Table Of ContentКАФЕДРА ИНОСТРАННЫХ ЯЗЫКОВ
Н.Б. Зайцева
УЧЕБНО-МЕТОДИЧЕСКОЕ ПОСОБИЕ
CIVIL LAW IN COMMON LAW SYSTEM
Под редакцией
Заслуженного работника Высшей школы
К.ю.н., профессора И. А. Горшеневой
ПОЯСНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ЗАПИСКА
В состав сборника включены аутентичные текстовые материалы и
ряд упражнений, способствующих развитию навыков чтения литературы
по специальности, а также формированию навыков иноязычного делового
общения. Пособие состоит из 7 разделов (units). В первом разделе
представлены общие сведения о гражданском праве в сравнении с другими
отраслями права, а последующие шесть разделов посвящены его
институтам.
Тематика и содержание текстов могут способствовать развитию
познавательной активности обучающихся и расширению их
профессиональных знаний.
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CONTENTS
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1 Civil law
2. Family law
3. Wills and Iheritance
4. Property Law
5. Housing Law
6. Contracts
7. Torts
з
UNIT 1
CIVIL LAW
It is interesting to know.
Civil law may refer to:
- Civil law (legal system, a system of law based on the Corpus Juris
Civilis of Emperor Justinian (Roman Law);
- Civil law (area), a branch of continental law which is the general part
of private law;
- Civil law (common law), a branch of common law dealing with
disputes between individuals or organizations (as opposed to criminal law);
- Secular or civil law, law that is not religious law;
- Law that is not military law or martial law.
Civil Law (Common Law)
Legal systems around the world vary greatly, but they usually follow civil
Law or Common law. In common law countries such as England, Wales and the
United States, the term “civil law” refers to non criminal law. It is often
suggested that civil proceedings are taken for the purpose of obtaining
compensation for injury, and may this be distinguished from criminal
proceedings whose purpose is to inflict punishment. Civil Law corresponds to
these areas of Common Law:
1. Family
2. Property
3. Wills
4. Contracts
5. Torts
It is primarily concerned with the rights and duties of individuals towards
each other. Special areas of private law which are not the parts of civil law:
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- Commercial law;
- Labour law;
- Conflict of laws.
Text 1
Pre-reading task
Make a careful study of the words given below. They will help you
understand the text:
will - завещание;
tort - гражданское правонарушение;
to honor - зд. уважать, соблюдать (права, обязанности и т.д.);
dispute - спор;
to award - зд. выносить решение, присуждать;
equity - справедливость, право справедливости;
closure - прекращение прений;
to acquit - оправдать, признать невиновным;
deterrence - удерживание от совершения действий устрашением,
неизбежность наказания;
probate - доказывание подлинность завещания.
Read the text and find answers to these questions in it:
1. What branches of law is civil law compared with in the text?
2. Does an action in criminal law necessarily preclude an action in civil
law in common law countries? Give reasons.
Civil Law in Contrast to Other Branches of Law
Parti
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, refers to that branch of law dealing
with disputes between individuals and/ or organizations, in which compensation
may be awarded to the victim. For instance, if a car crashes victim claims
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damages against the driver for loss or injury sustained in an accident, this will be
a civil law case.
In the common law, civil law refers to the area of laws that affect the legal
status of individuals. Civil law, in this sense, is usually referred to in comparison
to criminal law, which is that body of law involving the state against individuals
(including incorporated organizations) where the state relies on the power given
it by statutory law. Civil law may also be compared to military law,
administrative law and constitutional law (the laws governing the political and
law making process), and international law. Where there are legal options for
causes of action by individuals within any of these areas of law, it is thereby
civil law.
Civil law courts provide a forum for deciding disputes involving torts
(such as accidents, negligence and libel), contract disputes, the probate of wills,
trusts, property disputes, administrative law, commercial law and any other
private matters that involve private parties and organizations including
government departments. An action by an individual (or legal equivalent)
against the attorney general is a civil matter, but when the state, being
represented by the prosecutor for the attorney general, or some other agent for
the state, takes action against an individual (or legal equivalent including a
government department) this is public law.
Part II
The objectives of civil law is different from other types of law. In civil
law there is the attempt to right a wrong, honor an agreement, or settle dispute.
If there is a victim, they get compensation, and the person who is the cause of
the wrong pays, this being a civilized form of, or legal alternative to, revenge. If
it is an equity matter, there is often a pie for division and it gets allocated by a
process of civil law, possibly invoking the doctrines of equity. In public law the
objective is usually deterrence, and retribution. The victim or people secondarily
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harmed by the wrong, do not get compensated, except with that vague notion
called “closure”, and there is no pie for division.
An action in criminal law does not necessarily preclude an action in civil
law in common law countries, and may provide a mechanism for compensation,
to the victim of crime. Such a situation occurred when O.J. Simpson was
ordered to pay damages for wrongful death after being acquitted of the criminal
charge of murder.
Practice
Task 1. Match the branches of civil law with their definitions:
1. Law of Contract a) determines the devolution of property on the death of
the former owner and in certain other events
2. Law of Tort b) defines the rights, duties and status of husband and
wife, parent and child, other members of a household
3. Law of Property c) determines whether a promise is legally enforceable
and what are its legal consequences
4. Law of d) deals with civil wrongs for which the remedies are
Succession common law actions for unliquidated damages
5. Family Law e) determines the nature and extent of the rights which
people may enjoy over land and other property
Task 2. Read the text “Civil law in contrast to other branches of law”
again and find the English equivalents of the following:
требовать возмещения убытков; затрагивать правовой статус
физических лиц; в сравнении с; организация, обладающая правами
юридического лица; право, выраженное в законодательных актах;
основание иска; сторона - частное лицо; соблюдать соглашение,
урегулировать спор.
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Task 3. Answer the questions to the text:
1. What disputes are solved in civil law courts?
2. What is the difference between civil law and criminal law?
3. What makes civil law and public law different?
4. What other branches of law may civil law also be compared to?
5. What makes civil law cases different from revenge?
UNIT 2
FAMILY LAW
Text 2
Pre-reading task
Study the following words and collocations:
child benefit - детское пособие;
to promote - содействовать, способствовать;
to transfer - передавать (права).
Then read the text and answer the questions below:
1. What is the main function of the family?
2. Are the laws concerning the family the same in different countries of
the world?
Family Law
Beyond the mere function of providing a new generation of children, the
family is often promoted for its moral contribution to society. In some societies
the family is thought to be so important that there is very little legal intervention
in family life. In many Islamic countries, for example, fathers, brothers and sons
are allowed considerable authority over the females in their family. But in many
parts of the world the law now promotes the rights of individuals within the
family unit, and regulates family relations though legislation. Raised from the
taxes of working population as a whole, child benefit is paid directly to the
mother, and retirement pensions are paid to grandparents, so that they are less
dependent upon financial support from a family member. In Sweden, parents
can be prosecuted for physically punishing their children. In Britain, as in many
countries, there are special family courts with very strong powers to control and
transfer private property in the interests of children. In Britain, as in many
countries, there are special family courts with very strong powers to control and
transfer private property in the interests of children.
Text 3
Pre-reading task
Study the following words:
arrangement - соглашение, договоренность;
spouse - супруг(а);
divorce - развод;
recipient - получатель;
consummate - осуществить брачные отношения.
Read the text below and answer the questions:
1. Does marriage differ from other types of contracts?
In what way?
2. Is the legal difference between the married and unmarried changing
nowadays?
Marriage Law
Marriage is a personal, social, religious, economic and legal relationship.
In legal terms, marriage is a contract between two people who agree to live
together as husband and wife. Marriage creates legal rights and duties for each
partner. However, marriage is different from other contracts in several important
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ways. The marriage contract involves three parties: the husband, the wife and
the state.
The law in most countries places more emphasis upon marriages legally
registered than social arrangements whereby people live together. In Japan,
some couples prefer not to register their marriage because the law requires one
of them to give up his or her name in favor of the other. The birth and residence
documentation of children bom to such marriages is different from that of other
children and sometimes leads to discrimination. In Britain, children bom outside
legitimate marriages have fewer rights to financial support from estranged
fathers than legitimate children. In addition, if they are bom outside the UK,
they are less likely than legitimate children to be granted British citizenship.
Their fathers have no automatic right to have contact with them. Some welfare
payments are calculated on a different basis according to whether recipients are
married or not, and more procedures are available to a married woman than an
unmarried one in seeking protection from domestic violence. However, in most
industrialized countries, the legal differences between the married and the
unmarried are decreasing. It is not surprising this should be the case in nation
like the United States, for example, here 25 percent of babies are now bom to
unmarried parents.
In English law, some marriages maybe readily dissolved, or nullified - for
example: if the couple never consummated the marriage, are blood relations, are
under the legal age of sixteen, are both women, or, despite a surgical sex change,
are both men. In other cases, a couple may seek a divorce. The procedure may
be lengthy, especially if one spouse does not want to get divorced, or if there are
children. In no case will English law allow divorce proceedings to start within a
year of the marriage.
Text 4
Pre-reading task
Make a careful study of the following words:
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