Comprehension Check

1. Scan paragraphs 1 and 2 and explain the difference between English common law and Continental law.

2. On the basis of paragraph 3 explain the origin of the doctrine of precedent. Do you have the same doctrine or similar one in your country?

3. Reread paragraphs 4 and 5 and give their main points. Use the answers to the following questions:

1. What did the judge have to do if no precedent of the case could be found?

2. What is the reason of making new laws by the government?

3. When did the tradition of equity start operating? What does it mean?

4. Reread paragraphs 3-5 and match the terms and their definitions. Consult glossary if necessary. Translate the definitions.

1. Precedent	a) an Act of Parliament that sets out legal rules and has been passed by both Houses of Parliament;
2. Case	b) a sum of money awarded by a court as compensation for a breach of contract;
3. Statute	c) the doctrine by which decisions of courts in previous cases are considered as a source of law which will influence courts in later similar cases;
4. Equity	d) a legal action or trial; a set of legal circumstances;
5. Enforce	e) a special area of English law consisting of rules, which supplement the common law when this is necessary for justice in a particular case;
6. Damage	f) to cause or force people to obey a law.

5. Reread paragraph 7 and try to formulate its main idea.

When does the government pass new legislation?

What examples of modern crimes can you give existing in your country?

6. On the basis of paragraph 8 say whether the following statements are true or false.

1. Both California and Louisiana have continental systems of law.

2. Most of Canada and the United States have common law.

3. Louisiana and Quebec have some legal traditions.

7. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following words and expressions.

Общее право, Британское содружество наций, постановления суда, толкование, запротоколированные материалы дела, главный управляющий судебными делами, денежная компенсация, лорд-канцлер Великобритании.

Written Practice

1. Make the following sentences shorter retaining the main idea.

1. Common law, or case law systems, particularly that of England differ from Continental law in having developed gradually throughout history, not as the result of government attempts to define or codify every legal relation. Customs and court rulings have been as important as statutes (government legislation).

2. If no precedent could be found, then the judge made a decision based upon existing legal principles, and his decision would become a precedent for other courts to follow when a similar case arose.

3. By the fourteenth century many people in England were dissatisfied with the inflexibility of the common law, and a practise developed of appealing directly to the king or to his chief legal administrator, the Lord Chancellor.

4. One problem resulting from the existence of two systems of justice was that a person often had to begin actions in different courts in order to get a satisfactory solution.