> I was curious as to what legal system the EU uses? I have seen
> Articles which give me the feeling of a Civil Legal System, but I have
> also found case law (I think this is EU case law?) being quoted.

The European Union (E.U.) is not a country. Each E.U. member has its own legal system. There is not a single "EU law" which sets forth a general framework of legal obligations for everyone in the E.U. on all topics, or "legal system used by the EU" in the sense of that the phrase "common law legal system" or "civil law legal system" uses that phrase. 

Those terms of ill-defined as applied to a partial system of legal arrangements like those of the E.U., which is essentially a unique legal arrangement of its own.

Since Brexit, almost all of the members of the E.U. have civil law legal systems, except Ireland, although some Scandinavian countries are less true to that model than other E.U. countries.

Case law exists in both civil law legal systems and in common law legal system. But, the way precedents are used is different, and in a civil law legal system, in theory at least, all case law ultimately traces back to some legislative enactment, which is not true in a common law legal system. As explained [here][1]:

> Unlike the Common law systems, Civil law jurisdictions do not adopt a
> stare decisis principle in adjudication. In deciding any given legal
> issue, precedents serve a persuasive role. Civil law courts are
> expected to take past decisions into account when there is a
> sufficient level of consistency in case law. Generally speaking, no
> single decision binds a court and no relevance is given to split
> jurisprudence. Once uniform case law develops, courts treat precedents
> as a source of 'soft' law, taking them into account when reaching a
> decision. The higher the level of uniformity in past precedents, the
> greater the persuasive force of case law. Although Civil law
> jurisdictions do not allow dissenting judges to attach a dissent to a
> majority opinion, cases that do not conform to the dominant trend
> serve as a signal of dissent among the judiciary. These cases
> influence future decisions in varying ways in different legal
> traditions. Judges may also be influenced by recent jurisprudential
> trends and fads in case law.

Also, keep in mind that the [European Court of Human Rights][2] and the European Convention on Human Rights are not part of the E.U., they are part of the Council of Europe, which is a separate international organization from the E.U.

For the most part, E.U. law is part of the law of treaties and administrative law. Mostly, like other treaties, E.U. legal provisions are directed at getting member countries to act in particular ways, not at directly regulating the conduct of private individuals and entities.

> Under primary law, the EU has only limited powers of enforcement, as
> EU law is usually enforced by the Member States. Furthermore, Article
> 291(1) TFEU adds that ‘Member States shall adopt all measures of
> national law necessary to implement legally binding Union acts’. Where
> uniform conditions for implementing legally binding Union acts are
> needed, the Commission exercises its implementing powers (Article
> 291(2) TFEU).

([Source][3])

There are some E.U. pronouncements that do have direct effect, primarily its "regulations" implementing prior directives or treaty terms, but even those are often applied in national courts, rather than the E.U.'s own courts.

There is no E.U. criminal law. There is no E.U. law of contracts or torts. There is no E.U. law of real property or divorce or inheritance. The E.U. provides guidelines for the tax laws of member countries but has little direct taxation and tax collection of its own. The E.U. doesn't have a military. Thus, the scope of E.U. law scope does not extend to the core subjects addressed by civil codes in civil law legal system and by the common law, in common law legal systems. 

But **to the extent that E.U. specific treaties and administrative law have a flavor, for example, in their European court procedures, it is closer to the civil law system of the lion's share of its members, than it is the the common law legal system.**

  [1]: https://www.law.gmu.edu/pubs/papers/04_15
  [2]: https://www.echr.coe.int/
  [3]: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/6/sources-and-scope-of-european-union-law