Editing Common law (section)

=== Roman Dutch common law{{anchor|CL Roman Dutch}} ===
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2024}}
[[Roman Dutch law|Roman Dutch common law]] is a bijuridical or mixed system of law similar to the common law system in [[Scotland]] and [[#Louisiana (1700s)|Louisiana]]. Roman Dutch common law jurisdictions include [[Law of South Africa|South Africa]], [[Botswana]], [[Lesotho]], [[Namibia]], [[Swaziland]], [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Zimbabwe]]. Many of these jurisdictions recognise customary law, and in some, the Constitution requires that the common law be developed in accordance with a bill of rights, such as [[Chapter Two of the Constitution of South Africa]]. 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, but 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 17th century such as [[Hugo Grotius|Grotius]] and [[Johannes Voet|Voet]]. In practice, the majority of decisions rely on recent precedent.