Part 303

Belarus based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Belgium based on civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Belize English law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Benin based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Bermuda English law

Bhutan based on Indian law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Bolivia based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; the 2009 Constitution incorporates indigenous community justice into Bolivia's judicial system

Bosnia and Herzegovina based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Botswana based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Bouvet Island the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply

Brazil based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

British Indian Ocean Territory the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply

British Virgin Islands English law

Brunei based on English common law; for Muslims, Islamic Sharia law supersedes civil law in a number of areas; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Bulgaria civil and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Burkina Faso based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Burma based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Burundi based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Cambodia primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing influence of common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Cameroon based on French civil law system, with common law influence; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Canada based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Cape Verde based on the legal system of Portugal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Cayman Islands British common law and local statutes

Central African Republic based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Chad based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Chile based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; note - in June 2005, Chile completed overhaul of its criminal justice system to a new, US-style adversarial system

China based on civil law system; derived from Soviet and continental civil code legal principles; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Christmas Island under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law

Clipperton Island the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Cocos (Keeling) Islands based upon the laws of Australia and local laws

Colombia based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted into law in 2004 and reached full implementation in January 2008; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Comoros French and Islamic law in a new consolidated code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Congo, Democratic Republic of the civil law based on Belgian law with Napleonic Civil Code influence; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Congo, Republic of the based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Cook Islands based on New Zealand law and English common law

Coral Sea Islands the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply

Costa Rica based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Cote d'Ivoire based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Croatia based on Austro-Hungarian law system with Communist law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Cuba based on Spanish civil law and influenced by American legal concepts with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Cyprus based on English common law, with civil law modifications; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Czech Republic civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory

Denmark civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Dhekelia the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus

Djibouti based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Dominica based on English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction

Dominican Republic based on French civil codes; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Ecuador based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Egypt based on Islamic and civil law (particularly Napoleonic codes); judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

El Salvador based on civil and Roman law with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Equatorial Guinea partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Eritrea primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957 with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; government also issues unilateral proclamations setting laws and policies; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Islamic law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Estonia based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Ethiopia based on civil law; currently transitional mix of national and regional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

European Union comparable to the legal systems of member states; first supranational law system

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) English common law

Faroe Islands the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply

Fiji based on British system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Finland civil law system based on Swedish law; the president may request the Supreme Court to review laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

France civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

French Polynesia the laws of France, where applicable, apply

French Southern and Antarctic Lands the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Gabon based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Gambia, The based on a composite of English common law, Islamic law, and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Georgia based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Germany civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Ghana based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Gibraltar the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply

Greece based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Greenland the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply

Grenada based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Guam modeled on US; US federal laws apply

Guatemala civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Guernsey the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; justice is administered by the Royal Court

Guinea based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Guinea-Bissau based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Guyana based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Haiti based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Heard Island and McDonald Islands the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply

Holy See (Vatican City) based on Code of Canon Law and revisions to it

Honduras rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Hong Kong based on English common law

Hungary based on the German-Austrian legal system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Iceland civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

India based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus

Indonesia based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures and election codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Iran based on Sharia law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Iraq based on European civil and Islamic law under the framework outlined in the Iraqi Constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Ireland based on English common law substantially modified by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Isle of Man the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply and Manx statutes

Israel mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Italy based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Jamaica based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Jan Mayen the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply

Japan modeled after German civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Jersey the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court

Jordan based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Kazakhstan based on Islamic law and Roman law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Kenya based on Kenyan statutory law, Kenyan and English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; constitutional amendment of 1982 making Kenya a de jure one-party state repealed in 1991

Kiribati English common law supplemented by local, customary law

Korea, North based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Korea, South combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Kosovo evolving legal system based on terms of UN Special Envoy Martti AHTISAARI's Plan for Kosovo's supervised independence

Kuwait civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Kyrgyzstan based on French and Russian laws; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Laos based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Latvia based on civil law system with traces of Socialist legal traditions and practices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Lebanon mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Lesotho based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Liberia dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Libya based on Italian and French civil law systems and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Liechtenstein local civil and penal codes based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Lithuania based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Luxembourg based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Macau based on Portuguese civil law system

Macedonia based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Madagascar based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Malawi based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Malaysia based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; Islamic law is applied to Muslims in matters of family law and religion; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Maldives based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Mali based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Malta based on English common law and Roman civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Marshall Islands based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Mauritania a combination of Islamic law and French civil law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Mauritius based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Mayotte the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Mexico mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Micronesia, Federated States of based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Moldova based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Monaco based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Mongolia blend of Soviet and German systems that employ "continental" or "civil" code; case-precedent may be used to inform judges, but all decisions must refer to the law as written; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Montenegro based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Montserrat English common law and statutory law

Morocco based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law systems; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Mozambique based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Namibia based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Nauru acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Navassa Island the laws of the US, where applicable, apply

Nepal based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Netherlands based on civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Netherlands Antilles based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence

New Caledonia based on French civil law; the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands

New Zealand based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for the Maori; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Nicaragua civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Niger based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Nigeria based on English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Niue English common law; note - Niue is self-governing with the power to make its laws

Norfolk Island based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law

Northern Mariana Islands based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation

Norway mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Oman based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Pakistan based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's status as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Palau based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Panama based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Papua New Guinea based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Paraguay based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Peru based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Philippines based on Spanish and Anglo-American law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Pitcairn Islands local island by-laws

Poland based on a mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Portugal based on civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Puerto Rico based on Spanish civil code and within the US Federal system of justice

Qatar based on Islamic and civil law codes; discretionary system of law controlled by the Amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family and personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Romania based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Russia based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Rwanda based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Saint Barthelemy the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Saint Helena English common law and statutes supplemented by local statutes

Saint Kitts and Nevis based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Saint Lucia based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Saint Martin the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Saint Pierre and Miquelon the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Samoa based on English common law and local customs; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

San Marino based on civil law system with Italian law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Sao Tome and Principe based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Saudi Arabia based on Sharia law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction