Civil law is an area of Law which specialize in the settlement of property and non-property relations between sides that are equal in right. Civil law is the core branch of Private Law.
Private law relations have a set of certain characteristics:
- They are formed at the behest of the participants themselves, their bilateral actions (for example, purchase and sale agreements) acquire legal force if carried out voluntarily.
- They are based on the legal equality of the participants - equality of the parties.
- They are horizontal, which means that they are not directly connected with the government.
Specializations of Private Law
Besides Civil Law, Private Law includes other branches, such as:
- Family law - the system of legal norms governing family relations, which means personal and property relations arising between people during marriage, kinship, adoption.
- Company Law - the set of legal norms governing business activities and management.
- Labor Law - a branch of law governing labor relations, arising between an employee and an employer.
- Bank Regulation - an interbranch complex of legal norms regulating public relations arising in connection with the activity of the banking system.
Entry requirements for Civil and Public Law applicants
Those who wish to study Civil and Private Law (as well as other subdisciplines of Law) in foreign universities need to have high grades (or high GPA score) in History and Social Sciences. English fluency is always required, as all study programs in foreign universities are usually taught in English. All universities accept the results of TOEFL, IELTS or other equivalent language tests in case of the applicant’s native language in not English.
Those who wish to apply for foreign universities need also meet special visa requirements of the chosen country. Many universities help successful applicants with visa issues.
Best Universities
According to QS Top Universities Ranking by Subject, the best university in the world specializing on Law study programs, is Harvard University in USA. Some information about Harvard University, application procedure and entry requirements, as well as all study programs hosted by Harvard University, can be found in the university’s profile on our website.
The list of other worlds leading universities hosting Law study programs, include: University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Yale University, Stanford University, New York University, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, University of Chicago, University of Melbourne and many others. Most of the top universities hosting Law study programs are located in the USA or UK. Some specific requirements for international applicants from these countries can be found on our website.