1 -Law, Sources of Law, Anglo-American Law, Common
Law, Equity
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law – statute, systém of regulations, common
understanding of what is right and proper
Code of Hammurabi – 1 900 BC
Roman law – custom, Justinian Code 528 A.D.
Anglo-Saxon Law -Laws of Wihtred – 695 A.D.,
Codes of King Canute
sources of Anglo-American Law – primary
(statutes, common law), secondary (customs,
books of authority)
common law – evolved from judges´decisions,
precedents x civil/continental law (based on
Roman Law, legal rules)
equity – rules administered by the Court of
Chancery (presided by Lord Chancellor, who
dealt with petitions) which substituted commonlaw rules which were too rigid to give justice,
this court later substituted by Supreme Court
3 - Legislation, Primary and Secondary Legislation
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legislation – laws, rules passed by Parliament,
implemented by courts
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Parliaments
Rep. of Irel. USA
Dail
Seanad
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GB
ČR
2 - The English Legal System , The Role of Judges
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4 - The Constitution of The US, Congress, Elections
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House of Repr. House of Lords
Chamber of Dep.
Senate
House of Commons Senate
primary legislation – bills, acts (readings,
approvals) – general (apply to everybody
everywhere in the legal systém), personal and
local (apply to particular individuals or areas)
secondary legislation – parliament gives sb else
(ministers, local authorities) the power to make
law in a special area (most common statutory
instruments)
directives, circulars, guidance notes produced by
many state agencies and departments (influential,
not always binding)
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5 - The Government of the US
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U.S. - federal union of 50 states, Washington, D.C. seat of the national government
Government of U.S. based on constitution – see topic 4
president – elected for 4 years, may be re-elected for a
second term, he carries out government programs,
enforce the laws, can veto a bill, appoints federal
judges, ambassadors, government officials, executive
department heads, may be removed by impeachment
process (begins in House of Representatives, trial in
the Senate, Chief Justice acting as a judge, senators as
jury)
legislative branch represented by the Congress – see 4
judicial branch – headed by the Supreme Court (Chief
Justice, 8 Associate Justices) which decides if laws are
constitutional and settles disputes involving the
national government, two or more states, or citizens of
different states
state governments – on the same basis as federal g.,
they have governors, they maintain order, manage
education, building highways, deal with national
problems
police x FBI
UK – no single body of law, each part its own legal
systém
absence of a complete code, distinction between
criminal and civil law
criminal l. - wrongs against the community, offences
from minor tried summarily without a jury to serious
tried upon indictment before a judge and a jury
civil l. - rights and duties of individuals, subdivisions –
family, property, contracts, torts, constitutional,
administrative, maritime and ecclesiastical
main sources of law – legislation approved by
Parliament , European Community Law, unwritten
common law
court structure – magistrates´, crown, county, high
(family, chancery, queen´s bench division, appeal,
House of Lords
judges – independent, impartial decisions, develop
case law
hierarchy of precedents
judgement (ratio decidendi, obiter dicta)
constitution – supreme government in a state,
wwritten, unwritten
constitutional, unconstitutional
U.S. Constitution – grant of power from the 50
sovereign states to the US – express powers x
residuary (remaining to each state within federation)
adopted in 1789, the Bill of Rights (first 10
amendments added 1791- right of freedom of speech,
press, worship, to meet peacefully, no unreasonable
searches and seizures, speedy trial by a jury )
government – executive (president), legislative
(Congress), judicial (Supreme Court)
Congress – Senate, House of Representatives
senators – two from each state, elected for 6 years
representatives – 435, elected for 2 years
6 -Great Britain, the Queen, the States of
Commonwealth
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UK – constitutional monarchy, head – Queen
Elizabeth II (head of executive and judiciary and
Church of England, integral part of legislature,
commander-in-chief of armed forces, summons,
prorogues and dissolves parliament, gives royal
assent to bills passed by parliament, appoints
ministers, judges, officers in armed forces,
governors, diplomats, bishops, pardons
criminals,confers honours, declares wars and
makes peace, concludes treaties, annexes or
cedes territory
government (headed by the Prime Minister,
ministers responsible to parliament)
parliament – legislative body, House of Lords,
House of Commons
commonwealth states – former British colonies
(e.g. Canada, Australia, New Zealand), queen
represented by governor general who executes all
state documents, appoints judges ….
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7 - British Parliament
supreme legislative body, functions
3 elements – queen (summons, proroques.., gives
speeches in parliament, gives royal assent), House of
Lords (Lords Spiritual - archbishop, bishops, and
Temporal – hereditary peers, life peers, lords of
appeal) , House of Commons (elected, 650 Mps, when
an MP dies, by-elections také place, presided by
Speaker)
UK divided into constituencies, each of which returns
one member of the House of Commons, elections by
secret ballot, voters – over 18, resident in UK,
registered in the annual voting register, not subject to
any disqualification
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9 - Criminal and Civil Law
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criminal l. - regulates relationships between the state
and individuals, omissions and acts contrary to public
order, punishment – fine, imprisonment...., crimes –
murder, rape, robbery, burglary, forgery, smuggling...,
criminal liability
criminal proceeding – prosecutor, defendant,
magistrates´and crown court, prove beyond reasonable
doubt, jury finds guilty or innocent, judge decides the
punishment
civil l. - regulates relationships between individuals
and bodies, no punishment, but awarding remedies
(damages, specific performance), kinds – contract,
torts, family, property, civil liability
civil proceeding – plaintiff, defendant, petitioner,
respondent, county court, hight court, prove on the
balance of probabilities
8 - Company Law
sole proprietorship -1 owner
partnership-pooling of capital
business corporations – shareholders, directors,
officers, board of directors
insolvency – inability to pay debts
bankruptcy – sale of assets, surplus returned to the
debtor
trustee in bankruptcy appointed by the creditors or
Secretary of State or the court
liquidation – winding up – life of the company is
brought to an end, the property is administered for the
benefit of its members and creditors, voluntary,
involuntary
striking off the register
certificate of incorporation, articles of incorporation memorandum of a company/společ.zaklsml – name,
situation of office, objects of company, liability of
members, share capital, articles of association/bylaws
– general meetings, appointment of directors, shar
capital, dividends, profits
10 - Substantive and Procedural Law
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substantive l. - purports to regulate specified areas
(contract, tort, property..), creates, defines and
regulates rights and duties of parties, substantive
criminal law – declares what conduct is criminal and
prescribes the punishment – codified in criminal, penal
codes
procedural l. - only lays down the framework within
which the substantive l. can operate, prescribes method
of enforcing the rights or obtaining redress for their
invasion, criminal procedure – investigation,
prosecution, adjudication, punishment …
12 – Torts
11 - Public and Private Law
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public – distribution and exercise of power by the
state and relations between the state and the
individual, it may be general (applying to all
people within the jurisdiction), local (to a
geographical area), special (to an organization
which is charged with a public interest). The aim
of public l. - protection of collective interests
private – relationships between individuals
(employer-employee, consumer´s rights). The
aim – protection of individual interests.
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13 -
tort – civil wrong
function – to compensate a plaintiff
elements common to all torts – existence of a
duty owed to the plaintiff by the defendant,
violation of the duty, proving that the violation
was the cause of the injuries, damages
damage (loss, injury) x damages (compensation)
general defences in tort – inevitable accident,
voluntary assumption of risk, self-defence,
consent, statutory authority
immunity from liability – members of
government, minors, family relationship
private x public nuisance
negligence
trespass to person – assault, battery, false
imprisonment, defamation
trespass to land
14 - Labour Law
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16 – Criminal Trial
15 - Family Law
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family – basic social unit – husnad, wife, unit
adoption x guardianship/custodianship
(opatrovnictví)
voidable marriage (zrušitelné) – may be nullified
(fraud, impotency, force, lack of mental capacity)
void m. - no legal effect
legitimate x illegitimate child (conceived in
wedlock?)
community property x separate p. (gift,
inheritance, acquired before marriage)
common law marriage (společná domácnost)
employment – relationship between an employer
and an employee
employee performs services or does work under
the direction of the employer
collective bargaining – carried out by trade
unions on behalf of the employees – rights and
obligations of both of them
contract of employment – parties, start of
employment, wage/salary, conditions of work,
holiday, sickness payment, pensions, period of
notice
duties of employees – render personal service,
také care, obey instructions, give loyal service
reasons for discharging an employee –
disobedience, disloyalty, theft, intoxication,
incompetency
financial support provided by the security systém
– death benefit, old-age benefit, maternity,
sickness benefit, family allowance...
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defendant must be presumed innocent, can
employ a legal adviser, be informed of evidence
or witnesses, can hear them or call his own
witnesses, can stand mute, is judged by judge
(determines the questions of law) and jury (guilt),
can´t be tried twice for the same offence, can
appeal
offences – triable on indictment, triable
summarily, triable either way
evidence – witnesses, documentary evidence, real
evidence (exhibits), inspection of the place or
object
sentences – imprisonment, community order,
probation (podmínka), fine …
17 - Commercial Law, Contracts, Corporations
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intellectual property – trademark, design,
copyright, patent, breeder´s rights, passing off –
imitating goods, selling them under the same
name
contract – agreement between 2 or more people
to exchange st of value
employment, lease, sales contract
elements of a contract – agreement, competenct
parties, genuine assent, consideration, lawful
objective, in the form required by law- written,
oral...
bilateral (2 promises) x unilateral (promise, act)
valid, void, voidable contract
unenforceable c. - oral sale of real property
executed x executory c.
Sole proprietorship
partnership
corporation – shareholders, board of directors,
officers
articles of incorporation and association
18 - International Law, EC Law
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19 - Education systém
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compulsory education (GB 5-16, CR 6-15)
creches, kindergarten, primary/basic school,
secondary/high school, college, university
(Bachelor, Master of Science, of Arts, PhD)
16 – GCSE, 18 – A-levels, CR – school-leaving
examination, entrance exams
subjects – Czech, languages, maths, physics,
chemistry, biology, geography, PE, games
types of schools – technical, vocational,
gymnasium, philosophical, theological,
pedagogical, medical, law faculties
Charles University (founded 1348), Cambridge,
Birmingham, Hull, Harvard, Chicago, San
Francisco...
our school
international law - public (rights and duties of
states towards each other), private – rights and
duties of private individuals of different states)
national, municipal law – internal legal rules of a
state
sources of inter. Law – treaties, customs
European Communities – European Economic
C., European Coal and Steel C., Euratom
Institutions of the EU – Council of Ministers (of
EU), Assembly (Parliament), Court of Justice
EC law – regulations (nařízení) – directly
applicable in every member state, directives
(směrnice) – binding as to the result, the form left
on the member states, decisions (rozhodnutí) –
addressed to states, individuals or companies,
binding only on them
20 - European Union
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1993 – Treaty on EU/Maastricht Treaty
main objectives – economic and social progress,
common foreign and security policy, common
defence
institutions – E. Parliament (direct elections, 5
years term, legislative process, designate an
Ombudsman, discuss the annual General Report
submitted by the Commission, approve the
Commission, participate in the budgetary
procedure...), Council (decision making body,
composed of ministers...), Commission (27
members, proposes legislation to Parliament and
Council, participate in the legislation, negotiate
international agreements, represent the
community, publish an annual report on the
activities of the community, formulate
recommendations and deliver opinions), Court of
Justice (judges, advocates-general, 6 years, settle
disputes), Court of Auditors (examines financial
accounts and operations of the EC)