Religious and Moral Tendencies in Establishing Civil Liability: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of civil liability according to the subjective theory of law which was adopted by the French civil law and by many Arab countries. Religious and moral tendencies in establishing civil liability is rooted in the Christian notion of sin which, being seen as an offense against God, presents a notion of moral responsi- bility which distinguishes between crimes and quasi crimes, depending on the intent of the perpetrator. The excessiveness of this influence can be seen in the magnitude which the concept of indemnity has taken in the legal systems of some countries in- cluding Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia.Next, the paper tackles the objective theory of civil liability as reflected in the Islamic concept of harm which, being also considered as an offense against God, presents a notion of moral responsibility which considers crimes as offenses and quasi crimes as damages. The magnitude of the influence of this Islamic notion on the objective theory of civil liability can be seen in the excessive use of the term ”rights“ to address crimes. Finally, it should be noted that the Jordanian civil law is the first to adopt the objective theory of civil liability, followed to a lesser degree by the Sudanese, Emirati, and Omani legal systems as well as the unified Arab civil laws.