法律英语案例赏析

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1、法律英语案例赏析李想Syllabus1.Brief introduction of law2.Cases for Constitution/Criminal Law/Civil Law/Contract Law/Company Law/Copyright Law/Environment Protection Law/Property Law/Law of Marriage/3.Four debate or discussion over moives.NoticeNo homework but do review the lecture.Attendence is very important

2、.(Absence:3 times).ContactsLady Justice is the symbol of the judiciary.Justice is depicted as a goddess equipped with three symbols of the rule of law:a sword symbolizing the courts coercive power;scales representing the weighing of competing claims;and a blindfold indicating impartiality.King Hammu

3、rabi is revealed the code of laws by the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash,also revered as the god of justice Introduction to lawLaw is a system of rules,usually enforced through a set of institutions.It shapes politics,economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator in rel

4、ations between people.Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets.Property law defines rights and obligations related to the transfer and title of personal(often referred to as chattel)and real property.Trust law applies to assets held for investment

5、and financial security,while tort law allows claims for compensation if a persons rights or property are harmed(often considered civil case if filed under an issue of tort law vs.criminal).If the harm is criminalised in penal code,criminal law offers means by which the state can prosecute the perpet

6、rator.Constitutional law provides a framework for the creation of law,the protection of human rights and the election of political representatives.Administrative law is used to review the decisions of government agencies,while international law governs affairs between sovereign nation states in acti

7、vities ranging from trade to environmental regulation or military action.Writing in 350 BC,the Greek philosopher Aristotle declared,The rule of law is better than the rule of any individual.Legal systems elaborate rights and responsibilities in a variety of ways.A general distinction can be made bet

8、ween civil law jurisdictions,which codify their laws,and common law systems,where judge made law is not consolidated.In some countries,religion still informs the law.Law provides a rich source of scholarly inquiry,into legal history,philosophy,economic analysis or sociology.Law also raises important

9、 and complex issues concerning equality,fairness and justice.In its majestic equality,said the author Anatole France in 1894,the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges,beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.In a typical democracy,the central institutions for interpreting and cr

10、eating law are the three main branches of government,namely an impartial judiciary,a democratic legislature,and an accountable executive.To implement and enforce the law and provide services to the public,a governments bureaucracy,the military and police are vital.While all these organs of the state

11、 are creatures created and bound by law,an independent legal profession and a vibrant civil society inform and support their progress.Different Categoriessubstantive law and procedural law;civil law system and common law system;departments of law:Constitution/Administrative law/Tort Law/Criminal Law

12、/Civil Law/International Law/Contract Law/Company Law/Copyright Law/Environment Protection Law/Consumer Law/Property Law/Law of Marriage,etc.Substantive law and procedural lawSubstantive law is the statutory or written law that governs rights and obligations of those who are subject to it.Substantiv

13、e law defines the legal relationship of people with other people or between them and the state.Substantive law stands in contrast to procedural law.Procedural law comprises the rule by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil lawsuit,criminal or administrative proceedings.The rules a

14、re designed to ensure a fair and consistent application of due process(in the U.S.)or fundamental justice(in other common law countries)to all cases that come before a court.which comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil or criminal proceedings.Procedural law d

15、eals with the method and means by which substantive law is made and administered.The time allowed for one party to sue another and the rules of law governing the process of the lawsuit are examples of procedural laws.Substantive law defines crimes and punishments(in the criminal law)as well as civil

16、 rights and responsibilities in civil law.It is codified in legislated statutes or can be enacted through the initiative process.procedural lawDifferenceAnother way of summarizing the difference between substantive and procedural is as follows:Substantive rules of law define rights and duties,while

17、procedural rules of law provide the machinery for enforcing those rights and duties.However,the way to this clear differentiation between substantive law and,serving the substantive law,procedural law has been long,since in the Roman civil procedure the actio included both substantive and procedural

18、 elements.Civil law systemCivil law is the legal system used in most countries around the world today.In civil law the sources recognised as authoritative are,primarily,legislationespecially codifications in constitutions or statutes passed by governmentand custom.Common law systemCommon law and equ

19、ity are legal systems where decisions by courts are explicitly acknowledged to be legal sources.The doctrine of precedent,or stare decisis(Latin for to stand by decisions)means that decisions by higher courts bind lower courts.Common law systems also rely on statutes,passed by the legislature,but ma

20、y make less of a systematic attempt to codify their laws than in a civil law system.Common law originated from England and has been inherited by almost every country once tied to the British Empire Departments of lawThe French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen(人权宣言),whose principle

21、s still have constitutional value.The judges of the International Court of Justice in the Hague Legal institutions Law is less a body of static rules than a dynamic process by which rules are constantly changed,created,and molded to fit particular situations.Changes are continuously made by various

22、institutions in a society.Laws main institutions in liberal democracies are the independent judiciaries,the justice systems,the representative legislatures or parliaments,an accountable executive,a competent and non-corrupt bureaucracy,a police force,a civilian control of the military and a robust l

23、egal profession ensuring peoples access to justice and a pluralistic civil societya term used to refer to the social institutions,communities and partnerships that form laws political basis.Judiciary A judiciary is a number of judges mediating disputes to determine outcome.Most countries have system

24、s of appeal courts,answering up to a supreme legal authority.In the United States,this is the Supreme Court;in Australia,the High Court;in the UK,the House of Lords.In China,最高法院。Some countries allow their highest judicial authority to over-rule legislation they determined as unconstitutional A judi

25、ciary is theoretically bound by the constitution,much as legislative bodies are.In most countries judges may only interpret the constitution and all other laws.But in common law countries,where matters are not constitutional,the judiciary may also create law under the doctrine of precedent.In commun

26、ist states,such as China,the courts are often regarded as parts of the executive,or subservient to the legislature;governmental institutions and officers exert thus various forms of influence on the judiciary.LegislatureProminent examples of legislatures are the Houses of Parliament in London,the Co

27、ngress in Washington D.C To pass legislation,a majority of Members of Parliament must vote for a bill(proposed law)in each house.Normally there will be several readings and amendments proposed by the different political factions.If a country has an entrenched constitution,a special majority for chan

28、ges to the constitution will be required,making changes to the law more difficult.A government usually leads the process,which can be formed from Members of Parliament(e.g.the UK or Germany).But in a presidential system,an executive appoints a cabinet to govern from his or her political allies wheth

29、er or not they are elected(e.g.the United States or Brazil),and the legislatures role is reduced to either ratification or veto The debating chamber of the European Parliament Executive The executive in a legal system serve as a governments centre of political authority.In a parliamentary system,as

30、with Britain,Italy,Germany,India,and Japan,the executive is known as the cabinet,and composed of members of the legislature.The executive is chosen by the Prime Minister or Chancellor,whose office holds power under the confidence of the legislature.Because popular elections appoint political parties

31、 to govern,the leader of a party can change in between elections.The head of state is apart from the executive,and he/she usually lacks formal political power yet symbolically enacts laws and acts as representative of the nation.Examples include the German president(appointed by the Parliament);the

32、Queen of the United Kingdom(a hereditary title).The other important model is the presidential system,found in France,the U.S.and Russia.In presidential systems,the executive acts as both head of state and head of government,and has power to appoint an unelected cabinet.Under a presidential system,th

33、e executive branch is separate from the legislature to which is not accountable.Although the role of the executive varies from country to country,usually it will propose the majority of legislation,and propose government agenda.In presidential systems,the executive often has the power to veto legisl

34、ation.Most executives in both systems are responsible for foreign relations,the military and police,and the bureaucracy.Ministers or other officials head a countrys public offices,such as a foreign ministry or interior ministry.The election of a different executive is therefore capable of revolution

35、ising an entire countrys approach to government.representatives of each countrys executive branch.G8:八国集团，由美国、英国、法国、德国、意大利、加拿大、日本和俄罗斯八国组成。The United Nations New York headquarters houses civil servants that serve its 192 member states.Legal ProfessionA corollary of the rule of law is the existence of

36、 a legal profession sufficiently autonomous to be able to invoke the authority of the independent judiciary;the right to assistance of an advocate in a court in England the function of barrister or advocate is distinguished from legal counselor(solicitor).As the European Court of Human Rights has st

37、ated,the law should be adequately accessible to everyone and people should be able to foresee how the law affects them.In order to maintain professionalism,the practice of law is typically overseen by either a government or independent regulating body such as a bar association,bar council or law soc

38、iety.Modern lawyers achieve distinct professional identity through specified legal procedures(e.g.successfully passing a qualifying examination),are required by law to have a special qualification(a legal education earning the student a Bachelor of Laws,a Bachelor of Civil Law or a Juris Doctor degr

39、ee),and are constituted in office by legal forms of appointment(being admitted to the bar).In China and other developing countries there are not enough law-trained people to staff the existing judicial systems,and,accordingly,formal standards are more relaxed.Once accredited,a lawyer will often work

40、 in a law firm,in a chambers as a sole practitioner,in a government post or in a private corporation as an internal counsel.In addition a lawyer may become a legal researcher who provides on-demand legal research through a library,a commercial service or through freelance work.Many people trained in

41、 law put their skills to use outside the legal field entirely.Significant to the practice of law in the common law tradition is the legal research to determine the current state of the law.This usually entails exploring case-law reports,legal periodicals and legislation.Law practice also involves drafting documents such as court pleadings,contracts,or wills and trusts.Negotiation and dispute resolution skills(including ADR techniques)are also important to legal practice,depending on the field.