Peru

• The Constitution of 1993, the highest law
• The Civil Code (1984), the Penal Code and other codes and statutes
• Decisions of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Tribunal
• Customary law of native and peasant communities, within limits set by the Constitution

• The Supreme Court of Justice at the top of the ordinary courts
• The Constitutional Tribunal, which reviews laws and hears constitutional complaints
• Superior courts and first-instance courts, plus justices of the peace

A law degree, then registration with the bar association of a judicial district (colegio de abogados).

• The Constitution lets native and peasant communities handle some disputes under their own customs, as long as fundamental rights are respected.
• Justices of the peace, often local community members, resolve small disputes.
• The Civil Code of 1984 draws on German, Italian and other models.
• The Constitutional Tribunal handles constitutional protection actions such as amparo.

Colombia, Chile, Spain, Argentina, Mexico

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Peru as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

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.

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

• Constitutional Tribunal of Peru
• Judiciary of Peru (Poder Judicial)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.