法律文章英语

《法律文章英语》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《法律文章英语（67页珍藏版）》请在装配图网上搜索。

1、Lesson One: Legal System 法律制度Background背景自从哥伦布(CChristtopherr Coluumbus)于14922年航行至美美洲之后，大大批欧洲人便便开始拥向这这片新大陆陆。不过，人人们通常把第第一批英国定定居者(thhe firrst Ennglishh setttlers)于16077年到达弗吉吉尼亚(Viirginiia)的詹姆姆斯顿(Jaamestoown)视为为美国法律制制度历史的起起点。美国法法制史可以大大体上分为两两个时期，即即英属殖民地地时期(thhe Perriod oof thee Engllish CColoniies)和美美利坚

2、合众国国时期(thhe Perriod oof thee Unitted Sttates)。虽然美国国的法律制度度是在英国法法律传统的基基础上形成和和发展起来的的，但是在近近四百年的历历史进程中，美美国的法律制制度也形成了了一些不同于于英国法律制制度的特点，如如公诉制度(publiic proosecuttion)等等。美国属于普通法法系(Commmon LLaw Leegal SSystemm)国家，其其法律制度有有两个基本特特点：其一是是以分散制(decenntraliizatioon)为原则则；其二是以以判例法(ccase llaw)为主主体。美国除除联邦政府外外，还有州政政府、县政府府

3、、市政府、镇镇政府等等，而而且这些政府府都是相互独独立的，各自自在其管辖范范围内享有一一定的立法权权和执法权。因因此，有人说说美国是一一个有许多政政府的国家(a coountryy of mmany ggovernnmentss)；而美国国的法律体系系则是一个零散的无系系统(frragmenntal nnosysteem)。诚然然，美国现在在也有很多成成文法(wrrittenn law)或制定法(statuutory law)，但但是其法律制制度仍是以判判例法为主体体的。换言之之，遵从前前例(sttare ddecisiis)仍然是是美国司法活活动中最重要要的原则之一一。以上两点点对于理解美美

4、国的法律制制度具有重要要意义。Text课文Part OnneThe Uniited SStatess is aat oncce a vvery nnew naation and aa veryy old natioon. Itt is aa new natioon commparedd withh manyy otheer couuntriees, annd it is neew, tooo, inn the sensee thatt it iis connstanttly beeing rreneweed by the aadditiion off new elemeents oof pop

5、pulatiion annd of new SStatess. Butt in oother sensees it is olld. Itt is tthe olldest of thhe neew naationss-thee firsst onee to bbe madde outt of aan Oldd Worlld collony. It haas thee oldeest wrrittenn consstituttion, the ooldestt conttinuouus fedderal systeem, annd thee oldeest prracticce of self

6、goverrnmentt of aany naation.One of the mmost iintereestingg feattures of Ammericaas youuth iss thatt the wholee of iits hiistoryy beloongs iin thee periiod siince tthe innventiion off the printting ppress. The wholee of iits hiistoryy is, thereefore, recoorded: indeeed, iit is safe to saay thaat no

7、 otherr majoor nattion hhas soo compprehennsive a reccord oof itss histtory aas hass the Uniteed Staates, for eeventss suchh as tthose that are llost iin thee legeendaryy pastt of IItaly or Frrance or Ennglandd are part of thhe priinted recorrd of the UUnitedd Stattes. AAnd thhe Ameericann recoord i

8、ss not only comprrehenssive; it iss immeense. It emmbracees nott onlyy the recorrd of the ccoloniial erra andd of tthe Naation sincee 17766, butt of tthe prresentt fiftty Staates aas welll, annd thee intrricatee netwwork oof rellationnshipss betwween SStatess and Natioon. Thhus, tto takke a vvery ee

9、lemenntary exampple, tthe reeportss of tthe Unnited Statees Suppreme Courtt filll somee 350 volummes, aand thhe repports of soome Sttates are aalmostt equaally vvolumiinous: the readeer whoo wantts to tracee the histoory off law in Ammericaa is cconfroonted with over 5,0000 stouut vollumes of leegal

10、 ccases.No one documment, no haandfull of ddocumeents, can pproperrly bee saidd to rreveall the charaacter of a peoplle or of thheir ggovernnment. But when hundrreds aand thhousannds off docuumentss striike a consiistentt notee, oveer morre thaan a hhundreed yeaars, wwe havve a rright to saay thaat

11、is the kkeynotte. Whhen huundredds andd thouusandss of ddocumeents aaddresss theemselvves inn the same ways, to tthe saame ovverarcching probllems, we haave a rightt to rread ffrom tthem ccertaiin connclusiions wwhich we caan calll nattionall charracterristiccs.Part TwwoThe Ameericann legaal sysstem

12、, like the EEnglissh, iss methhodoloogicallly maainly a casse laww systtem. MMost ffieldss of pprivatte laww stilll connsist primaarily of caase laaw andd the extennsive and ssteadiily grrowingg stattutoryy law contiinues to bee subjject tto binnding interrpretaation throuugh caase laaw. Knnowleddge

13、 off the case law mmethodd as wwell aas of the ttechniique oof worrking with case law tthereffore iis of centrral immportaance ffor ann undeerstannding of Ammericaan laww and legall methhodoloogy.The Commmon LLaw iss histtoricaally tthe coommon generral laaw - with supreemacy over locall law-whicch

14、wass decrreed bby thee itinnerantt judgges off the Engliish rooyal ccourt. The enforrcemennt of a claaim prresuppposed the eexisteence oof a sspeciaal forrm of actioon, a writ, withh the resullt thaat thee origginal commoon laww reprresentted a systeem of actiions simillar too thatt of cclassiical R

15、Roman law. If a writ existted (iin 12227) a claimm coulld be enforrced; theree was no reecoursse forr a cllaim wwithouut a wwrit, the cclaim did nnot exxist. This systeem beccame iinflexxible when the Proviisionss of OOxfordd (12258) pprohibbited the ccreatiion off new writss, exccept ffor thhe flee

16、xibillity wwhich the writ upon the ccase allowwed annd whiich laater lled too the devellopmennt of contrract aand toort laaw.The narrrow llimitss of tthe foorms oof acttion aand thhe limmited recouurse tthey pprovidded leed to the ddeveloopmentt of eequityy law and eequityy casee law. Equuity, in ii

17、ts geenerall meanning oof doiing eequityy, deecidinng ex aequoo et bbono, was ffirst grantted byy the King, and laterr by hhis Chhancelllor aas keeeper of thhe Kinngs cconsciience, to afforrd rellief iin harrdshipp casees. Inn the fifteeenth centuury, hhoweveer, eqquity law aand eqquity case law dde

18、velooped iinto aan inddependdent llegal systeem andd judiiciaryy (Couurt off Channcery) whicch commpetedd withh the ordinnary ccommonn law courtts. Itts rulles annd maxxims bbecamee fixeed andd, to a deggree, infleexiblee as iin anyy legaal sysstem. Speciial chharactteristtics oof equuity llaw inncl

19、udee: rellief iin thee formm of sspeciffic peerformmance (in ccontraast too the commoon laww awarrd of compeensatoory daamagess), thhe injjunctiion (aa tempporaryy or ffinal orderr to ddo or not tto do a speecificc act), thee deveelopmeent off socalleed maxxims oof equuity llaw whhich ppermeaated tt

20、he enntire legall systtem annd in many casess expllain tthe orrigin of moodern legall conccepts. Howeever, equittable relieef reggularlly willl liee onlyy whenn the commoon laww reliief iss inaddequatte. Foor insstancee, speecificc perfformannce foor thee purcchase of reeal prropertty willl be grant

21、ted beecausee commmon laaw dammages are ddeemedd to bbe inaadequaate siince tthey ccannott comppensatte thee buyeer in view of thhe uniiqueneess atttribuuted tto reaal proopertyy.As the commoon laww, equuity llaw beecame part of Ammericaan laww eithher thhroughh judiicial accepptancee or tthrouggh e

22、xppress statuutory proviision. Todaay, booth leegal ssystemms havve beeen merrged iin manny Ameericann juriisdicttions (begiinningg withh New York in 18848), with the rresultt thatt therre is only one fform oof civvil suuit inn thesse jurrisdicctionss as wwell aas in federral prracticce. Onnly feew

23、Staates ccontinnue too mainntain a sepparatee channcery courtt. Nevvertheeless, the referrence to thhe hisstoriccal deeveloppment is immportaant beecausee, on the oone haand, iit expplainss the origiin andd signnificaance oof manny conntempoorary legall conccepts (for instaance tthe diivisioon of ti

24、tlee in tthe laaw of propeerty) and, on thhe othher haand, iit is stilll releevant for tthe deecisioon of such questtions whethher, ffor innstancce, thhere iis a rright to a triall by jjury (only in thhe casse of commoon laww suitts, inn otheer casses onnly beefore the jjudge). In addittion, the ddi

25、fferrentiaation will deterrmine whethher thhe orrdinarry coommon law rrelieff of ddamagees appplies or whhetherr the extrraordiinary equiity reemedy of sppecifiic perrformaance iis avaailablle.Case llawdeescribbes thhe enttire bbody oof juddgemade law aand tooday iincluddes coommon law aand eqquity

26、preceedentss. In impreecise and cconfussing uusage the tterms commmon laaw annd caase laaw arre oftten ussed syynonymmouslyy, witth thee termm commmon llaw iin thiis usaage coonnotiing juudgemade law iin genneral as coontrassted wwith sstatuttory llaw. Case law alwayys connnotess judggemade law, whi

27、lee commmon llaw iin conntrastt-deppendinng on the mmeaninng inttendedd-desscribees eitther tthe juudge mmade llaw inn commmon laaw subbject matteers orr, morre exttensivvely, all jjudge made law.Lesson Two：LLegal Profeessionn 法律职业业Backgroound背景景美国的法律职业业由律师、法法官、检察官官和法学教师师组成。不过过，这几种人人又都可以称称为律师(lawyye

28、r)，而而且他们都可可以是律师协协会(Barr)成员。由由此可见，美美国法律职业业内部的职职业划分并并不象中国及及世界上大多多数国家那样样严格和确定定。诚然，这这里有语言习习惯问题，但但它也在一定定程度上反映映了美国各种种法律工作者者之间人员变变换的频繁性性，而且这种种变换总以律律师为中心。美美国的法官一一般都从律师师中产生，而而且他们在担担任法官期间间仍可保留律律师资格，只只是不能从事事律师业务而而已。美国的的检察官与律律师之间几乎乎没有任何职职业差别。实实际上，美国国的检察官就就被称为律师师(attoorney)。检察官与与律师(我们们中国人所熟熟悉之含义上上的律师)之之间的区别仅仅在于前

29、者受受雇于政府，后后者受雇于私私人或自己开开业；前者在在刑事案件中中负责公诉，后后者在刑事案案件中负责辩辩护。此外，美美国的法学教教师一般都是是当地的律师师。美国律师之多，在在世界上堪称称第一。据11984年的的统计，美国国共有649万名律师师，其与人口口的比例为11364。美美国律师多的的主要原因是是法律在其社社会生活中起起着非常重要要的作用。除除各种法律纠纠纷外，人们们从生到死、从从结婚到离婚婚、从生活到到工作，往往往都需要律师师的帮助。有有些人几乎事事事都要请教教律师。诚然然，这说明美美国人具有很很强的法律意意识，但也说说明美国的许许多法律规定定过于复杂。一一般来说，美美国人认为到到法院

30、去解决决社会生活中中的法律纠纷纷是天经地义义的，但这并并不等于说美美国人喜欢打打官司。例如如，美国有一一个流传颇广广的谐音字谜谜：有一种种套服无人喜喜欢，是什么么?(Thhere iis a kkind oof suiits thhat noobody likess. Whaat is it?)回回答是：打打官司。(lawsuuits.)其实，美国国人事事找律律师也往往出出于无可奈何何。因此，美美国的律师才才得到了各种种各样、褒贬贬不一的外号号，如：租租用之枪(hiredd gunss)；讼棍棍(shyysterss)；职业业投刀手(profeessionnal knnife tthrowee

31、rs)；限用之友(limiited ppurposse friiends); 社会会工程师(sociaal enggineerrs)；社社会正义之斗斗士(chhampioons foor soccial jjusticce)等。Text课文Part Onne： Thhe BarrThe reggulatiion off the legall proffessioon is primaarily the cconcerrn of the sstatess, eacch of whichh has its oown reequireementss for admisssion to prracti

32、cce. Moost reequiree threee yeaars off colllege aand a law ddegreee. Eacch staate addminissters its oown wrrittenn examminatiion too appllicantts forr its bar. Almosst alll stattes, hhoweveer, maake usse of the MMultisstate Bar EExam, a dayylong multiiplechoicce tesst, too whicch thee statte addds a

33、 ddaylong essayy examminatiion emmphasiizing its oown laaw. A substtantiaal fraactionn of aall appplicaants ssucceeed on the ffirst try, and mmany oof thoose whho faiil passs on a latter atttemptt. In all, over fortyy thouusand persoons suucceedd in ppassinng theese exxaminaationss eachh yearr and,

34、afteer an inquiiry innto thheir ccharaccter, are aadmittted too the bar iin theeir reespecttive sstatess. No appreenticeeship is reequireed eitther bbeforee or aafter admisssion. The ruless for admisssion to prracticce beffore tthe feederall courrts vaary wiith thhe couurt, bbut geenerallly thhose e

35、entitlled too pracctice beforre thee highhest ccourt of a statee may be addmitteed beffore tthe feederall courrts uppon coompliaance wwith mminor formaalitiees.A lawyeers ppractiice iss usuaally cconfinned too a siingle commuunity for, althoough aa lawyyer maay traavel tto reppresennt cliients, one

36、is onnly peermittted too pracctice in a statee wherre onee has been admittted. It iss custtomaryy to rretainn locaal couunsel for mmatterrs in otherr juriisdicttions. Howeever, one wwho mooves tto anoother statee can usuallly bee admiitted withoout exxaminaation if onne hass praccticedd in aa statte

37、 wheere onne hass beenn admiitted for ssome ttime, oftenn fivee yearrs.A lawyeer mayy not only practtice llaw, bbut iss permmittedd to eengagee in aany acctivitty thaat is open to otther ccitizeens. IIt is not uuncommmon foor thee praccticinng lawwyer tto serrve onn boarrds off direectorss of ccorpo

38、rrate cclientts, too engaage inn busiiness, and to paarticiipate activvely iin pubblic aaffairrs. A lawyeer remmains a memmber oof thee bar even afterr becooming a juddge, aan empployeee of tthe goovernmment oor of a priivate businness cconcerrn, orr a laaw teaacher, and may rreturnn to pprivatte pr

39、aacticee fromm thesse othher acctivitties. A rellativeely smmall nnumberr of llawyerrs givve up practtice ffor reesponssible execuutive posittions in coommercce andd induustry. The mobillity aas welll as the ssense of puublic respoonsibiility in thhe proofessiion iss eviddencedd by tthe caareer of H

40、aarlan Fiskee Stonne whoo was, at vvariouus timmes, aa succcessfuul Neww Yorkk lawyyer, aa proffessorr and dean of thhe Collumbiaa Schoool off Law, Attoorney Generral off the Uniteed Staates, and CChief Justiice off the Uniteed Staates.There iis no formaal divvisionn amonng lawwyers accorrding to fu

41、unctioon. Thhe disstincttion bbetweeen barrristeers annd sollicitoors foound iin Enggland did nnot taake rooot inn the Uniteed Staates, and tthere is noo brannch off the profeessionn thatt has a speecial or exxclusiive riight tto apppear iin couurt, nnor iss therre a bbranchh thatt speccializzes inn

42、 the prepaaratioon of legall insttrumennts. TThe Ammericaan lawwyers dommain iincluddes addvocaccy, coounsellling, and draftting. Furthhermorre, wiithin the sspheree broaadly ddefineed as the practtice oof laww thee domaain iss excllusivee and is noot opeen to otherrs. Inn the fieldd of aadvocaacy,

43、tthe ruules aare faairly clearr: anyy indiividuaal mayy reprresentt himsself oor herrself in coourt bbut, wwith tthe exxceptiion off a feew infferiorr courrts, oonly aa lawyyer maay reppresennt anoother in coourt. Nonlaawyerss are, howeever, authoorizedd to rrepressent ootherss in fformall procceedi

44、nngs off a juudiciaal natture bbeforee somee admiinistrrativee agenncies. The liness of ddemarccationn are less clearr in tthe arreas oof couunsellling aand drraftinng of legall insttrumennts, aas forr exammple bbetweeen thee pracctice of laaw andd thatt of aaccounnting in thhe fieeld off fedeeral i

45、incomee taxaation. Howeever, the sstrictt apprroach of moost Ammericaan couurts iis inddicateed by a deccisionn of NNew Yoorks higghest courtt thatt a laawyer admittted tto praacticee in aa foreeign ccountrry butt not in Neew Yorrk is prohiibitedd fromm giviing leegal aadvicee to cclientts in New YY

46、ork, even thouggh thee adviice iss limiited tto thee law of thhe forreign counttry whhere tthe laawyer is addmitteed. A foreiign laawyer may, howevver, bbe admmittedd to tthe baar of one oof thee stattes annd mayy, eveen witthout beingg admiitted, adviise ann Amerrican lawyeer as a connsultaant onn

47、foreeign llaw.Part Twwo： Laawyerss in PPrivatte PraacticeeAmong tthese fifteeen laawyerss in ppractiice, nnine, a cleear maajoritty, arre sinngle ppractiitioneers. TThe reemainiing siix praacticee in llaw fiirms, whichh are generrally organnized as paartnerrshipss. Fouur or five of thhese ssix arre

48、parrtnerss and the ootherss are assocciatess, a tterm aapplieed to salarried llawyerrs empployedd by aa firmm or aanotheer lawwyer. This trendd towaard grroup ppractiice iss of rrelatiively recennt oriigin. Throuughoutt mostt of tthe niineteeenth ccenturry laww pracctice was ggeneraal ratther tthan

49、sspeciaalizedd, itss chieef inggredieent waas advvocacyy rathher thhan coounsellling and ddraftiing, aand thhe proototyppe of the AAmericcan laawyer was tthe siingle practtitionner. MMarkedd speccializzationn begaan in the llatterr partt of tthat ccenturry in the llarge citiees neaar thee finaancial

50、l centters. With the ggrowthh of bbig buusinesss, biig govvernmeent, aand biig labbor, tthe woork off the lawyeer acccomodaated iitselff to tthe neeeds oof cliients for eexpertt counnselliing annd draaftingg to pprevennt as well as too setttle diisputees. Thhe besst lawwyers were attraacted to thhis

51、 woork annd leaadershhip off the bar ggravittated to peersonss who rarelly if ever appeaared iin couurt annd whoo weree sougght affter aas advvisorss, plaannerss, andd negootiatoors. TToday the llawyerr regaards iit as soundd pracctice to bee conttinuouusly ffamiliiar wiith cllientss busiiness probl

52、lems aand too partticipaate att all stepss in tthe shhapingg of ttheir policcies. Majorr busiiness transsactioons arre rarrely uunderttaken withoout addvice of coounsell.Part Thhree: Housee CounnselOut of everyy twennty laawyerss, twoo are emplooyed bby priivate businness cconcerrns, ssuch aas inddu

53、striial coorporaationss, inssurancce commpaniees, annd bannks, uusuallly as housee or ccorporrate ccounseel in the cconcerrns leggal deepartmment. The ggrowthh of ccorporrationns, thhe commplexiity off busiiness, and the mmultittude oof prooblemss poseed by goverrnmentt reguulatioon makke it desirra

54、ble for ssuch ffirms to haave inn theiir empploy ppersonns witth leggal trraininng whoo, at the ssame ttime, are iintimaately familliar wwith tthe paarticuular pprobleems annd connditioons off the firm. In llarge corpooratioons thhe leggal deepartmment mmay nuumber one hhundreed or more. The generra

55、l coounsell, whoo headds thee offiice, iis usuually an offficerr of tthe coompanyy and may sserve on immportaant poolicy makinng commmitteees annd perrhaps even on thhe boaard off direectorss. Houuse coounsell remaain meemberss of tthe baar andd are entittled tto apppear iin couurt, tthoughh an oout

56、sidde lawwyer iis oftten reetaineed forr litiigatioon. Hooweverr, it is thhe houuse coounsells skiill ass adviisor rratherr thann as aadvocaate thhat iss a vaalued assett. Connstanttly inn toucch witth thee emplloyers prooblemss, houuse coounsell is iideallly sittuatedd to ppractiice prreventtive ll

57、aw annd mayy alsoo be ccalledd uponn to aadvisee the compaany onn its broadder obbligattion tto thee publlic annd thee natiion.Part Foour： LLawyerrs in GoverrnmenttA paralllel ddeveloopmentt has takenn placce in goverrnmentt and two oout off twennty laawyerss are now eemployyees oof thee fedeeral, s

58、tatee, couunty, and mmuniciipal ggovernnmentss, excclusivve of the jjudiciiary. Many of thhose eenteriing puublic serviice arre reccent llaw grraduattes whho finnd govvernmeent saalariees suffficieently attraactivee at tthis sstage of thheir ccareerrs andd seekk the trainning tthat ssuch sservicce m

59、ayy offeer as a preelude to prrivatee pracctice. Limiitatioons onn top salarries, howevver, ddiscouurage some from contiinuingg withh the goverrnmentt. Thee majoority servees by appoiintmennt in the llegal deparrtmentts of a varriety of feederall and statee agenncies and llocal entitties. The UUnite

60、dd Stattes Deepartmment oof Jusstice alonee emplloys mmore tthan ttwo thhousannds, aand thhe Laww Depaartmennt of the CCity oof Neww Yorkk moree thann fourr hunddreds. Otheers arre enggaged as puublic proseecutorrs. Feederall prossecutoors, tthe Unnited Statees atttorneyys andd theiir asssistannts,

61、aare apppointted byy the Presiident and aare suubordiinate to thhe Atttorneyy Geneeral oof thee Unitted Sttates. Statte proosecuttors, somettimes knownn as ddistriict atttorneeys, aare coommonlly eleected by eaach coounty and aare noot undder thhe conntrol of thhe staate atttorneey genneral. As aa r

62、ulee, lawwyers in goovernmment aare diirectlly enggaged in leegal wwork, sincee law trainning iis inffrequeently soughht as prepaaratioon forr geneeral ggovernnment serviice. HHoweveer, a smalll but imporrtant minorrity tthat cconstiitutess an eexcepttion tto thiis rulle connsistss of tthose who hha

63、ve bbeen aappoinnted tto higgh exeecutivve possitionns andd thosse whoo havee beenn eleccted tto polliticaal offfice. Thouggh thee partticipaation of laawyerss in ggovernnment has ddeclinned reecentlly, foor twoo centturiess lawyyers hhave mmade uup rouughly half of thhe Conngresss of tthe Unnited S

64、tatees andd of tthe sttate ggovernnors. Thesee figuures bbear oout thhe commment of Chhief JJusticce Stoone thhat, No trraditiion off our profeessionn is mmore ccherisshed bby lawwyers than that of itts leaadershhip inn publlic afffairss.Lesson Threee: Leggal Edducatiion 法律律教育Backgroound背景景美国的法律教育育体制具有一一个不同于世世界上其他