法律英语案例赏析

单击此处编辑母版标题样式,单击此处编辑母版文本样式,第二级,第三级,第四级,第五级,*,法律英语案例赏析,李想,Syllabus,1.Brief introduction of law,2.Cases for Constitution/Criminal Law/Civil Law/Contract Law/Company Law/Copyright Law/Environment Protection Law/Property Law/Law of Marriage/,3.Four debate or discussion over moives.,Notice,No homework but do review the lecture.,Attendence is very important.(Absence: 3 times).,Contacts,E-mail address:fiona-pisces,Lady Justice,is the symbol of the judiciary.,Justice,is depicted as a,goddess,equipped with three symbols of the,rule of law,: a sword symbolizing the courts coercive power; scales representing the weighing of competing claims; and a blindfold indicating impartiality.,King,Hammurabi,is revealed the,code of laws,by the Mesopotamian sun god,Shamash, also revered as the god of justice,Introduction to law,Law,is a,system,of,rules, usually enforced through a set of,institutions,. It shapes,politics,economics,and,society,in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator in relations between people.,Contract law,regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on,derivatives markets,.,Property law,defines rights and obligations related to the transfer and title of,personal,(often referred to as chattel) and,real property,.,Trust law,applies to assets held for investment and financial security, while,tort,law allows claims for compensation if a persons rights or property are harmed (often considered civil case if filed under an issue of tort law vs. criminal). If the harm is criminalised in penal code,criminal law,offers means by which the state can prosecute the perpetrator.,Constitutional law,provides a framework for the creation of law, the protection of,human rights,and the election of political representatives.,Administrative law,is used to review the decisions of government agencies, while,international law,governs affairs between sovereign,nation states,in activities ranging from,trade,to environmental regulation or military action. Writing in 350BC, the,Greek,philosopher,Aristotle,declared, The,rule of law,is better than the rule of any individual.,Legal systems elaborate,rights,and responsibilities in a variety of ways. A general distinction can be made between,civil law,jurisdictions, which codify their laws, and,common law,systems, where judge made law is not consolidated. In some countries,religion,still informs the law. Law provides a rich source of scholarly inquiry, into,legal history,philosophy,economic analysis,or,sociology,. Law also raises important and complex issues concerning,equality, fairness and,justice,. In its majestic equality, said the author,Anatole France,in 1894, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.In a typical,democracy, the central institutions for interpreting and creating law are the three main branches of,government, namely an impartial,judiciary, a democratic,legislature, and an accountable,executive,. To implement and enforce the law and provide services to the public, a governments bureaucracy, the military and police are vital. While all these organs of the state are creatures created and bound by law, an independent,legal profession,and a vibrant,civil society,inform and support their progress.,Different Categories,substantive law and procedural law;,civil law system and common law system;,departments of law:Constitution/Administrative law/Tort Law/Criminal Law/Civil Law/International Law/Contract Law/Company Law/Copyright Law/Environment Protection Law/Consumer Law/Property Law/Law of Marriage,etc.,Substantive law and,procedural la,w,Substantive law,is the statutory or written law that governs rights and obligations of those who are subject to it. Substantive law defines the legal relationship of people with other people or between them and the state. Substantive law stands in contrast to,procedural law,.,Procedural law,comprises the rule by which a,court,hears and determines what happens in,civil,lawsuit,criminal,or administrative,proceedings,. The rules are designed to ensure a fair and consistent application of,due process,(in the U.S.) or,fundamental justice,(in other,common law,countries) to all cases that come before a court. which comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in,civil,or,criminal,proceedings. Procedural law deals with the method and means by which substantive law is made and administered. The time allowed for one party to sue another and the rules of law governing the process of the lawsuit are examples of procedural laws. Substantive law defines crimes and punishments (in the criminal law) as well as,civil,rights and responsibilities in civil law. It is,codified,in legislated,statutes,or can be enacted through the,initiative,process.,procedural law,Difference,Another way of summarizing the difference between substantive and procedural is as follows: Substantive rules of law define rights and duties, while procedural rules of law provide the machinery for enforcing those rights and duties. However, the way to this clear differentiation between substantive law and, serving the substantive law, procedural law has been long, since in the Roman civil procedure the,actio,included both substantive and procedural elements.,Civil law system,Civil law is the legal system used in most countries around the world today. In civil law the sources recognised as authoritative are, primarily, legislationespecially,codifications,in,constitutions,or,statutes,passed by governmentand custom.,Common law system,Common law and equity are legal systems where decisions by courts are explicitly acknowledged to be legal sources. The doctrine of precedent, or,stare decisis,(Latin for to stand by decisions) means that decisions by higher courts bind lower courts. Common law systems also rely on statutes, passed by the legislature, but may make less of a systematic attempt to codify their laws than in a civil law system. Common law originated from England and has been inherited by almost every country once tied to the,British Empire,Departments of law,The French,Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,(,人权宣言,), whose principles still have constitutional value.,The judges of the,International Court of Justice,in,the Hague,Legal institutions,Law is less a body of static rules than a dynamic process by which rules are constantly changed, created, and molded to fit particular situations. Changes are continuously made by various institutions in a society. Laws main institutions in,liberal democracies,are the,independent judiciaries, the,justice systems, the representative legislatures or,parliaments, an,accountable,executive, a competent and non-corrupt bureaucracy, a police force, a,civilian control of the military,and a robust legal profession ensuring peoples access to justice and a pluralistic civil societya term used to refer to the social institutions, communities and partnerships that form laws political basis.,Judiciary,A judiciary is a number of,judges,mediating disputes to determine outcome. Most countries have systems of,appeal,courts, answering up to a supreme legal authority. In the United States, this is the,Supreme Court,; in Australia, the,High Court,; in the UK, the,House of Lords,.In China,最高法院。,Some countries allow their highest judicial authority to over-rule legislation they determined as,unconstitutional,A judiciary is theoretically bound by the constitution, much as legislative bodies are. In most countries judges may only,interpret,the constitution and all other laws. But in common law countries, where matters are not constitutional, the judiciary may also create law under the,doctrine of precedent,.,In,communist states, such as China, the courts are often regarded as parts of the executive, or subservient to the legislature; governmental institutions and,officer,s exert thus various forms of influence on the judiciary.,Legislature,Prominent examples of legislatures are the,Houses of Parliament,in London, the,Congress,in Washington D.C,To pass legislation, a majority of,Members of Parliament,must,vote,for a,bill (proposed law),in each house. Normally there will be several readings and amendments proposed by the different political factions. If a country has an entrenched constitution, a special majority for changes to the constitution will be required, making changes to the law more difficult. A government usually leads the process, which can be formed from,Members of Parliament,(e.g. the UK or Germany). But in a presidential system, an executive appoints a,cabinet,to govern from his or her,political,allies whether or not they are elected (e.g. the United States or Brazil), and the legislatures role is reduced to either,ratification,or,veto,The debating chamber of the,European Parliament,Executive,The executive in a legal system serve as a,government,s centre of political,authority,. In a,parliamentary system, as with Britain, Italy, Germany, India, and Japan, the executive is known as the,cabinet, and composed of members of the legislature. The executive is chosen by the,Prime Minister,or,Chancellor, whose office holds power under the,confidence,of the legislature. Because popular elections appoint political parties to govern, the leader of a party can change in between elections. The,head of state,is apart from the executive, and he/she usually lacks formal,political power,yet symbolically enacts laws and acts as representative of the nation. Examples include the,German president,(appointed by the Parliament); the,Queen of the United Kingdom,(a,hereditary,title). The other important model is the,presidential system, found in France, the U.S. and Russia. In presidential systems, the executive acts as both head of state and head of government, and has power to appoint an unelected cabinet. Under a presidential system, the executive branch is separate from the legislature to which is not accountable.,Although the role of the executive varies from country to country, usually it will propose the majority of legislation, and propose government agenda. In presidential systems, the executive often has the power to veto legislation. Most executives in both systems are responsible for,foreign relations, the military and police, and the bureaucracy.,Ministers,or other officials head a countrys public offices, such as a,foreign ministry,or,interior ministry,. The election of a different executive is therefore capable of,revolutionising,an entire countrys approach to government.,representatives of each countrys executive branch.,G8:,八国集团，由美国、英国、法国、德国、意大利、加拿大、日本和俄罗斯八国组成。,The,United Nations, New York headquarters houses civil servants that serve its 192 member states.,Legal Profession,A corollary of the rule of law is the existence of a legal profession sufficiently autonomous to be able to invoke the authority of the independent judiciary; the right to assistance of an,advocate,in a court in England the function of barrister or advocate is distinguished from legal counselor (,solicitor,). As the European Court of Human Rights has stated, the law should be adequately accessible to everyone and people should be able to foresee how the law affects them.In order to maintain professionalism, the,practice of law,is typically overseen by either a government or independent regulating body such as a,bar association,bar council,or,law society,. Modern lawyers achieve distinct professional identity through specified legal procedures (e.g. successfully passing a qualifying examination), are required by law to have a special qualification (a legal education earning the student a,Bachelor of Laws, a,Bachelor of Civil Law,or a,Juris Doctor,degree,), and are constituted in office by legal forms of appointment (,being admitted to the bar,). In China and other developing countries there are not enough law-trained people to staff the existing judicial systems, and, accordingly, formal standards are more relaxed.,Once accredited, a lawyer will often work in a,law firm, in a,chambers,as a sole practitioner, in a government post or in a private corporation as an internal,counsel,. In addition a lawyer may become a,legal researcher,who provides on-demand legal research through a library, a commercial service or through freelance work. Many people trained in law put their skills to use outside the legal field entirely. Significant to the practice of law in the common law tradition is the legal research to determine the current state of the law. This usually entails exploring,case-law reports,legal periodicals,and legislation. Law practice also involves drafting documents such as court,pleadings,contracts, or,wills,and trusts. Negotiation and,dispute resolution,skills (including,ADR,techniques) are also important to legal practice, depending on the field.,