法律知识导读（英文）第二单元 Legal Systems.pptVIP

Unit 2 Legal Systems 法律体系 Lead-in 法律体系是指具有相同或相近的传统、原则、制度和特征等要素的一类法律制度的总和。一般而言，大陆法系和英美法系被认为是当今世界最重要的两大法律体系。大陆法系，又称欧陆法系，是以罗马法为基础发展起来的法律的总称。英美法系，又称普通法法系，是以英国自中世纪以来的法律，特别是以普通法为基础发展起来的法律的总称。这两大法律体系也有交流与融合之处，如英国、美国、澳洲、加拿大是典型的英美法系国家，但美国的路易斯安那州和加拿大的魁北克则采用的是大陆法系的法律制度。 Legal Systems civil law common law religious law combinations of these. Civil law Civil law is the most widespread system of law around the world. It is also known as Continental European law. The central source of law that is recognized as authoritative is codifications in a constitution or statute passed by legislature, to amend a code. Sources: The Roman Empire, and more particularly, the Corpus Juris Civilis issued by the Emperor Justinian ca. 529 AD; and partly influenced by religious laws such as Canon law and Islamic law. Four distinct groups: French civil law: in France, the Benelux countries, Italy, Spain and former colonies of those countries; German civil law: in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Portugal and its former colonies, Turkey, Japan, and the Republic of China; Scandinavian civil law: in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. As historically integrated in the Scandinavian cultural sphere, Finland and Iceland also inherited the system. Chinese law: a mixture of civil law and socialist law in use in the the People’s Republic of China. Common law Common law and equity are systems of law whose sources are the decisions in cases by judges. ◆ The doctrine of stare decisis or precedent by courts is the major difference to codified civil law systems. Development: 1. developed in England; 2. influenced by Anglo-Saxon law and to a much lesser extent by the Norman conquest of England which introduced legal concepts from Norman law; 3.later inherited by the Commonwealth of Nations; 4. almost every former colony of the British Empire has adopted it Current Status: Currently in practice in Ireland, most of th