Page "Common law" Paragraph 102

Roman Dutch Commons law is a bijuridical or mixed system of law similar to the common law system in Scotland and Louisiana.

Roman Dutch common law jurisdictions include South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Sri-Lanka and Zimbabwe.

Many of these jurisdictions recognise customary law, and in some, such as South Africa the Constitution requires that the common law be developed in accordance with the Bill of Rights.

Roman Dutch common law is a development of Roman Dutch law by courts in the Roman Dutch common law jurisdictions.

During the Napoleonic wars the Kingdom of the Netherlands adopted the French code civil in 1809, however the Dutch colonies in the Cape of Good Hope and Sri Lanka, at the time called Ceylon, were seized by the British to prevent them being used as bases by the French Navy.

The system was developed by the courts and spread with the expansion of British colonies in Southern Africa.

Roman Dutch common law relies on legal principles set out in Roman law sources such as Justinian's Institutes and Digest, and also on the writing of Dutch jurists of the 15th century such as Grotius and Voet.

In practise the majority of decisions rely on recent precedent.