Civil Law and Ulex

Globalization is rapidly increasing the number of interactions between international parties, binding the world together in a complex web of economic and political relationships. Still, these relationships lack a consistent legal medium to encapsulate legal agreements, causing friction between parties from idiosyncratic legal systems. Making universal rules for the entire globe would be both unrealistic and undesirable; however, global agreements and disputes would benefit from a legal framework that synthesized the two most prevalent forms: common law and civil law. That’s where Ulex v1.1 comes in; but first, a lesson in history…

Before we get ahead of ourselves let’s make sure we’re all on the same page on the difference between Ulex and Ulex v1.1.

Ulex is a platform for developing open source legal systems. Developers can copy, distill, and blend other legal systems together to create a framework that suits different values and contexts — each iteration of Ulex are labeled like software projects — hence Ulex v1.1. If you want to read more, this article is a good start.

Civil Law vs Common Law

To understand Ulex v1.1 it’s important to first understand the key distinction between common and civil law. Both are legal systems, but they differ in the way they interact with citizenry.

Modern day civil law has its roots in “Roman Law”, predominantly the rules dictated by Emperor Justian in the 6th Centruy. The Napoleonic Code, Spanish Civil Law, and Russian Civil Code all descend from it. Like current civil law jurisdictions, judges made rulings by adhering to the established rules set. In some sense, this makes civil law easier to implement due to strict adherence to a stable body of law. However, the narrow foundation of civil law can lead to uncomfortable rigidity when peculiar cases arise.

Common law, on the other hand, arose in medieval England as an attempt to unify the country after the Norman conquest. Rather than compile a definite list of edicts and traditional customs, monarchs instead implemented a living legal system based on precedent. In such a system rulings are largely determined by precedence. Precedence is extrapolated by lawyers interpreting the theoretical framework behind the rulings of previous cases. This process makes the legal system more complicated and less binary. Common law evolves according to the outcome of new cases and circumstances. This allows for the legal system to update as society’s values change over time. Experts also believe that the malleable nature of common law increases economic growth in jurisdictions where it is implemented.

Ulex v1.1 — The Bridge Between Civil and Common Law

Both common and civil law offer important dynamics to a legal system. Common law allows for legal systems to evolve with changing social values. Civil law offers the system stability and legitimacy. Fortunately, they are not mutually exclusive.

Ulex v1.1 functions is a hybrid of civil and common frameworks. Like civil law, every Ulex kernel has a set body of rules that judges must abide by, not interpret. However, this body of law is largely based off the Restatements of Common law, a synthesisation of common law rulings from around the world.

This hybrid system has the same well-ordered, hierarchical, and easily found rules associated with civil law. At the same time it benefits from the wisdom of hundreds of years of evolving common law, rising from the bottom up, and responding to change. While each kernel has a set body of substantive rules, different kernels can adopt altered rules. For instance, if users of the Ulex 1.1 kernel dislike the ALI Restatement of Commercial Law, they can choose another source for that portion of the substantive rules and create kernel 1.2. This forking process allows for the organic adaptability of common law, with the ease of use like civil law.

Use Case: Costa Rica

Given its hybrid nature, Ulex offers exciting opportunities for Costa Rican entrepreneurs and practicing attorneys. For example, international investors tend to prefer common law systems for their dealings, as they are more familiar with its nuances and therefore have a better grasp of what can they expect if litigation arises along the road.

By using Ulex, local startups can find an alternative Law to base their agreements and business relationships on. This will offer interested investors an easier to understand legal language, therefore saving future legal costs for all parties involved.

Ulex also offers interesting legal solutions tailored to the needs of the growing expat community. For example, instead of relying on the local courts for a dispute, interested parties may set by means of contract an arbitration clause that establishes the use of Ulex if any disagreement arises. This allows everyone involved, to have access to legal solutions that are faster and closer to what they used to get at their countries.

Obstacles to Ulex in Civil Law jurisdictions:

Agreements made with Ulex v1.1 should be enforceable in any legal body that has contract law. Even between international parties contracts are upheld by national courts through treaties like the New York Convention.The main context that Ulex agreements hold less weight is in civil law jurisdictions when the contract was made between local citizens. For instance, if a Russian enters an agreement with another Russian businessperson, and they use Ulex as their system for dispute resolution, a Russian court will not recognize the ruling. However, if a Russian business person conducts business with a French entrepreneur, Russian courts will uphold their rulings.

Join the Ulex Open Source Community

Many organizations came together to create the Ulex Open Source Community, including the Institute for Competitive Governance and the Startup Societies Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group. The goal of the community is to create real world applications for Ulex.

To facilitate collaboration, we’ve created the The Ulex Open Source Community Application. The application uses forums to discuss important subjects, post projects to create tangible applications and host bounties to reward community members who further the mission of putting Ulex in the real world. Currently, The Institute for Competitive Governance is hosting a bounty rewarding contestant $280 to create an ideal Ulex inspired contract for international cryptocurrency transactions. Every collaboration should further the legal, technological, and community building objectives of Ulex.

We are calling on legal experts and developers to push this movement forward. Like the original open source software movement, Ulex offers tremendous opportunities and social impact. Join us in being part of that future.

Using Version 1.1

Who

Anyone can use Ulex already, but version 1.1 was built specifically for this! Every standard contract has a section that lists which jurisdiction the contracting parties will use in the case of a dispute.

How

Instead of listing Costa Rican or Delaware law, legal innovators can link the rules of Ulex 1.1, stating it will be the governing law in all disputes. When a dispute arises, plaintiffs can bring the case before their local court or arbitration panel who will enforce Ulex decisions based on standard contract law.

Why

Disputes can be conducted using a simple form and video chat, rather than require endless paperwork and a physical location. Also, “smart contracts” using blockchain technologies like Ethereum will automatically execute Ulex contracts using computer software.

What’s Coming

In the medium term, applications will be developed to automate dispute resolution using Ulex. In the long term, Ulex will be implemented in a special jurisdiction. Special jurisdictions like Hong Kong and Dubai have different legal systems than their host countries, leading to radical economic growth. However, these mega startup cities relied on importing British Common Law, tying them to the specific customs of a foreign power. For a next generation of special jurisdictions, Ulex will provide a “flag free” legal system based on international best practices. It’s usability and time tested rules will make it one of the most attractive places to do business, seeding growth and unprecedented prosperity.