Civil law, as a system of law, is different from common law, which is another system of law. The origin of the civil law system of law is ancient Rome. The civil law system is used in countries such as Germany, France, many countries which were colonies of those European countries before, and in some Asian countries. It also been adopted in Latin America as well as in some parts of Asia and some African countries. There are about 150 countries worldwide that use mainly civil law systems. About 80 countries use the common law system.