- •Часть 1
- •Unit 1 laws in old england
- •1 .1 Magna Carta
- •5. Most and most of
- •Comprehension check
- •1.2 Habeas Corpus
- •Special problems you need to know
- •Verbs that are easy to confuse
- •3. A large number of and a large amount of
- •Comprehension check
- •Special problems you need to know
- •Little and a little
- •3. Make sure that sb does
- •2.2 Different types of law
- •International and national law
- •Words and phrases you need to know
- •Special problems you need to know
- •1. Since and as (reason)
- •3. Each and every
- •5. Still and other time adverbs
- •Comprehension check
- •Discuss
- •2.3 Distinctions between criminal cases and civil cases
- •Special problems you need to know
- •1. Such and so
- •Comprehension check
- •2.4. Law and morality
- •2.5 Natural law and positivism
- •2.6 Law and justice
- •2.7 Rights and duties
- •Special problems you need to know
- •Negative prefixes
- •3. Wide and widely
- •Comprehension check
- •Discuss
- •Unit 3 the development of english law
- •3.1 Customs
- •3.2 Common law
- •Words and phrases you need to know
- •Special problems you need to know
- •4. It was not until …. That
- •Comprehension check
- •Discuss
- •3.3 Equity
- •3.3.1 The development of equity
- •3.3.2 Conflict between equity and common law
- •3.3.3 The relevance of equity today
- •3.3.4 Modern use of equitable remedies
- •Words and phrases you need to know
- •Special problems you need to know
- •Importance – subjunctive verbs
- •Importance – nouns derived from subjunctive verbs
- •Comprehension check
- •Discuss
- •Unit 4 sources of law
- •4.1 Legislation The nature and effect of Acts of Parliament
- •4.1.1 Parliament
- •Words and phrases you need to know
- •Rules and regulations
- •Special problems you need to know
- •1. Provided/providing that
- •Comprehension check
- •Discuss
- •4.1. 2. The legislative process
- •1. First reading
- •2. Second Reading
- •3.Committee Stage.
- •4. Report Stage
- •6. The House of Lords
- •Words and phrases you need to know
- •Implement
- •Special problems you need to know
- •4. Until (till) and by
- •Comprehension check
- •Discuss
- •4.2 Judicial precedent
- •4.2.1 The nature of precedent
- •4.2.2. Advantages and disadvantages of precedent
- •Words and phrases you need to know
- •Special problems you need to know
- •1. General similarity - similar to and similar
- •2. Too and enough
- •Comprehension check
- •1.1 Magna Carta ……………..………………………………………..….2
Comprehension check
Exercise 1. Answer the following questions.
What is the distinction between criminal law and civil law based on?
What are the main differences between criminal law and civil law?
What functions do criminal cases and civil cases have?
What courts do criminal cases and civil cases operate in?
What is the standard of proof in criminal cases and civil cases?
Exercise 2. Decide whether the following words are used in civil cases or criminal cases:
bail
claimant
damages
fine
guilty
liable
prosecution
sue
One of these courts hears civil cases and one criminal cases. Which is which?
*County Court
* Crown Court
Exercise 3. Fill in the chart of the main differences between civil cases and criminal cases
|
Criminal cases |
Civil cases |
Purpose of the law
Person starting the case
Legal name for that person
Courts hearing cases
Standard of proof
Person/s making the
Decision
Decision
Powers of the court |
|
|
Exercise 4. Extend and explain the following statement.
In the English legal system an understanding of the basic distinctions between civil and criminal cases is very important.
DISCUSS
Discuss which of the following situations are a breach of civil law and which are a breach of criminal law:
* A enters a supermarket and shoplifts two bottles of wine.
* B fails to pay the monthly instalments due on the hire purchase of his car.
* C drives at 50 m.p.h. in an area where the speed limit is 30 m.p.h.
* D and E want to bring their marriage to an end, but they cannot agree on how to divide their property between them.
* F has been left with serious disabilities after an operation. F claims that the disabilities were caused by the surgeon’s negligence.
2.4. Law and morality
Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.
Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900
So far we have only considered some divisions of law, and briefly discussed what is meant by law in general terms. Now it is necessary to look more widely at law and to compare it with concepts of morality and justice, and the ideas of rights and duties.
The moral values of communities lay down a framework for how people should behave. Concepts of morality differ from culture to culture, although most will outlaw extreme behaviour such as murder. Often morality is based on religious ideas: the Bible teachings provide a moral code for Christian communities and the teaching in the Koran for Muslims. The law of a country will usually reflect the moral values accepted by the majority of the country, but the law is unlikely to be exactly the same as the common religious moral code. One example is adultery: this is against the moral code for both Christians and Muslims but is not considered a crime in Christian countries: however, in some Muslim countries (though not all) it is against the criminal law.
The moral standards of a community are recognized as having a profound influence on the development of law, but in complex societies, morality and law are never likely to be co-extensive. Major breaches of a moral code (such as murder and robbery) will also be against the law, but in other matters there may not be consensus.
In England and Wales there has been a move away from religious belief and the way that the law has developed reflects this. Abortion was legalized in 1967, yet many people still believe it is morally wrong. A limited form of euthanasia has been accepted as legal with the ruling in Airedale NHS Trust v Bland (1993), where it was ruled that medical staff could withdraw life support systems from a patient who could breathe unaided, but who was in a persistent vegetative state. This ruling meant that they could withdraw the feeding tubes of the patient, despite the fact that this would inevitably cause him to die. Again, many groups believe that this is immoral as it denies the sanctity of human life.
There are also differences between law and morality in the way the two develop and the sanctions imposed. The following is a suggested list of such differences.
Morality cannot be deliberately changed; it evolves slowly and changes according to the will of the people. Law can be altered deliberately by legislation: this means that behaviour which was against the law can be ‘de-criminalized’ overnight. Equally, behaviour which was lawful can be declared unlawful.
Morality is voluntary with consequences, but generally carrying no official sanction (though some religions may ‘excommunicate’); morality relies for it effectiveness on the individual’s sense of shame or guilt. Law makes certain behaviour obligatory with legal sanctions to enforce it.
Breaches of morality are not usually subject to formal adjudication; breaches of law will be ruled on by a formal legal system.