Curaçao

Civil law

Curaçao is part of, or a territory of, the Netherlands (a constituent country).

Civil law grew from Roman law and the great codes of the 1800s, such as the French Civil Code of 1804 and the German Civil Code of 1900. The main rules are written in codes. Judges apply the code to the case. Earlier decisions are respected and often followed, but they are not binding in the way common-law precedent is. Judges often play a more active role in running the case.

A full profile of Curaçao’s legal system is planned. For now, this page shows where Curaçao sits on the map.

How this country is classified

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Curaçao as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance. This territory is shown with the classification of the state it belongs to.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Other countries in the same family

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Curaçao, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.