Vocabulary notes:

legal system	правова система
form of government	форма державного правління
common-law system	система загального права
civil law	римське цивільне право
case law	прецедентне право
Statutes	статут, законодавчий акт
Code	кодекс
derive from	походити
to apply the law system	застосовувати правову систему
to amend	Вносити поправки
basic ingredient	основні складові частини
court decision	судове рішення
legal precedent	судові прецеденти
private law	приватне право
contract law	договірне право
property law	право власності
public law	публічне право
estate in land	нерухомість
personal property	особиста власність
to decide court cases	вирішувати судові справи
to adopt a common-law system	прийняти систему загального права
to encompass	здійснювати
to compensate smb. for the loss	компенсувати втрати
to assemble statutes into codes	укласти закони у кодекс
to confuse with	заплутати
to refer to precedents	звертатися до прецеденту
to combine features of both systems	поєднувати риси обох систем
to deal with matters	мати справу з питанням

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.

to adopt a common-law system	творити / видавати закони
common-law system	форма державного правління
court rulings
legal precedents	повноваження суддів
to follow rules	розв’язувати судові справи
	судові рішення
to decide court cases	захищати свободи громадян
	судові прецеденти
form of government	система загального права
power of judges
to overrule precedents	запроваджувати систему звичаєвого права
to apply systems	подолати / переглядати прецеденти
to defend liberties of citizens	дотримуватися правових норм
to make law	застосовувати системи

Task 5. Match the terms with their definitions.

1)legal system	a systematic, written collection of laws on a particular subject or area of law;
2)ruling	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	a decision made by a judge, tribunal, etc.;
4)code	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	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	the supreme body with responsibility and authority to pass a law or laws for a political unit such as a State;

Ex. 6. Give definitions in English to the following terms.

a rule	a ruling
a code	a statute
Common law system	Civil law system

Task 7. Explain the meanings of the following expressions from the text. Make sentences with each of them.

• common-law country;

• civil law country;

• precedent;

• case law.

Task 8. Read the text carefully & decide if the following statements are true or false. Add some other information.

1. Legal systems depend on a country’s form of government.

2. The two great systems of law have spread over Europe.

3. The common-law systems are based on legislative acts.

4. The civil law systems are based on court decisions.

5. Most countries combine features of both systems.

6. English common law is “judge made” law.

7. In common-law countries statutes have been assembled into codes.

8. Modern law codes can be traced back to Justinian’s code.

9. Other systems have been influenced by common-law principles.

Task 9. Use the information given in the text to answer the following questions. Discuss your answers with the group.

1. Which legal systems are the most widespread?

2. What are common-law systems based on?

3. What are civil law systems based on?

4. What is the gist of English common law?

5. Which countries are common-law countries?

6. Which countries are civil law countries?

7. What is the role of legislatures in common-law countries?

8. What is called a law code?

9. What is called a precedent?

10. What are the most modern law codes influenced by?

Task 10. Read the text again & pick out the main points about the common-law & civil law systems.

Task 11. On the basis of the information above discuss the most important differences between the two systems of law.

Task 12. Translate the text into English.

Кожна незалежна країна належить до певної правової системи. Правові системи залежать від традицій та форм правління. Зараз у світі нараховують близько 200 правових систем, наприклад правові системи Англії, Франції, Японії, Росії та інші. Більшість систем можна поділити 5-7 правових сімей, а саме: слов’янську (Slav law), романо-германську, мусульманську (Islamic law), сім’ю загального (звичаєвого) права та інші.

Система загального права почала розвиток в Англії сотні років тому. Вона базується, в основному, на прецедентному праві, правилах та принципах, яких традиційно дотримувались судді у вирішенні судових справ, тобто на рішеннях суду. Судді могли розширювати або відміняти прецедент, якщо вважали його помилковим чи застарілим. Таким чином загальне право – це право створене суддями.

Система римського права базується на статутах (законодавчих актах). Ця система права походить з древнього Риму. Більшість країн римського права уклали законодавчі акти у кодекси. У країнах римського права статути, а не суди, надають кінцеву відповідь на будь-яке правове питання. Судді можуть звертатися до прецеденту у прийнятті рішення, але вони повинні базуватись у своїх рішеннях на певному статуті, а не на прецеденті.

Інші правові системи зазнали впливу як системи загального права, так і римського права.