5. Complete the sentences with was/wasn’t, were/weren’t and translate them.

1. The first law code in Roman history … the law of the Twelve Tables. 2. The medieval church … an important guardian of Roman law. 3. Roman law … (not) the basis of Muslim law. 4. There … (not) ten books in the civil code of the ancient Egypt. 5. During the Renaissance there …a significant interest in Roman law. 6. James Kent and Joseph Story … (not) the only people who helped to develop the American concept of law. 7. The work of Sir William Blackstone … the most important influence in U.S. law. 8.The great Corpus Juris Civilis … (not) in use in the Middle East. 9. The first modern code of France … Code Napoléon. 10. The four parts of Corpus Juris … the Institutes, a general introduction to the whole field of the Roman law.

6. Put the sentences in the Past Simple Tense. Make necessary changes.

1. Societies always make laws about crime and disorder. In the Middle Ages … too. 2. Any legal system does not only consist of rules nowadays. The ancient Greek law … . 3. Professor Nelson gives lectures on Roman law on Mondays. Last Monday … . 4. I don’t read books about the history of law every day. Last week … . 5. Maritime law concerns navigation and overseas commerce. In the 19^th century … . 6. Families often make rules about keeping one’s house. A month ago we... . 7. We don’t want to sell our house. Last year … . 8. Parliament passes new laws. The day before yesterday … .

7. Complete the sentences with the verbs in the Past Simple Tense.

1. The students (find) the information about the Codex Hammurabi in the Internet yesterday. 2. Roman law (develop) the distinction between public law and private law. 3. That book (contain) the Old Testament. 4. The police (not/open) fire because there (be) many people around. 5. Laws gradually (change) over time. 6. The man (break) the law and the judge (put) him into prison. 7. The court (try) the case last week. 8. Two neighbours of mine (commit) a crime three days ago and (run) away. 9. The great Corpus Juris Civilis (serve) to keep the old law alive. 10. The law of Ancient India and China (not/adopt) the traditions of Roman law.11. Jurists and scholars (train) in Roman law. 12. Napoleon I (promulgate)¹ Code Napoléon in 1804.

8. Transform the following sentences into a) negative sentence, b) yes/no-question, c) or-question, d) tag-question, e) wh-questions and f) subject-question.

Model: King Hammurabi codified ancient Babylonian law.

a) King Hammurabi didn’t codify ancient Babylonian law.

b) Did King Hammurabi codify ancient Babylonian law?

c) Did King Hammurabi codify ancient Babylonian or Greek law?

d) King Hammurabi codified ancient Babylonian law, didn’t he?

e) What did King Hammurabi codify?

f) Who codified ancient Babylonian law?

1. The Roman Empire controlled most of the Europe at that time. 2. The revival of trade brought new developments in the maritime law. 3. Spanish law influenced the American legal system. 4. The students studied Roman law last year. 5. Common law reflected the customs of the English people. 6. In the 17^th century B.C. Draco drew up Greece’s first code of law. 7. Laws settled disputes between people. 8. Germanic codes replaced Roman law in Western Europe.

9. Ask wh-questions to the underlined parts of the sentences.

1. The early courts developed customary law. 2. The rule of law prevents crime. 3. The judge heard three appeals yesterday. 4. Irnerius gave the first lectures on Roman law. 5. In the U.S. the Constitution gives the federal courts much authority. 6. There are 50 states in the U.S. 7. The teacher is in the office now. 8. Mr. Smith crushed his car last week. 9. The police arrived at the crime scene 5 minutes later. 10. A famous early philosopher of law was John Austin.

Text 2

Anglo-American Law

Early Anglo-Saxon courts were assemblies made up of common people and neighbors. These early courts passed their judgment according to customary law. This ensured non-violent means for resolving conflicts.

After the Norman Conquest the feudal law was ultimately replaced by the law of the royal courts, such as the King’s Bench. The royal courts developed common law, i.e. the law of the courts expressed in judicial decisions as opposed to the law of the formally enacted statute. In 1154, Henry II created a unified system of law "common" to the country: local custom was incorporated, arbitrary remedies were eliminated, and a jury system was reinstated to investigate criminal cases and civil claims.

Common law adhered excessively to precedent, and, except for a few types of lawsuits, the only remedy provided was money damages. In the 15th century, it became the practice that litigants who did not feel satisfied with the common-law system petitioned the King in person. From this developed the system of equity, administered by the Lord Chancellor, in the courts of chancery. Equity relied upon the dictates of conscience rather than upon precedent. The two systems continued to be bitter rivals until the Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875 eventually combined courts of law and equity, with equity being supreme in case of conflict.

The territory, which is now the United States, was first settled by English-speaking people in the early 17th century. The first settlers brought their religion, law and traditions with them to the New World. So English common-law system, its habits and way of thinking was adopted in America after crossing the Atlantic. In 1787, the colonies adopted their own Constitution, which promoted the formation of a new legal system. Despite many specific features, all of the United States except Louisiana and all Canada except Quebec still follow common law.

Modern European Law

In the Middle Ages, a Europe-wide Law Merchant (Lex Mercatoria) was formed, so that merchants could trade using familiar standards, rather than the many separate types of local law. The Law Merchant, a predecessor to modern commercial law, emphasized the freedom of contract and alienability of property.

As nationalism grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Law Merchant was incorporated into countries' local law under new civil codes. The French Napoleonic Code of 1804 and the German civil code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) of 1900 became the most influential. As opposed to English common law, which consists of enormous tomes of case law, codes in small books are easy to export and for judges to apply. However, today there are signs that civil and common law are converging. European Union law is codified in treaties, but develops through the precedent laid down by the European Court of Justice.