Fill each gap with a suitable word from the box. Use each word once only.

laws codify example civil abolished permanent

The first civilization to …. its laws was ancient Babylon. The first real set of codified laws, the Code of Hammurabi, was compiled circa 1760 BC by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, and is the earliest known … code. The first… system of codified …could be found in China, with the compilation of the Tang Code in CE 624. This formed the basis of the Chinese criminal code, which was then replaced by the Great Qing Legal Code, which was in turn… in 1912 following the Revolution and the establishment of the Republic of China. The new laws of the Republic of China were inspired by the German codified work, the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch. A very influential… in Europe was the French Napoleonic code of 1804.

 

Match an adjective to a noun.

1. government a) authority

2. primary b) legislature

3. written c) arrangements

4. state d) order

5. topical e) agency

6. civil f) enactment

 

Complete the chart with the different parts of speech (noun, verb and adjective). Use your dictionary to help you with the pronunciation.

Noun 1. order 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. code 7. government

Verb 1. 2. organize 3. agree 4. 5. 6. 7.

Adjective 1. 2. 3. 4. executive 5. existing 6. 7.

Rewrite the sentences, using the word in the italics in a different word class.

Example:

We had a long discussion about the law.

We discussed the law for a long time.

1. Contrary to popular belief, the common law has been codified in many jurisdictions in many areas.

Many jurisdictions contain … of common law.

2. The teacher gave us advice about statutes organized ("codified") by subject matter.

The teacher….

3. We had a lot of difficulty in learning modern civil code systems.

It was….

4. I felt that the article of existing laws needed more information.

I had…

 

Сomplete the following with the correct auxiliary verb in the positive or negative form. Check your answers with the text.

1. A statute... govern a family.

2. The word “statute”... often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law and the regulations issued by government agencies.

3. Statutes... sometimes referred to as legislation.

4. In many nations statutory law... subordinate to constitutional law.

5. Common law... written law.

Translate into English.

Правова карта світу досить різноманітна. Кожна країна має власну систему права. Інколи на терені однієї країни діють різні правові системи. Так, шотландське право суттєво відрізняється від англійського, хоча обидві правові системи діють у межах однієї країни - Великої Британії. Країни можуть належати до різних соціально-економічних формацій, у них можуть бути різні форми державного устрою, різні політичні режими, що не може не відбиватися на нормах права, формуванні правових систем. Статутне право є системою законів, які приймаються парламентом, а також підзаконних нормативних актів, прийнятих на виконання законів. їх називають делегованим або допоміжним законодавством. Закон Англії про делеговані акти 1946 р. ввів поняття «акт, що видається на підставі статуту». Нормотворчими повноваженнями наділяються різні органи. Насамперед, це - уряд, королева, міністри, місцеві органи. Більшу частину делегованого законодавства становить урядова нормотворчість. Вона існує в різних формах: укази короля в Раді, правила, накази, інструкції тощо. Особливе місце серед актів урядової нормотворчості належить тим, що приймаються на підставі надзвичайних законів, за невиконання яких передбачені кримінальні санкції. Місцеві органи влади наділені правом видавати постанови та інструкції, сфера дії яких обмежена відповідною територією.

IV. GRAMMAR FOCUS

Point out sentences with Passive Voice in the text and explain the use.

Read the text. Use the correct form of the Passive Voice.

STATUTES FREE ON WEB

Thursday 05 October 2006

The on-line statute law database moved closer to reality last month when the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) told users that the final Web-based system will be fundamentally free to use.

The decision.... (to reveal) in a newsletter from the DCA’s Statutory Publications Office (SPO), announcing the end of the first public ‘beta’ test phase of the database.

The next phase... (to expect) to have more than twice the number of users from a wider audience, including members of the public.

Until now it has been unclear how the DCA would operate a charging element for the database (see (2006) Gazette, 30 March, 11). But it appears that pressure from various sources has won the day – the SPO said the Web ‘will be launched free of charge to the public once piloting is complete. A commercial strategy... (to develop), but will primarily be looking at options that concern the commercial reuse of data’ as well as functionality for ‘specialist users’.

The Law Society welcomed the move. A spokeswoman said: ‘We... (to please) that this is being made available to everyone free of charge. The database will be a useful resource for solicitors and others.’

However, she added that it needs to present both current and historical data, as ‘an Act of Parliament may be considerably changed after it has come into force, and both the original text and the later changes to it need to be easily accessible’.

(taken from the “Law Society Gazette”)

Fill in articles where necessary.

In … United States, acts of … Congress, such as federal statutes, are published chronologically in the order in which they become law — often by being signed by … President, and are grouped together in official bound book form, also chronologically, as "session laws." The "session law" publication for Federal statutes is called … United States Statutes at Large. Any given act may be only one page long, or hundreds of pages, in length. An act may be classified as either a "Public Law" or a "Private Law”.

Because each … Congressional act may contain laws on a variety of topics, many acts, or portions thereof are also rearranged and published in a topical, subject matter codification. … official codification of Federal statutes is called … United States Code.

V. SPEAKING

Agree or disagree with the following sayings.

1. The United States is the greatest law factory the world has ever known. ~ Charles Evans Hughes

2. The greater the number of laws and enactments, the more thieves and robbers there will be. ~Lao-tzu

3. Everybody wants to eat at the government's table, but nobody wants to do the dishes. ~Werner Finck

4. The first myth of management is that it exists. ~ 10. Murphy's Law

Unit 3 Sources of Modern Law Section 2 Case Law

I. I LEAD IN

1. Before reading the text, check your knowledge and predict the right answers on the topic:

1. What is a precedent?

a) a previous decision made in court which informs future cases

b) a senior judge

c) a set of written rules

d) a jury’s decision

2. What does stare decisis mean?

a) decision is made based on legislation

b) words said in passing

c) stand by things decided

d) once made the decision must not be changed.

3. What is the Latin for a logical basis for a decision made by a court which may bind all future cases?

a) ratio ultima

b) modus vivendi

c) ratio – decidendi

d) jus strictum

2. Match the following English words and phrases with their Ukrainian equivalents:

	binding precedent	a	адвокат
	counsel	b	посилатися на справу
	to cite a case	c	розрізняти
	to distinguish	d	правове обґрунтування
	legal reasoning	e	суд нижчої інстанції
	to argue	f	доводити
	lower court	g	прецедент, що має обов’язкову силу
	to overturn the decision	h	скасувати рішення

 

3. Mind the pronunciation of the following:

hierarchy

binding

applicable

hypothetical

 

Read the text and compare the content with your answers in Exercise 1.

JUDICIAL PRECEDENT

 

Judicial precedent is one of the sources of law, particularly English Common Law which, itself, is the basis of legal systems in many parts of the world (e.g. the USA and Commonwealth countries).

Essential to the common law is the hierarchy of the courts and the principle of binding precedent. In practice, this means that the decision of a higher court is binding on a lower court, and in the course of a trial the judges must refer to existing precedents. This is known as stare decisis ‘ stand by what has been decided’. The judges will also consider decisions made by a lower court, although they are not bound to follow them. However, a rule set by a court of greater or equal status must be applied if it is relevant.

During a trial, a counsel will cite cases and either attempt to distinguish the case at trial from those referred to, or alternatively, argue that the rule established in a previous case is applicable and should be followed. At the end of each legal case the Judge gives a summary of the facts of the case; then a review of the arguments (defence and prosecution) and an explanation of the principles of law he/she is using to come to a decision. Only the legal principles used to come to a decision are referred to as the ratio – decidendi’ which means ‘the reason for deciding’. Sometimes the Judge will consider what his/her decision would have been if the facts of the case had been different; this hypothetical situation is referred to as the ’obiter dicta’ (i.e. other things said) and the legal reasoning put forward may be used in future cases.

The great body of legal precedent contained in law books is the result of appeals to higher courts against the decisions of lower courts. The appeals have resulted in the clarification of specific principles, either by improving them or by overturning the original court's decision through the introduction of a new precedent.

So, put in broad terms, judicial precedent is the body of legal principles established by past court decisions which have survived the process of appeal to higher courts and have consequently become binding on all courts.

II. DEVELOPMENT

3. Answer the following questions using the information from the text:

1) What are the distinctive features of common law?

2) What does the principle of binding precedent mean?

3) Should rules set by courts of equal status be applied if they are relevant?

4) What is the role of the judge at the end of the case?

5) How would you define the ’obiter dicta’?

6) What are the results of appeals to higher courts against the decisions of lower courts?