF IC).

A common-law husband is simply one of the partners in an informal couple, just like a common-law wife.

Whatever the name of unofficial unions, actual family relations are not formed in them, and such relations are regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The difference in the position of partners under the Family and Civil Codes is great.

In this case, the property is not the joint property of the spouses., but belongs to the person to whom it is registered. To prevent disagreements, it is possible to register it as shared ownership (with the definition of shares).

The division of property of cohabitants is associated with complex procedures for proving cohabitation, contributing funds to purchase property, etc.

The rights of children born in such unions are regulated on a general basis, but it is necessary that the father recognize the child (this is done immediately upon registration, or later). Otherwise, the mother will have the status of a single mother.

What is a de facto marriage?

A civil marriage or cohabitation, when it lasts long enough, is often also called a de facto marriage. However, neither the RF IC, nor the RF Civil Code, nor any other legal act contains the concept of actual marital relations, so there is no reason to single out this concept as an independent definition.

De facto marriage is a household term for couples living together who, of their own free will, have chosen the option of living without registering the union with the registry office.

In January 2018, a bill was introduced into the State Duma that would give official status to this concept and would equalize the rights of people who have formalized their marriage with those who simply cohabit (for more than five years), but this proposal did not find support from either senators or from deputies.

Pros and cons of cohabitation

Cohabitation is a very common phenomenon: according to various estimates, from 1/3 to 40% of couples prefer not to register officially. This is especially common among young people who prefer to first learn and get on their feet before starting an official family. In addition, many consider the advantages of a civil union:

• Maintaining the status of a free person while actually running a joint household and enjoying the comforts of family life;
• Property is not joint, being in the ownership of the one who acquired it;
• There is an opportunity to form a material base for the future: complete your education, devote yourself to building a career, etc.;

In some cases, the reasons for a couple living in a civil union are negative family experiences of parents or loved ones, reluctance to have and support children, or indifference to the fact of marriage in general.

The family life of unregistered spouses also has negative aspects:

• In the eyes of the law, they are not spouses, therefore there are frequent misunderstandings in official bodies and institutions;
• Inability to inherit property after a deceased partner, except by will;
• The procedure for recognizing paternity of children born in such a union (or single parent status);
• Complex division of acquired property (according to the norms of the Civil Code, not the Family Code);
• You cannot conclude a marriage contract (agreement).

Actual family alliances have both supporters and opponents, but in general, society is loyal to such relationships. The civil family is a frequent phenomenon of modern life.

Whether to register or not is a purely personal decision of the man and woman, but it should be remembered that the resolution of controversial issues, if any arise, will take place according to the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, since civil marriage does not fall under the jurisdiction of family law.

In the Russian Federation, couples are increasingly in no hurry to formalize their relationship and are moving to living together under one roof. They explain this by saying that it takes time to get used to each other, establish a common life, and so on. Today we will talk about the difference between civil marriage and cohabitation.

In general, the term “civil marriage” itself is precisely an officially registered marriage relationship. What is taken for such a union in our time is, in reality, nothing more than cohabitation.

Most people are sure that a man and woman living in the same territory who have not undergone official registration of their relationship with the registry office are representatives of a civil marriage. Such citizens do not know the differences between the union in question and cohabitation.

Even in the last century, in the Russian Federation, as in most other states, every issue affecting marriage, birth or death was controlled by the church. And this method was considered the only one.

Only at the beginning of the 20th century did special organizations develop that recorded acts of civil status. They began to register marriages. In some states, marriage registration is still possible both in the registry office and with the help of the church.

In our country, church marriage has such a name as wedding. This type of marriage relationship is not considered official (that is, it does not give rise to any obligations).

Relationships that have been officially registered with the civil registry office are called civil marriage - one that is protected by the state itself. This marriage is regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

The concept of “civil marriage” has become very popular when discussing various family problems. This term is often used to describe informal marriage relationships.

In other words, we can note the following difference between civil marriage and cohabitation. A civil marriage is an official, legal marriage.

Cohabitation is when people live together without registering their marriage relationship or confirming it with a seal.

In this form of relationship, the law does not protect either the property or the personal interests of individuals. According to the provisions of the RF IC, only those couples who have officially registered their relationship are legal.

What are the positive aspects of cohabitation?

Based on the provisions of practice, unofficial marriage has its own special advantages. The main ones are:

1. Partners can get to know each other better. The candy-bouquet period ends quite quickly, and everyday life begins. If you live together before formalizing your relationship, you can not only get acquainted with the habits of your partner, but also give a unique assessment of whether it is realistic to live with this person for the rest of your days.
2. With such a union, you can save the family budget, since holding a wedding ceremony is always a significant expense. The young couple understands this point better than anyone else, since not everyone has a stable salary.
3. Having personal freedom. Informal relationships are the key to the freedom of each partner. If such a relationship comes to a logical conclusion, no special difficulties can arise - no one needs to go to the courts to sort it out or present any evidence.
4. The most important advantage of cohabitation is the following - if the partners love each other, the stamp in the passport does not matter much to them.

What are the disadvantages of living together?

In the Russian Federation, patriarchy has always been a priority - and since ancient times. Civil marriage (that is, cohabitation) has always been treated with distrust and “coolness.”

Of course, in our time, partners who decide to live together without officially registering their marriage at the registry office do not face any condemnation from society.

However, even now such a family model has specific disadvantages. The main ones are as follows:

1. Living with a partner without official registration is a demonstration of immoral behavior. Nevertheless, cohabitation in most developed countries is perceived quite calmly and tolerantly.
2. Such an alliance does not protect the legal rights and interests of partners. In other words, they can live together for decades, accumulate joint property, and then disperse due to some circumstances. Ultimately, everything will end in court proceedings.
3. Presence of children. When a child is born in the union we are considering, he is not automatically registered as his legal father. First, the father must admit that he is the father of the child.
4. Such families often continue to consider themselves free from any obligations. Some are sure that the absence of a stamp in a passport is a fact of freedom. For them, cohabitation does not change anything.
5. Cohabitation, the main purpose of which is to take a better look at each other, very often leads to the fact that people never get to the registry office. And this happens all the time. The cohabitants have already learned each other's habits, have established a joint household, and the official stamp in the passport no longer means anything to them. They consider the registration of marriage relations to be an ordinary formality, completely unnecessary for their strong union.

Statistics show that partners who have a good attitude towards premarital cohabitation are less responsible. So for them, official marriage is almost equivalent to cohabitation.

According to practice, if people live together for a long time without registering their relationship, this will have a bad effect on their official family life in the future.

A married couple who already has a negative experience of living together is much more likely to want to dissolve the official marital relationship.

When feelings and attachments fade away, partners scatter, which under other circumstances might not have been done.

Cohabitation contributes to the fact that people begin to think differently about official marriage. Thus, their marriage becomes less stable.

How are civil marriage and cohabitation similar and different?

Civil marriage in the Russian Federation is an officially registered partnership in the registry office. Some citizens mistakenly think that civil marriage is identical to cohabitation.

It is for this reason that the question of the similarities and differences between the concepts under consideration is still relevant. At the same time, no matter what they call the residence of two people under one roof before marriage, the meaning remains the same - this is unofficial cohabitation.

In order for such relationships to have at least some status, they are called nothing less than a civil marriage. However, they are still illegal (from a legal point of view).

Based on the legislative provisions of the Russian Federation, the main difference between a civil marriage and cohabitation is the following - this is an officially formalized relationship between husband and wife (in a government agency).

Cohabitation is the term for a man and a woman living in the same apartment – ​​that is, an unofficial union.

Nowadays, many couples believe that informal relationships are a civil marriage. But from a legislative point of view, this position is fundamentally incorrect. A civil marriage is only a marriage that is registered with the registry office.

So you shouldn’t forget about this difference and take into account the disadvantages of an unofficial union. If the relationship ends, the woman and baby may lose financial support and the possibility of receiving alimony.

And one more important point: from such relationships very often single mothers and children without fathers emerge.

Partners who live together for many years after the death of one of them may not receive any inheritance. So it is important to decide in advance whether such a relationship makes sense.

It is much better to formalize your relationship, especially if a baby is born. This way you won’t have to divide property and establish paternity.

Thus, today you learned about how a civil marriage differs from cohabitation. We hope the article was useful to you!

Established ideas about marriage are a thing of the past. And although the so-called “civil marriage”, that is, free, without property obligations, cohabitation between a man and a woman is becoming the norm, people do not fully understand what it is.

In fact, the concept of civil marriage is misunderstood. A traditional, official marriage is just a civil one. It gives spouses, especially the woman - the expectant mother, a feeling of confidence and security. However, adherents of cohabitation (which is popularly called civil marriage) are confident that the seal and stamp in the passport extinguish feelings, since they put “shackles of obligations” on people.

People make their own decisions about what kind of life they want to live. It would be a good idea to consult with a lawyer about what to expect from such a marriage. You also need to be well aware of the consequences of breaking up the relationship.

What is considered an official marriage?

The Family Code of the Russian Federation indicates the characteristic features of the union of a man and a woman:

• voluntariness;
• freedom of choice;
• equality;
• monogamy (monogamy).

This document indicates how the marriage is officially registered (clause 2, article 1 of the UK). This is what the registry office is for. After marriage, the state guarantees:

• its universal recognition;
• protection;
• respect for certain rights.

Significant differences between cohabitation and official marriage

The law states that the mother’s husband will be recognized as the father of a child born in marriage (Clause 2, Article 48 of the Family Code). However, a child may be born in special situations:

• after divorce;
• after the death of his father.

In order for the spouse (former or deceased) of the mother to be recognized as the father of the child, the baby must be born no later than 300 days after the divorce or death of the father. There is a presumption of paternity in effect. In other words, the man is recognized as the father by default, although he has the right to file a lawsuit asking not to be recognized as the father, since the child is not his own.

Similar circumstances during cohabitation are regulated by clause 2 of Art. 51 SK. If the child was born out of wedlock, you will need:

• cohabitants submit a joint application to recognize the man as the father of the child;
• father to submit a statement of similar content.

Let’s say the “common-law husband” (simply a cohabitant) does not want to submit such an application. Then at the registry office the illegitimate child receives the mother’s surname. She will be entered in the column where the father's last name should appear. The mother chooses the name. The middle name is also chosen according to the personal preference of the mother.

However, a man can prove his paternity. The results of genetic testing are presented to the court as evidence. There are life situations when this is required.

For example, citizen R. contacted a lawyer and wanted to give his child his last name. As it turned out later, his former partner (the child’s mother) died, and the baby was raised by the mother’s parents. However, their daughter left the child a large inheritance in the form of an apartment in the capital, and the grandparents obtained guardianship.

Citizen R., with the assistance of a lawyer, managed to prove his paternity. However, the guardians' lawyers were able to correctly substantiate their clients' position:

• the father knew about the existence of the child, but was not interested in him and did not pay child support;
• guardianship is formalized according to all rules.

Property division

It is worth noting that in an official marriage, spouses have jointly acquired property. It is common property unless a marriage contract has been drawn up, which has its own nuances from the point of view of the law.

According to general rules, it does not matter:

• that only one of the spouses, who worked or had other income, contributed money to the family budget;
• that the property is registered in the name of one spouse.

And yet, lawyers advise dividing property not only during a divorce (which is natural), but also during a marriage, in order to make marital relations more comfortable. By the way, property can be divided within 3 years after a divorce.

Article 35 of the Family Code (clause 1) indicates that mutual consent of the spouses is required in order for joint property to:

• own;
• dispose of;
• use.

If one of the spouses independently manipulates the common property, the other spouse has the right not to recognize the legality of these actions. But in case of cohabitation, the property is owned by the one who acquired it (clause 2 of Article 218 of the Civil Code). As evidence you can present:

• checks;
• other documents confirming the buyer’s identity.

In this case, it is very difficult to prove that the other cohabitant also contributed a certain amount to purchase the property.

Legal assistance

A lawyer defending the position of a former cohabitant who wants to get his money back for property faces serious challenges.

1. It is required to prove that the other party to the conflict did not have the opportunity to purchase the property on their own, since they did not have the funds to do so.

2. It will be necessary to identify witnesses who would confirm that the property was purchased with the client’s money.

3. In some cases, the identity of the person who recorded the jointly acquired property plays a role. Perhaps such “civil marriages” are repeated with enviable frequency and strengthen the financial condition of the defendant. There is evidence of fraud.

Also, the money that the cohabitants had, as it were, in joint ownership and was intended for current purchases, when the relationship is dissolved, becomes not just a subject of dispute. One of the former cohabitants may claim that another member of the failed family simply stole them.

There are situations when one cohabitant files a police report against the other, accusing him of ordinary theft. After all, in essence, these people remain strangers to each other, since they can separate at any moment. Therefore, in order for them to understand their relationship, they need the help of a lawyer.

A competent lawyer will first of all competently advise a citizen who approaches him on any issue regarding family law. Perhaps the conflict situation can be resolved at the negotiating table. Otherwise, you will need legal support in court.

On the other hand, undivided owners have a certain share of the property, the amount of which is taken into account if one of the spouses paid a higher price during the purchase and expresses a desire to receive a larger percentage of the profit when selling the property. As a result, it is clear that compared to official marriage, civil and cohabitation carry a lot of important disadvantages.

If the relationship breaks down, the woman and children may be left without financial assistance and alimony.

Differences between civil marriage and cohabitation

However, adherents of cohabitation (which is popularly called civil cohabitation) are confident that the seal and stamp in the passport extinguish feelings, as they put the “shackles of obligations” on people. People make their own decisions about what kind of life they want to live.

It would be a good idea to consult with a lawyer regarding any issues. What can you expect from such a marriage? You also need to be well aware of the consequences of breaking up the relationship.

Attention! Legal provisions may change and be supplemented.

With the advent of Soviet power, marriage was officially registered by the state, which did not recognize church marriage and deprived it of legal grounds.

Even though the church still performs the wedding ceremony, confirmation, it is treated as an addition and concluded for reasons of faith. In Russia, there is only one form of official marriage - a civil marriage registered by the state.

What is the difference between official marriage and civil marriage?

Nowadays, the church's match made in heaven is not as popular as it used to be.

The wedding becomes a kind of social rudiment.

Therefore, the meaning of the phrase “civil marriage” has changed radically. In modern conditions, it refers to the usual cohabitation of a man and a woman without a stamp in the passport.

When dating, it is difficult to understand how suitable you are for each other in everyday life.

What is a civil marriage and how does it differ from cohabitation?

This is due to the fact that the Family Code is the main legal act regulating legal relations related to the family, the procedure for concluding and dissolving a union, the rights and obligations of spouses, parental relations, etc.

refers to civil law and any ordinary marriage according to the Family Code is civil. Since the church in the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution, is separated from the state, church marriage that occurs after the wedding ceremony (or the corresponding ceremony in other faiths) is not mentioned in the legislation at all.

The common people call them the ugly word “cohabitants”.

Not so long ago, such people were despised and considered a disgrace for a couple.

Today, young people consider them the norm. If you believe the statistics, every tenth marriage is currently civil and their number is growing every year. What is civil marriage for a woman?

Any of the fair sex deep down dreams of a prince, a white dress, a gold ring and a honeymoon.

What is a civil marriage and why is it needed?

Such a union allows you to learn how to jointly distribute financial resources and solve everyday issues.

Upon dissolution of the relationship, the property remains with the spouse for whom it was registered, that is, property acquired in civil law is not considered joint by default. As for children, their rights are no different from children who were born in an official marriage. In the event of the death of one of the spouses, in the official case, all his property is divided between his closest relatives - the legal husband (wife), children and parents, while in the civil case, the spouse can only claim an inheritance if there is a will.

Civil is cohabitation.

Let's figure out what a civil marriage is and how it differs from a traditional one. Today people are in no hurry to formalize relationships.

Quite a lot of couples want to live with each other first, and this is necessary in order to make sure whether they are really suitable for each other.

It is popularly believed that a civil marriage implies a relationship without a stamp in the passport.

But it should be noted: in this case, it is difficult to call a young couple husband and wife, even if not officially.

It is only in this case that an official document is issued - “Marriage Certificate”.

And cohabitation is simply fornication. Civil marriage differs from cohabitation in that no one has repealed the laws in our country, and in accordance with current legislation, CIVIL marriage is a marriage concluded in the registry office.

This formalization gives rise to the legal rights and obligations of the spouses.