Law. Classifications of Law

The Law is a set of principles, rules and standards of conduct

• that have general application in the society

• that have been developed by an authority for that society, and

• for the violation of which the society imposes a penalty.

The basic functions of law are

• keeping the peace,

• enforcing standards of conduct and maintaining order,

• facilitating planning,

• and promoting social justice.

There are many ways to subdivide the law. One way is to distinguish between substantive law and procedural law.

Substantive law sets out the rights and duties governing people as they act in society. Duties tend to take the form of command "Do this" or "Don't do this". Substantive law also establishes rights and privileges, for example a freedom of speech or the so-called right of self-defence.

Procedural law establishes the rules under which the substantive rules of law are enforced. Rules as to what cases a court can decide, how a trial is conducted, and how a judgment by a court is to be-enforced are all part of the procedural law.

Another important distinction is between criminal law, concerned with wrongful acts harmful to the community, and civil law, concerned with individuals' rights, duties and obligations towards one another. Criminal law defines breaches of duty to society in large. Private duties owed by one person (including corporations) to another are established by civil law. The main subdivisions of civil law are: law of contract, family law, law of torts, constitutional and administrative law, industrial, maritime and ecclesiastical law.

Constitutional law is a branch of the public law of a nation or a state which treats with the organization, powers, frame of government, the distribution of political and governmental authorities and functions, the fundamental principles which are to regulate the relations of government and citizen.

Family law is a body of law regulating family relationships, including marriage and divorce, the treatment of children, and economic issues. It is also concerned with such subjects as adoption, separation, paternity, custody, support and child care.

Law of Torts includes wrongs, such as negligence, defamation, malicious prosecution and nuisance.

Labour law is the varied body of law applied to such matters as: employment, remuneration, conditions of work, trade unions, and industrial relations. The term includes social security and disability insurance as well.

Maritime or Admiralty law is a body of legal rules that governs ships and shipping.

Administrative law is the legislative requirements, typically for businesses, issued by government agencies in published regulations.

Task 3. Read the text with the proper pronunciation of the words and intonation. Remember that your reading time is not more than 3 minutes.

Task 4. Answer the following questions.

1. How do you understand the term ‘law’?

2. What functions does law perform?

3. What classifications of law do you know?

4. What does substantive law set out?

5. What for do the duties tend to take?

6. What kinds of rules does procedural law establish?

7. What distinction exists between criminal and civil law?

8. What breaches does criminal law define?

9. What duties are established by civil law?

10. What subdivisions of civil law are you familiar with?

11. What does constitutional law deal with?

12. What relations does family law regulate?

13. What wrongs does law of torts include?

14. What maters does the term labour law include?

15. What questions does admiralty law deal with?

Task 5. Pick out from the text all the word combinations with the following words and give their Ukrainian equivalents.

Law, society, body, to include, to establish

Task 6. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate preposition from the list below.