•ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF LAW
BASIC CONCEPTS OF LAW
PP Presentation for the 1. Lecture
Kutluhan Bozkurt
Dr. Iur.
LL.M. Eur. (Munich)
Copyright© K. Bozkurt, PP. Presentation, Istanbul University, Faculty of Law. All rights reserved.
GENERAL FRAME
 Exchange of general and mutual expectations concerning our
lecture
 Content of the lecture
 Methodology
 General and specific aims
 Literature
 Tips for a better use of legal and/or business English
 Introduction to the 1st lecture
FIRST TOPIC:
LAW
STRUCTURE OF THE 1. LECTURE
Vocabulary
 Definitions
 Law systems in the World
 Common law –Civil Law
 Legal system of Turkey
 Sources of law
 Branches of law:
 private –public and international law
 dimensions and distinctions
© Basic Concept of Law, University of Istanbul, Faculty of Law, PP presentation by K. Bozkurt
Literature for the 1st lecture
 T. Ansay & D. Wallece, Introduction to Turkish law,
Kluwer 2011 , K. Güven, General principles of
Turkish law, Bilge 2007, K. Gözler, Hukukun Temel
Kavramları, Ekin 2011, K. Gözler, Hukuk Başlangıcı,
Ekin 2001, B. Sözer, Legal Environment of Business,
Beta 2001, A. Güriz, Hukuk Başlangıcı, Siyasal 2009,
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_law
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_law
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law
Vocabulary list part 1 :
 fundamental concepts of law, literary sources
of law, legislation, rules of law, legal rules,
order- commandment, prohibition, sanction,
coercion, religious rules, moral rules,
customary rules, usages, habits, custom,
normativity of law, rules of social order, roman
law, written sources of law,
Vocabulary list part 2:
 unwritten sources, primary sources of
law, auxiliary sources of law, doctrine,
case law, jurisdiction, enacted law
(legislation), unified decisions of
supreme courts, judicial decisions, civil
law, common law, religious law,
Vocabulary list part 3:
 private law, public law, jurisprudence,
understanding, positive law, natural law,
positive law school, nature law school, human
nature,
moral
behavior,
dimension,
distinction, classification of law, obligation,
law of obligation,
Vocabulary list part 4:
 Continental
Europe,
codification,
lacunae, coherence, hierarchy of norms,
the rule of law, ethic, constitution,
constitutional law, code(s)/statute(s),
statutory decrees – ordinance(s),
international treaties, regulations, bylaws, braches of the law,
Vocabulary list part 5:
 commercial, commercial law, administrative,
administrative system and law, civil justice, military
justice, administrative justice, natural person, legal
person, private legal person, international law, public
international law, public international private law, EU,
EU-law, supranational systems, supranational law,
criminal law, tax and tax law, harmonization,
harmonization packages, accession negotiations.
EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS:
 The law has evolved and continues to evolve
from different sources which are historical and
material sources: morality, behaviors, custom,
religion and old laws etc.
 The law is a result of historical development
procedure and it covers social order rules
which are norms, regulating human behaviors
and societies
EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS:
 The law primarily came from the need for law
because people or societies began feeling the
need for some kinds of rules to regulate and
to organize the life in their societies.
 The early ages of human being’s history in
which law has not been yet issued, customs
and tradition were the basic and fundamental
regulations which are called the early rules or
the anonym rules of law.
EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS:
• After that, written sources of law have taken
the place of customs and tradition.
• The history of law has undergone much more
different details and developments
• Basically the history of law may be considered
to begin with organization and establishment
of state because law needs legislative power
or authority.
EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS:
 There is an important relation between
governmental system of the state and
qualifications of the codes.
 The law is a system of rules and regulations
which are enforced via social institution to
govern behavior.
EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITONS
• The law has also different meanings in our
daily life. It can be said that law is the plural
form of the concept of the right.
• The law has many relations with other
sciences, such as history, economy- politic,
sociology, public, and international relations
and etc. The law also has a meaning of
jurisprudence.
LAW SYSTEMS:
• Worldwide there are different legal systems.
 The legal systems can be divided into the countries adapting a
civil law system and those adapting a common law system.
 The legal systems in the worldwide are following:






1-Civil law,
2-Common law,
3-Customary law,
4-Religious law,
5-Common and Civil law and finally
6-Unknown or others.
• see Figure 1.:
LAW SYSTEMS:
(source: Guide on Intellectual Property Rights in the EU, ASO Ankara 2009)
Different Legal Systems
 Common law is the legal system developed among
Anglophones such as in England, the United State,
Australia etc.
 Civil law is the legal system developed among
European in the Continental Europe’s countries.
 The original difference between the common and
civil law is that historically, common law was
developed by custom, before there were any written
laws.
Differences between civil-and
common law
 After that there when there were written
laws, the courts continued to apply the laws
of custom too. On the other hand Civil law
has developed out of the Romanic –Roman
law.
 There are others differences between civil law
and common law regarding methodological
approach to codes and statutes.
Differences between civil-and
common law
 In civil law countries legislation is seen as the
primary source of law. And courts base their
judgments on the provisions of codes and
statutes.
 Therefore courts have to reason extensively
on the basis of general rules and principles of
the codes, often drawing analogies from
statutory provisions to fill lacuna and to
achieve coherence.
Differences between civil-and
common law
 By contrast, in the common law system, cases are the
primary source of law, while statutes are only seen as
incursions into the common law and therefore
interpreted narrowly. The court will thus base their
judgment on previous case law.
 Codification is a common point between common
and civil law. Codification is an important method
for both of them.
Turkish Legal System:
 It has been wholly integrated with the civil law or
rather within the continental European system.
 Turkish law
incorporating
countries.
system has been modified by
elements of various European
 Turkish law system is a part of civil law or rather
continental law system. Turkish law system is not a
part of common law.
Turkish Legal System
 Our commercial and civil laws and codes are based
on mainly German and Swiss system.
 The administrative system and law are based on
French system. The ex-penal code had similarities
with Italian System but the new code has similarities
with Austrian counterpart.
 Because of accession negotiations with the EU,
Turkish law system is now under effects of EU –Law.
Turkish Legal System
• More than 12 harmonization packages have
been accepted by Turkey which include codes,
regulations, directives etc. and have been
transposed/integrated into the
Turkish
system.
• In the Turkish legal system civil,
administrative, constitutional and military
justice are regulated separately.
SOURCES OF LAW:
 The written sources are following:






1- Constitution
2- Law/act/code
3- Statutory decrees,
4- International treaties,
5- Regulations and
6- By-Laws
 The unwritten sources are being formed by customs
or rather customary law.
 see Figure 2
SOURCES OF LAW:
 The kind of sources can be divided into two
groups which are basic (premier) sources and
auxiliary (secondary) sources of the law.
 The basic (premier) sources of law consist of
two different sub-sources: Written and
Unwritten sources of law.
 The auxiliary (secondary) sources of law
consist of two sub-sources as well: Doctrine
and judicial decisions “case law”.
Figure 2
(source: K. Gözler, Hukuk Temel Kavramlari, Ekin, 2011, p.31.)
Sources of Law
Primary sources of
law
Written sources of
law
1- Constitution
2-Law/act/code
3- Statutory
decrees –
ordinance(s),
4-International
treaties,
5-Regualtions
6-By-Laws.
Unwritten sources
of law
Customary law
Auxiliary sources
of law
Doctrine, books of
authority
Judicial decisionscase law
HIERARCY OF NORMS:
 Hierarchy of norms is a basic principle of a law
system and it is also an important element of the
rule of law.
 The principle of hierarchy of norms occurs in the
written sources as well, which are
1-Constitution
2 law/act/code
3- Statutory decrees – ordinance(s),
4-International treaties,
5-Regualtions and
6-By-Laws.
HIERARCY OF NORMS:
 The structure of the principle hierarchy of
norms looks like a pyramid structure and on
the top of the pyramid there is the
constitution and its rules
 They are directly followed at second level of
the pyramid by statutes/codes.
 Thirdly we see statutory decrees
HIERARCY OF NORMS:
 Followed by the fourth degree which are the
international treaties. According to the
Constitution, international treaties are
valuated as domestic rules or rather as like
domestic statutes/codes.
 On the fifth level, there are regulations in the
principle of hierarchy of norms. Regulations
are important for statutes /codes.
 Finally the last level in the principle hierarchy
of norms belongs to by-laws.
 See Figure 3.
HIERARCY OF NORMS: figure 3
(source : K. Gözler, Hukukun Temel Kavramlari, Ekin 2011, p.32.)
Constitution
Code (statute –act)
Statutory decrees
International treaties
Regulations
By-Laws
BRANCHES OF THE LAW
 One of the definitions of law, can be understood as
“positive law” which is the term generally used to
describe man-made laws. Positive law has created its
school and its reasoning.
 The opposite of positive law can be seen as natural
law. So natural law is a system of the law that is
purportedly determined by nature, not by manmade
–laws.
BRANCHES OF THE LAW
 Classically, nature law refers to the use of reason to
describe and to analyze human nature and deduce
binding moral rules and moral behaviors.
 Natural law also has created its school and its
reasoning/philosophy.
 So the two important schools are positive and
nature law schools.
BRANCHES OF THE LAW
 Our basic term is the positive law for this lesson. The
positive law is divided mainly into two groups/
branches (classification of law): Private and Public
law. In addition, international law can also be added
into these two branches.
 Private law consists of rules which are applied to the
disputes between persons (natural and private legal
persons).
BRANCHES OF THE LAW
 Branches and examples of the private law can
be summarized as civil law, law of obligation,
commercial law.
 Public law regulates opposite areas of private
law branches. Public law regulates the
constitution, administration of state and
organization of also state.
 Public law organizes also relations between
state and the citizens.
BRANCHES OF THE LAW
 Under the public law we can count organized
constitutional law, criminal law, administrative law,
tax law etc.
 International law is wholly different area from private
and public laws.
 International law consists of international rules,
regulations and treaties. The areas of international
law are international law, public international law,
and public international private law.
BRANCHES OF THE LAW
 Today in the law life we se also supranational system
and its law structure, which is called supranational
law: such as the EU and EU-Law.
 Supranational law is a new definition and a new area.
 The concept expresses high level of understanding.
 In the next lecture we will go into details on this
topic.
Repetition of the vocabulary 1
• fundamental concepts of law, literary sources of law,
legislation, rules of law, legal rules, ordercommandment, prohibition, sanction, coercion,
religious rules, moral rules, customary rules, usages,
habits, custom, normativity of law, rules of social
order, roman law, written sources of law, unwritten
sources, primary sources of law, auxiliary sources of
law, doctrine, case law, jurisdiction, enacted law
(legislation), unified decisions of supreme courts,
judicial decisions, civil law, common law, religious
law,
Repetition of the vocabulary 2
• Continental Europe, codification, lacunae, coherence,
hierarchy of norms, the rule of law, ethic,
constitution, constitutional law, code(s)/statute(s),
statutory decrees – ordinance(s), international
treaties, regulations, by-laws, braches of the law,
private law, public law, jurisprudence, understanding,
positive law, natural law, positive law school, nature
law school, human nature, moral behavior,
dimension, distinction, classification of law,
obligation, law of obligation,
Repetition of the vocabulary 3
• commercial, commercial law, administrative,
administrative system and law, civil justice, military
justice, administrative justice, natural person, legal
person, private legal person, international law, public
international law, public international private law, EU,
EU-law, supranational systems, supranational law,
criminal law, tax and tax law, harmonization,
harmonization packages, accession negotiations.
CONCLUSION
• ANY QUESTION(S)???
• YOUR COMMENTS
• THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!
• SEE YOU AT THE NEXT LECTURE