ROMANO-GERMANIC LAW, the term comparative law, denotes the set of legal systems, initially created on the basis of the reception of Roman law and United by the commonality of its structure, sources of law and the similarity of the conceptual and legal apparatus.

It brings together the legal systems of all countries of continental Europe (including Ukraine) and is contrasted with Anglo-Saxon law.

The main source of law — the law (legal act). She possesses a clear division of law. In turn almost all branches of law are divided into two subsystems: private law and public law, although the assignment of certain branches of the law to any one of the subsystems is very controversial and often depends on the legal regulation of the relevant industry in a particular state (for example, labour law).

To the field of public law include administrative, criminal, constitutional and international public law. Private law includes civil, family, labour law and private international law. In the system of bodies of the state, there is a clear division between the legislative and enforcement authorities. Lawmaking and legislation, as a function, belong exclusively to the legislative authorities. For most countries, this family is characterized by the presence of the said Constitution.

The initial stage to the Romano-Germanic legal family can be considered the period from the ninth century B. C. to about 532 years of the new era (prior to compilation of Justinian). In this period begins to form right Ancient Greece, later the basic principles of which were adopted by the law of Ancient Rome (the work of the Board of Decemvirs for the drafting of Laws of the Twelve tables). In this period the emergence of law in the Greek city, mixed with the ancient Eastern law, and subsequently, thanks to highly sophisticated Roman civilization, Roman law. Until the adoption of the compilation of Justinian, Roman law had a thousand-year history of its development, reflected in the work of various scientific schools, law enforcement and legislative activities of the kings, the Senate and emperors, and also by the presence of numerous legal practices. During this period, and emerging legal Foundation for the emergence in the future of the Romano-Germanic legal family