3.4 Civil law

Activity 1 Match the given English words with their Ukrainian equivalents.

1	authoritative	A	пліч-о-пліч
2	primarily	B	встановлювати походження
3	legislation	C	тим часом
4	codification	D	звичка
5	government	E	свідомий
6	custom	F	уряд
7	derive	G	маскувати
8	legal practice	H	зведення у кодекс
9	magistrate	I	судити
10	index	J	законодавство
11	adjudicate	K	показник
12	disguise	L	головним чином, першочергово
13	consciously	M	суддя
14	meanwhile	N	авторитетний
15	alongside	O	юридична пратика

Activity 2 Read the following text and do the True/ False activity after them.

1. Read new words with their translation.

date back	брати початок у
millennia	тисячоліття
derive	походити
lack	відчувати нестачу
lay	світський, мирський
index	показник
precedent	попередній
disguised	замаскований; прихований
afresh	знов, знову; заново
codify	кодифікувати;приводити в систему
consolidate	зміцнювати(ся); укріпляти(ся)
Byzantine Empire	Візантійська імперія
range	коливатися в певних межах

2. Read and translate the text.

Civil law

Civil law is the legal system used in most countries around the world today. In civil law the sources recognised as authoritative are, primarily, legislation—especially codifications in constitutions or statutes passed by government—and custom. Codifications date back millennia, with one early example being the Babylonian Codex Hammurabi. Modern civil law systems essentially derive from the legal practice of the 6th-century Eastern Roman Empire whose texts were rediscovered by late medieval Western Europe. Roman law in the days of the Roman Republic and Empire was heavily procedural, and lacked a professional legal class. Instead a lay magistrate, index, was chosen to adjudicate. Precedents were not reported, so any case law that developed was disguised and almost unrecognized. Each case was to be decided afresh from the laws of the State, which mirrors the (theoretical) unimportance of judges' decisions for future cases in civil law systems today.

From 529–534 AD the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I codified and consolidated Roman law up until that point, so that what remained was one-twentieth of the mass of legal texts from before. This became known as the Corpus Juris Civilis. As one legal historian wrote, "Justinian consciously looked back to the golden age of Roman law and aimed to restore it to the peak it had reached three centuries before." The Justinian Code remained in force in the East until the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Western Europe, meanwhile, relied on a mix of the Theodosian Code and Germanic customary law until the Justinian Code was rediscovered in the 11th century, and scholars at the University of Bologna used it to interpret their own laws. Civil law codifications based closely on Roman law, alongside some influences from religious laws such as Canon law, continued to spread throughout Europe until the Enlightenment; then, in the 19th century, both France, with the Code Civil, and Germany, with the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, modernised their legal codes. Both these codes influenced heavily not only the law systems of the countries in continental Europe (e.g. Greece), but also the Japanese and Korean legal traditions.

Today, countries that have civil law systems range from Russia and China to most of Central and Latin America. The United States follows the common law system.

c) Decide whether the following statements are true or false.

1) Civil law is the legal system used in the United States today.

2) In civil law the sources recognised as authoritative are, primarily, legislation—especially codifications in constitutions or statutes passed by government—and custom.

3) Modern civil law systems essentially derive from the legal practice of the 6th-century Eastern Roman Empire.

4) Civil law in the days of the Roman Republic and Empire was heavily procedural, and lacked a professional legal class.

5) Precedents were not reported.

6) Today, countries that have civil law systems range from Russia and China to most of Central and Latin America.

Activity 3 Translate in a written form.

From 529–534 AD the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I codified and consolidated Roman law up until that point, so that what remained was one-twentieth of the mass of legal texts from before. This became known as the Corpus Juris Civilis. As one legal historian wrote, "Justinian consciously looked back to the golden age of Roman law and aimed to restore it to the peak it had reached three centuries before." The Justinian Code remained in force in the East until the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Western Europe, meanwhile, relied on a mix of the Theodosian Code and Germanic customary law until the Justinian Code was rediscovered in the 11th century, and scholars at the University of Bologna used it to interpret their own laws. Civil law codifications based closely on Roman law, alongside some influences from religious laws such as Canon law, continued to spread throughout Europe until the Enlightenment; then, in the 19th century, both France, with the Code Civil, and Germany, with the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, modernised their legal codes. Both these codes influenced heavily not only the law systems of the countries in continental Europe (e.g. Greece), but also the Japanese and Korean legal traditions.

Activity 4 Fill in the gaps with the words given in the box, read the text and retell it.

unrecognized being rediscovered lacked used chosen reported passed recognized decided developed

Civil law is the legal system _____ in most countries around the world today. In civil law the sources _____as authoritative are, primarily, legislation—especially codifications in constitutions or statutes _____ by government and custom. Codifications date back millennia, with one early example _____ the Babylonian Codex Hammurabi. Modern civil law systems essentially derive from the legal practice of the 6th-century Eastern Roman Empire whose texts were _____ by late medieval Western Europe. Roman law in the days of the Roman Republic and Empire was heavily procedural, and _____ a professional legal class. Instead a lay magistrate, index, was _____ to adjudicate. Precedents were not _____, so any case law that _____ was disguised and almost _____. Each case was to be _____ afresh from the laws of the State, which mirrors the (theoretical) unimportance of judges' decisions for future cases in civil law systems today.

Activity 5 Answer the questions.

1. What is civil law?

2. What are the sources in civil law?

3. What do you know from the history of civil law?

4. Today, countries that have civil law systems range from Russia and China to most of Central and Latin America, do not they?

5. Does the United States follow the common law system?