Text 1. Law

MODULE 1

Essential vocabulary

authorized	уповноважений
behaviour	поведінка
court	суд
crime	злочин
facilitate	полегшувати
govern	управляти
legislature	законодавчий орган
law	закон
maintain	підтримувати
penalty	покарання
prohibit	забороняти
property law	майнове право
remedy	засіб судового захисту
respond to	реагувати на
society	суспільство
unacceptable	неприйнятний

Law is a body of official rules and regulations. It is generally found in constitutions, legislation and judicial decisions. Law is used to govern a society and to control the behavior of its members. The nature and functions of law have varied throughout history. In modern societies, some authorized body such as a legislature or a court makes the law. It is supported by the coercive power of the state, which enforces the law by means of appropriate penalties or remedies.

Formal legal rules and actions are usually distinguished from other means of social control and guides for behavior such as morality, public opinion, and custom or tradition. Of course, a lawmaker may respond to public opinion or other pressures, and a formal law may prohibit what is morally unacceptable.

Law serves a variety of functions, basic of which are:

1. Keeping the peace.

2. Enforcing standards of conduct and maintaining order.

3. Facilitating planning.

4. Promoting social justice.

Laws against crimes, for example, help to maintain a peaceful, orderly, relatively stable society. Courts contribute to social stability by resolving disputes in a civilized fashion. Property and contract laws facilitate business activities. Laws limit the powers of government and help to provide some degree of freedom that would not otherwise be possible. Law has also been used as a mechanism for social change; e.g. at various times laws have been passed to improve the quality of individual life in matters of health, education, and welfare.

Law is not completely made by humans; it also includes natural law. The best-known version of this view, that God’s law is supreme, has had considerable influence in the U.S. and other western societies. Muslim societies also embrace a kind of natural law, which is closely linked to the religion of Islam.

Дата добавления: 2015-05-10