The ancient law of England based upon societal customs and recognized and enforced by the judgments and decrees of the courts. The general body of statutes and case law that governed England and the American colonies prior to the American Revolution.

The principles and rules of action, embodied in case law rather than legislative enactments, applicable to the government and protection of persons and property that derive their authority from the community customs and traditions that evolved 

Statutory law 

is created and passed by the legislative branch of the government. It is specifically written law, also known as statutes. These statutes are often codified, meaning that they are numbered, collected, and indexed in one place. After statutory law is created, it is the judicial branch of the government's job to interpret and enforce it by applying it to court cases. However, the judicial branch can't create statutory laws.

A considerable aspect of statutory law is that it is written. These laws are based on the premise that every word included in law has a meaning and is chosen for a specific reason. Statutory laws are written extremely precisely and therefore leave little room for interpretation. You can't “read between the lines” of statutory law. When issues come up in court surrounding statutory law, lawyers must argue on how to interpret them and sometimes challenge them themselves.

Common law develops over time thanks to the rulings of the presiding judges. It is used in two cases:

Common law: thông luật

Statutory law: Luật thực định

Civil law is a body of rules that defines and protects the private rights of citizens, offers legal remedies that may be sought in a dispute, and covers areas of law such as contracts, torts, property and family law. Civil law is derived from the laws of ancient Rome which used doctrines to develop a code that determined how legal issues would be decided. To explore this concept, consider the following civil law definition.

States have the right to determine "reasonable formal requirements" for marriage, including age and legal capacity, as well as the rules and procedures for divorce and other family law matters.