Civil law is an element of private law. The names of civil cases reflect the fact that a private person initiated the coercion. The plaintiff must convince the court that the veracity of his statements is more likely than improbable (the principle of greater probability). Civil liability is not a punishment but serves as compensation. Therefore, for example, debt collection in civil proceedings cannot entail restriction of the debtor's freedom. The dispute may be settled out of court at the discretion of the parties. In the field of civil legal relations, the law of justice is most often applied.

An essential difference between the American legal system and the English one is the presence of a written Basic Law, which in the country is the Constitution of September 17, 1787, consisting of a preamble, seven articles, and twenty-seven amendments. English case law is not applied unconditionally.

The Romano-Germanic legal family includes the legal systems of Western, Central, Southern Europe and the Ukrainian. The main feature of the Romano-Germanic legal system is its formation based on the reception of Roman law. An essential element of Romano-Germanic law is its pronounced codification character. The main source of law is the law (normative legal act). It has a clear sectoral division of legal norms.

The historical feature of Romano-Germanic law is the elevated status of private law relative to public law; that is, the principle of the importance of personal law and the secondary nature of public law is observed. The concept of a legal norm is one of the most important elements of Romano-Germanic law. The understanding of the legal norm boils down to the following: the rule of law is a rule of conduct that is general and generally binding, is of great importance. The legal norm is considered an abstract order, as the highest rule of behavior for citizens and state bodies. Normative legal acts, as a rule, are constructed according to the following hierarchical scheme: constitutional (organic) laws – ordinary (current) laws – by-laws. The leading role in lawmaking belongs to the legislator, as a rule, to a representative body of state power; the prevailing legal doctrine is the doctrine of the rule of law. Firstly, it means that the law has the highest legal force, and all other normative legal acts must be brought into line with the law, and in case of contradiction of the law, any act can be protested or canceled. Secondly, under the doctrine of the rule of law, the law enforcement officer is obliged to act strictly under the law, without creating new legal norms.

The sources of law in the Ukrainian are the Constitution, federal constitutional laws, federal laws, presidential decrees and orders, Government resolutions and orders, departmental acts of federal executive authorities, constitutions (charters) of subjects of the Ukrainian, laws of subjects of the Ukrainian, acts of executive authorities of subjects of the Ukrainian, acts of local self-government bodies; also, international treaties and agreements, if they have been duly ratified, are sources of law.

Ukrainian’s legal system is a combination of the national system of law and international legal obligations of the Ukrainian, the legal culture of Ukrainian society, and legal practice in Ukraine. In the Ukrainian legal system, it is traditionally possible to distinguish: constitutional (state) law, civil law, administrative law, criminal law, civil procedure law, criminal procedure law, agricultural law, land law, labor law, family law, financial law.