Civil Law and Civil Procedure
Core rules
Civil law is codified mainly in the Civil Code: the General Part (1994) and the Special Part (1999). It governs persons, transactions, property, obligations, torts and inheritance. Legal capacity begins at birth; full active capacity generally arises at 18. The general limitation period is three years under Civil Code Article 178. The court applies limitation only if a party raises it, and statutory grounds for suspension, interruption and restoration apply.
Civil procedure is governed by the Civil Procedure Code of 2015. It adopts adversarial and dispositive principles: the parties define the claim and prove the facts, and the court decides within the requested scope. A case begins with a claim petition meeting formal requirements, followed by acceptance, preparation, trial, judgment, appeal and cassation. Jurisdiction is allocated by subject matter and territory, with specialised economic courts hearing many commercial disputes. Representation may arise by law or by power of attorney, and an advocate's authority must be documented.
Worked example
A supplier delivered goods under a written contract; the buyer paid part and stopped. The supplier sues four years after the final payment date. Issue: is the claim time-barred? The general three-year limitation applies. If the buyer pleads limitation and no suspension or interruption is shown, the court dismisses. If the buyer merely denies the debt without pleading limitation, the court should not apply it on its own motion. The advocate must check for correspondence acknowledging the debt, which may interrupt the period.
Traps
Do not confuse substantive limitation with a procedural deadline. Do not assume the court raises limitation ex officio. Do not ignore mandatory pre-trial claim procedures for certain categories. Do not mix appellate and cassation grounds, or file a power of attorney lacking authority to sign or withdraw a claim.