How many of us have heard the word “civilist,” and if they have, can they explain what he does? Meanwhile, one of the heroes of the novel A. I. Kuprin "Pit" was sure that he was able to earn a million, practicing exclusively as a civilist. Is this not a reason to learn more about the sphere of activity of civilians, since today their services are no less in demand than during the time of Kuprin.
Who is a civilist?
This is a lawyer specializing in civil law, so the science of civil law itself is often called civil law. The word "civilist" is Latin, therefore, its origins must be sought in the legal provisions formulated by the lawyers of Ancient Rome regarding the resolution of property disputes.
After the conquest of Rome by the barbarian tribes and for many centuries, Roman law in Europe did not apply until the Renaissance. Since that time, lawyers have again become interested in the basic provisions of Roman civil law, and in the XIX century its rules were either fully or with amendments to the civil codes of Austria, France, Germany and other countries.
What does a civilist do?
Modern civil law studies the origin and development of civil law norms, their content, the effectiveness of their application, their role in the legal system and in the life of society. Thus, civil law is closely connected with many social sciences: history, political science, economics, sociology, etc.
Delicate issues of deprivation or preservation of parental rights, guardianship, divorce proceedings, problems of the division of inheritance or jointly acquired property - all this is done by the civilist. This, of course, is not the only area of his activity.
In the modern world, for example, the legal design of international trade is gaining great importance, which is also what civil lawyers do. In a word, a civilist is a necessary and prestigious profession today.
Civilists of the past and present
As already noted, the revival of interest in Roman law led to the inclusion of its individual provisions in the civil codes of some countries in Europe, which required in-depth preliminary research. This was done by many famous civilists, including Russian ones.
One of them was Nikolai Mikhailovich Korkunov, who graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University in 1874. Until now, his course “General Theory of Law” remains the most comprehensive study in the encyclopedia of law.
Olympiad Semenovich Ioffe was in charge of one of the departments of the law faculty of Leningrad University. He is the author of more than 60 textbooks and monographs on civil law, as well as the history of civil law. The works of Professor Ioffe O.S. are translated into 9 foreign languages. Since 1981, he taught at Harvard and Connecticut Universities.
Interest in civil law at the present time, as in the past, is very high, which makes the profession of a civilist prestigious and in demand.