Vocabulary tasks

A Match the following English words and phrases with their Russian equivalents.

legal system adopt the Commonwealth countries legal relations application of the law subsequent cases bound by the decisions inflexibility fulfil a contract legal divergence

принятие закона негибкость последующие дела принимать правовая система правовая противоречивость исполнять контракт связанный решениями правовые отношения страны Содружества

B Match each word or phrase on the left to the correct definition on the right.

law code civil law common law court Magna Carta judge statute

one of the greatest common-law documents law as developed and pronounced by the courts in deciding cases ("case law"), based on the common law of England and judicial precedent a person with authority to hear and decide disputes brought before a court for decision the law passed by a legislative body codified law based on the Roman code of Justinian; the basis of the legal system of the most western European countries any rule that society will enforce in the common law, a collection of statutes enacted by legislative bodies, including Congress and state legislatures a person or group of persons with authority to hear and decide disputes by interpreting and applying rules of law; also the place where cases are heard

C Use an appropriate word or phrase from the box to complete each sentence.

law case court Magna Carta applying code litigation statutes legal lawyers precedent attorney common law judicial

The "constitution" of England is unwritten and is largely based on precedent; hence it is a true creation of the common law. Several documents, such as the

1) ______ and the English Bill of Rights, are incorporated into the precedent.

Unless changes are constitutionally prohibited, Congress or the state legislatures may enact laws (statutes) that modify the common law. These 2) ______ also subject to 3) ______interpretation, are collected into codes - along with case law, the codes from the law generally applied in court. Unlike Civil Law codes, common law codes are not intended to be entire statements of the whole law.

As 4) ______ developed, a judge confronted with a puzzling new 5) ______ would search the literature for a similar case to determine whether a 6) ______ been established. If so, the judge would follow the prior decision.

If there are no modern American or English precedents for a specific case, a

7) ______can, and sometimes do, consider Justinian's 8) ______. Some areas of the common taw, such as the law of negotiable instruments, are derived from Roman 9) ______.

The fact that there are many precedents in the common law system, and hence, much scope for arguments and disagreement, encourages 10) ______, which produces a need for 11) ______.

An 12) ______ should: handle cases competently, zealously advocate the client's cause, remain true to his/her duties as an officer of the court, keep the client reasonably informed, abide by the strictures of attorney/client privilege, and try to protect a client from problems caused by the attorney's withdrawal from a case.

Attorneys can be used not only to resolve problems, but also to prevent them. Familiar with general 13) ______ principles, the lawyer directs his/her knowledge toward finding and 14) ______ the law to a particular set of facts.

Over to you

Case-law or codes?

What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of a legal system based on case-law and a legal system based on codes?

CASE-LAW CODES

r + - ules based on real situations		e + - nacted by the legislature
difficulty of finding the law		rigid