Systems of law

The major legal systems of the world today consist of civil law, common law and Slavic law, Islamic law and religious law. However, each country often develops variations on each system or incorporates many other features into the system.

Common law systems place great weight on court decisions, which are considered "law" with the same force of law as statutes. By contrast, in civil law jurisdictions (the legal tradition that prevails in, or is combined with common law in, almost all non-Islamic, non-common law countries), judicial precedent is given relatively less weight (which means that a judge deciding a given case has more freedom to interpret the text of a statute independently, and less predictably), and scholarly literature is given relatively more. For example, the Napoleonic code expressly forbade French judges from pronouncing the law. Common law systems trace their history to England, while civil law systems trace their history to Roman law.

Common law is currently in practice in Ireland, most of the United Kingdom (England and Wales and Northern Ireland), Australia, India (excluding Goa), Pakistan, South Africa, Canada (excluding Quebec), Hong Kong and the United States (excluding Louisiana) and many more places. In addition to these countries, several others have adapted the common law system into a mixed system. For example, Nigeria operates largely on a common law system, but incorporates religious law.

Civil law is the most widespread system of law in the world. It is also sometimes known as Continental European law. The central source of law that is recognized as authoritative is codifications in a constitution or statute passed by legislature, to amend a code. Civil law systems mainly derive from the Roman Empire, and more particularly, the Corpus Juris Civilis issued by the Emperor Justinian ca. 529AD. This was an extensive reform of the law in the Byzantine Empire, bringing it together into codified documents. Civil law was also partly influenced by religious laws such as Cannon law and Islamic law. Civil law today, in theory, is interpreted rather than developed or made by judges. Only legislative enactments (rather than judicial precedents, as in common law) are considered legally binding.

The former Soviet Bloc and other Socialist countries used a Socialist law (Slavic law)system (some of them use civil law system, for example, Lithuania).

The opposition between civil law and common law legal systems has become increasingly blurred, with the growing importance of jurisprudence (almost like case law but in name) in civil law countries, and the growing importance of statute law and codes in common law countries. An example of this is the United States, where matters of criminal law, commercial law and procedure have been codified.

Scotland is often said to use the civil law system but in fact it has a unique system that combines elements of an uncodified civil law dating back to the Corpus Juris Civilis with an element of common law long predating the Treaty of Union with England in 1707. Scots common law differs in that the use of precedents is subject to the courts seeking to discover the principle which justifies a law rather than to search for an example as a precedent and that the principles of natural justice and fairness have always formed a source of Scots Law.

Task 1. Give English equivalents of the following words & expressions.

законодавчий орган; система загального права; система цивільного права; право власності; дотримуватися принципів і правил (нормативних актів); правова система; законодавчі акти; право, засноване на судовій практиці; вирішувати судові справи; римське цивільне право; створювати/видавати закони; підтверджувати закон; судові рішення; форма державного правління; повноваження суддів; трудові відносини між адміністрацією і профспілками (на підприємстві); збирати законодавчі акти в кодекси; французька система цивільного права; запроваджувати систему загального права.

Task 2. Translate the following words & expressions.

Commercial law; приватна власність; to provide punishment for violation of law; загальні правила поведінки; personal property; створювати закони; to decide lawsuits; вести судовий процес; to take an appeal; виконати судове рішення; to breach an agreement; запроваджувати систему загального права; legal principals; мати право на відшкодування збитків; to overrule precedents; правопорушення; rules of law; private law; публічне право.

Task 3. Translate the following expressions into Ukrainian.

to understand the many different aspects of law; there are many legal principles; in order to decide lawsuits; how the trial is conducted; how appeals are taken; rights are enforced and protected; A claims that B has breached the agreement; they constitute procedural law; the agreement was enforceable; substantive law of contracts; areas of public and private law; bodies of law; the multitude of administrative agencies; general maxims; to provide punishment for violation of these laws; to be subdivided into the subjects; a part of the total body of law; civilized society people; property is the basic ingredient in our economic system.

Task 4. Match the following words & expressions with their Ukrainian equivalents.

1. to adopt a common-law system	a. творити / видавати закони
2. common-law system	b. форма державного правління
3. court rulings
4. legal precedents	c. повноваження суддів
5. to follow rules	d. розв’язувати судові справи
	e. судові рішення
6. to decide court cases	f. захищати свободи громадян
	g. судові прецеденти
7. form of government	h. система загального права
8. power of judges
9. to overrule precedents	i. запроваджувати систему звичаєвого права
10. to apply systems	j. подолати / переглядати прецеденти
11. to defend liberties of citizens	k. дотримуватися правових норм
12. to make law	l. застосовувати системи

Task 5. Match the terms with their definitions.

1)legal system	a) a systematic, written collection of laws on a particular subject or area of law;
2)ruling	b) a legislative body’s written enactment (a law made by a legislative body or a part of such a law), expressed in whatever form necessary to make it binding.
3)precedent	c) a decision made by a judge, tribunal, etc.;
4)code	d) all the institutions, bodies of laws and principles, ideas, methods, procedures, traditions and practices which together form an organized system for the application of law in a State or community;
5)legislature	e) a judicial decision that furnishes a rule or model for deciding a subsequent case that presents the same or a similar legal problem;
6)statute	f) the supreme body with responsibility and authority to pass a law or laws for a political unit such as a State;

Дата добавления: 2014-12-17