Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Law - Civil / Private / Industrial / Labour, grade: 2, University of applied sciences, Düsseldorf, language: English, abstract: This paper presents the essentials of a contract as a part of the German civil law and how it is governed through this law. An important characteristic of German civil law system which sets it apart from common law system is the codification of core rules received from Roman law. These codes are drafted in order to cover all relationships within the field of law they govern. The provisions of a code are the references for a great many practical legal problems arise within that field over time. The concept of codification was developed in order to form a base where the laws of a given field can be found in one category - the code - instead of creating many judicial decisions. Beside its general part, German civil code contains other four divisions; the law of obligations, the law of property, the law of family or domestic relations, and the law of inheritance. The whole commercial law falls under the law of obligation regulated by the code. This includes e.g. the law of bills, notes, shipping, insurance, patents, copyrights, trademarks, contracts, and business transactions. This way of codification provides all citizens with a collection of laws they must follow. These laws constitute a systematic written collection of interrelated articles arranged by subject of matter.