Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević
G10, room 6/I, Tue 11:30-12:30
e-mail: miljen.matijasevic@gmail.com
Session 2, 22 Oct 2013
1.
What is meant by Law?
2.
Separation of powers
3.
Legal Systems of the World
Unit 1
Try to think of a definition of LAW!
Can you think of any synonyms?
Rule
Regulation
Statute
From Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
1.
(U) all the rules established by authority or custom for
regulating the behaviour of members of a community
or country
2.
(C) any single rule established in this way
3.
(U) a branch of such rules
4.
(U) such rules as a subject of study
From the law.com dictionary:
1.
any system of regulations to govern the conduct of the
people of a community, society or nation (…)
2.
a statute, ordinance or regulation enacted by the
legislative branch of a government and signed into law,
or in some nations created by decree without any
democratic process

“rules of conduct imposed by a state upon its
members and enforced by the courts.”

a norm is a law “if neglect or infraction is regularly
met, in threat or in fact, by the application of
physical force by an individual or group possessing
the socially recognized privilege of so acting.”
(anthropological definition)

a rule, or an order, is a law if “it is externally
guaranteed by the probability that coercion
(physical or psychological), to bring about
conformity or avenge violation, will be applied by a
staff of people holding themselves specially ready
for that purpose.” (sociological definition by Max
Weber)
Laws of a country
Regulation
Rule
(a law, laws, the
law)
Field of law
Legal system
Branch of
knowledge
(law)
(a/the/Ø)
LAW
The courts
The police
The legal
profession
(the law)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Stealing is against the LAW.
The new LAW on VAT comes into force next month.
Her brother specialises in company LAW.
Jane finished LAW school but she doesn’t practice
LAW.
The new car model defies the LAWS of physics.
He has had some problems with the LAW.
Most countries of Europe are continental civil LAW
countries.
We will see what the LAW has to say about that!
to lay down the law
 to enforce the law
 to break the law
 to enact law
 to interpret the law
 to practise law
 to violate a law
 an infraction of the law
 the rule of law
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to lay down the law – propisivati zakone
to enforce the law – provoditi zakone
to break the law – prekršiti zakon
to enact law – propisivati, usvajati zakone
to interpret the law – tumačiti zakon
to practise law – biti odvjetnik
to violate a law – prekršiti zakon
an infraction of the law – povreda zakona
the rule of law – vladavina prava, pravna država
Compose a sentence to illustrate each collocation!

What are the Croatian government institutions?

Try to remember as many as you can. How are these
bodis composed? What are their tasks,
responsibilities and powers?

Who has the most power? Elaborate.

making laws

enforcing laws

collecting tax

creating policies, strategies and plans on spending
tax money, etc.
What authorities carry out these activities?
The Legislative
The Executive
The Judiciary
• What are the powers of each branch?
• Which bodies represent the three branches of power in Croatia?

THE LEGISLATIVE – enacts laws, usually in the hands of parliaments, i.e. the
legislature, elected (chosen) by and represents THE PEOPLE
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THE EXECUTIVE – proposes laws, implements policies, ‘runs the country’, usually
the government and/or the president of a country
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THE JUDICIARY – usually independent, the power lies in the system of courts,
administers justice, enforces laws
The idea is to prevent any branch from having absolute power. Each branch is
involved in controlling the work of the other two, although in different ways.

THE LEGISLATIVE – the Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski
Sabor)

THE EXECUTIVE – the Government of the RC (Vlada
RH) and other administrative bodies (ministries,
agencies, etc.), and the President of the RC

THE JUDICIARY – the Croatian court system: the
Supreme Court of the RC (Vrhovni sud RH) and other
courts
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Note the following:
◦ legislation – zakonodavstvo
(zakoni npr. jedne države)
◦ the legislative (power) – zakonodavna vlast
◦ the legislature – zakonodavno tijelo (najčešće parlament)
◦ the judiciary – sudstvo, sudska vlast
◦ judicial, adj. – sudski, sudački
(e.g. judicial office – sudačka dužnost)

The three dominant legal systems in the world are:
CIVIL LAW
COMMON LAW
RELIGIOUS LAW

inspired by Roman Law and particularly popularized during
the Enlightment (18th century) – the first modern
codifications in Europe

Characterized by CODIFICATION – an accessible and written
collection of laws which apply to all citizens and which
judges must enforce

Judges are merely 'the mouth of the law‘

Laws provide general principles and guidelines to
be applied to each particular case.

Main source of law: LEGISLATION
II. GENERAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCTS
Article 4
(1) A producer shall only place safe products on the market.
(2) For the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article, a product shall be deemed safe:

if it meets all the requirements laid down in the technical regulations pertaining to this product,
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when there are no relevant technical regulations, if it meets the requirements of Croatian standards
transposing European standards, the list of which is published in the Official Gazette,
(3) It shall be prohibited to produce, import, export or place on the market products which are of
misleading appearance, and are therefore unsafe for consumers, especially children.
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Developed in England in the 12th century
Law which is not written by elected politicians but
rather by judges.
Common law is a collection of court rulings or
precedents which must be observed by judges.
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Contrary to civil law, common law does not provide
general principles but examples of court rulings in
similar cases, which provide the basis for new court
decisions.
The starting point of common law is the case, not the
general principle.
Main source of law: PRECEDENTS (PREVIOUS COURT
RULINGS)

Legal system using a religious system or document
as a legal source, although the legal methodology
varies.
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Religious law systems are usually mixed systems
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Some areas may be governed by religious, and
others by secular laws.
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Legal systems of the modern world are often a
combination of two systems.
Religious law usually follows the principles of either
civil or common law.
Common law countries have a parallel system of
codified laws, supplementing the precedents.
Some countries even have multiple legal systems
(e.g. Canada, the USA)
Thank you for your attention!