Chapter 17
Law
&
The Courts
Courts
 a public forum used by a power base to adjudicate (to
settle a case by judicial procedure) disputes and
dispense civil, labor, administrative and criminal
justice under its laws
 Courts can be the central means for dispute
resolution
Legal Systems
 General, organized sets of legal principles that set the
basis for laws and adjudication in courts
Anglo-Saxon Case Law
 Most similar to that found in the US and Canada
 Task of judge is to find proper law and law evolves
over time
 Training of lawyers and judges in special schools
 Judge should be neutral arbiter
 Burden of proof lies with government
Continental European Code Law
 Based more on accumulation of precedents than case
law
 Training of lawyers more generalized than other
systems
 Distinction between law as a tool of the state (code
law) and law as something about the state (case law)
is most marked in criminal cases
Religious Law
 In some religions, law can be thought of as the
ordering principle of reality
 Knowledge as revealed by God defining and
governing all human affairs.
 Law, in the religious sense, also includes codes of
ethics and morality which are upheld and
required by God.
 Examples: Halakha (Jewish law), Hindu law, and
Sharia (Islamic law) and Canon law (Christian
law).
 In some states, religious law is the final wor.
Courts


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Can be organized by jurisdiction or substance
Types
Criminal
Civil
Lower
Appeals
Juvenile
And more.