European Union Law

Common law

Statute law

The legal system

The Aims of Law

Supplementary reading

Se

Exerci

Listen again and complete the conversation.

Lawyer 1: Which court is this case going to?

Lawyer 2: Probably to the district court. It has 1 ________

jurisdiction.

Lawyer 1: A subject-specific court is able to 2 _______ this

mkjatter, too. Right?

Lawyer 2: I don’t think so.

Lawyer 1: Really? I thought jurisdiction was 3 _______.

Lawyer 2: You’re 4 _______ to check. But I don’t think any

other 5 ______ ______ have authority.

Lawyer 1: I’ll find out. I think we could choose a court

more likely to rule in our 6 ______.

Lawyer 2: I hope you’re right.

Law is a system of rules a society sets to maintain order and protect harm to persons and property. Law is ancient, dating back to the Code of Hammurabi, written by an ancient Babylonian king around 1760 B.C.

Law has several aims. One of the aims of law is to maintain order and resolve disputes that arise between individuals. The other aim is to impose responsibility if one person has a legal claim against another. Law makes society more stable and enables people to flourish. If people disobey the rules the law threatens them with something unpleasant (punishment or paying compensation).With laws people can live more securely.

Laws guarantee to people who buy and sell goods, make wills, take employment, form companies and so on that the state will enforce these arrangements. Law not only threatens those who do what it forbids but promises to protect people’s interests. It imposes restrictions on them but also gives them certain guarantees. A very important aim of law is to settle what the system of government is to be.

Governments make laws for their citizens, they use a system of courts and the police to enforce these laws. Laws are written by legislators.

In England there are three main types of law: statute law, common law and European Union law.

In theory the Legislature (Parliament) makes laws which are administered by the Executive (Her Majesty’s Government) and when there are disputes they are decided by the Judiciary (the judges and the courts).

Most new laws are initiated by the Government, although a few come from individual members of Parliament. A Bill is drafted and placed before Parliament. It receives three ‘readings’ in the House of Commons. The Bill is examined and amended, before passing on to the House of Lords which may reject it all or in part. The Lords cannot prevent the Commons from passing a Bill, but they can delay the process. Once a Bill has passed through all its stages in Parliament it goes to the Queen for the Royal Assent and becomes an Act of Parliament and the law of the land.

Common law originated in England. It is a system of laws that have been developed from customs and from decisions made by judges, not created by Parliament. English law relies on case law, a collection of previous decisions, called precedents. English courts look at precedents and make a similar decision.

In 1972 the United Kingdom entered the European Community (now the European Union).

There are four E.U. institutions: the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, the European Court of Justice.

European Union law is superior to the law of individual member states. In other words, if there is a conflict between the law of a state and that of the E.U., then the E.U. has to be obeyed.

Дата добавления: 2017-02-01