Civil State

The union of individual men in civil society under a system of laws and a magistracy, or magistracies, charged with the administration of the laws. It is a fundamental law of the civil state that no member of it shall undertake to redress or avenge any violation of his rights by another person, but appeal to the constituted authorities for that purpose in all cases in which is is possible for him to do so. Hence the citizens are justly considered as being under the safeguard of the law.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.