Civil law and the role of the State

Abstract

The profound changes in both everyday life and the legal system over the last hundred years have transformed civil law as well. While the notion that civil law concerns relationships of private persons still prevails, the traditional public law–civil law division now seems questionable. This paper points out some of the key changes in civil law within the framework of the transformation of the legal system as a whole, and seeks to outline a different approach that may help better to understand the present situation.