The rule of the common law that statutes in derogation thereof are to be strictly construed has no application to this code.
§ 25-2218.Common law; applicability.
Article 22: Process, Court Records, and Ministerial Officers · Not amended since original codification · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section switches off the old common-law rule that statutes changing the common law must be read narrowly, stating that rule of strict construction has no application to Nebraska’s Code of Civil Procedure.
Full Text of § 25-2218
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 1, p. 394; R.S.1913, § 8567; C.S.1922, § 9518; C.S.1929, § 20-2219; R.S.1943, § 25-2218.
Plain-English Summary
Courts once followed a general rule that a statute departing from the common law — that is, from judge-made legal rules built up over time rather than legislation — should be construed strictly, or narrowly, since it was seen as an intrusion on settled law. Section 25-2218 turns that rule off for one body of law: the Code of Civil Procedure.
By stating plainly that the strict-construction rule “has no application to this code,” the section tells courts not to read the Code’s provisions narrowly just because they alter or displace what the common law once provided. Instead, the Code gets read for what it says, without a thumb on the scale favoring the older common-law approach it may have changed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the “strict construction” rule this section addresses?
A common-law doctrine holding that statutes departing from the common law should be read narrowly, since they change settled judge-made rules.
Does this section eliminate the common law from Nebraska practice?
No. It removes only the strict-construction canon as applied to the Code of Civil Procedure; it does not abolish the common law generally.
Why turn off strict construction for this Code specifically?
So that the Code’s provisions get their full, ordinary meaning instead of being narrowed because they change what the common law once required.
Does this section affect how broadly courts read the Code’s other sections?
Yes, indirectly — by removing a doctrine that would otherwise push courts toward a narrower reading of provisions that change common-law rules.
Is section 25-2218 itself a substantive rule of procedure?
No. It is an interpretive instruction directing how the Code’s substantive provisions are to be read.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: derogation of common law nebraskastrict construction statute doctrineinterpreting nebraska code civil procedurecommon law construction rule rejectednebraska code of civil procedure interpretation