法律英语课件..ppt

Lesson One Legal System I. Why study legal English? Reading legal literature and translating legal documents; Enlarging vocabulary specific to law; Improving such skills as listening, speaking, reading and writing in relation to law. II. What will be covered in this course? Legal system Judicial System Constitution Administrative Law Criminal Law Civil Rights Law Contract Law Tort Law Property Law Corporation Law Insurance Law Commercial Law III. What do we mean by “law”? On the one hand it refers to the established rules by authority or custom, regulating the behavior of members of a community, country, etc. On the other hand, the term means the body of such rules in general. IV. What are the major legal systems in the world? (1) Civil Law System The term “civil law” (Continental law) and the basis of the law itself are derived originally from the law of ancient Rome. Civil law is the predominant system of law in the world. Today most Western European countries have civil-law systems, as do countries of Latin America, most African countries, Japan, Thailand, and Turkey. The legal systems in many civil law countries are based around one or several codes of law, which set out the main principles that guide the law. The most famous example is perhaps the French Civil Code. (2) Common Law System Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals, rather than through legislative statutes or executive action. Originated in England, common law system has now been adopted by countries like United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Singapore. (3) Muslim Law System The Muslim legal system is an autonomous legal system which is actually religious in nature and predominantly based on the Koran(古兰经).