Legal English

Features of Legal English

• Use of synonyms

• Formality

• Passives

• Lengthy and complex sentences

• Linkers/connectors

• Strong obligation - > shall

• Mild obligation - > may

• Latin expressions

Divisation

• Civil Law - legal system developed from the roman codified law, established by a state for its regulation; area of the law concerned with non-criminal matters rights and remedies.

• Criminal Law - area of the law which deals with crimes and their punishments, including fines and/or imprisonment.

• Common Law/ Law of equity/judge made-law - precedents, court decides on past rulings - legal system which is the foundation of the legal systems of most English-speaking countries of the world, based on customs, usage and court decisions.

Law of Torts - division of Common Law Tort-prejudiciu

Types of torts

• Intentional tort

• Negligence tort

• Strict liability - breach of duty of care

Elements of torts

1. A breach

2. Damage

3. Causation

4. Compensation

Criminal Trial

The state represented by a prosecutor who presses /brings charges, indicts, has the burden of proof and must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt vs. defendant. The judge passes a sentence, reaches a verdict: guilty or not guilty.

Civil Trial

Plaintiff/petitioner who files a complaint vs. defendant/respondent. Burden of proof is established by the preponderance of evidence. Court decision/ruling: liable or not liable.

Lawyers

• In-house counsellor

• Attorney involved in corporate and commercial cases

• Solicitors who gather evidence, document the case, but do not speak in court

• Barristers (origin bar = barou) who pleaded cases - involved in litigation

All are addressed as “counsellor” by the judge.

Studying law in the UK

In the UK, a legal education usually begins with the completion of a bachelor degree in law, known as an LLB, which usually takes 3 years. In the subsequent stage, a person who wishes to become a barrister joins one of the Inns of Court before beginning the Bar Vocational Course. The completion of this stage is marked by a ceremony referred to as the call to the Bar. A third stage, known as the pupillage, is a year-ling apprenticeship, usually at a set of barrister’s chambers, which customarily consists of groups of 20-60 barristers. Similarly, a person wishing to become a solicitor must also complete three stages: the first stage involves gaining a law degree, the second stage requires passing one-year Legal Practice Course (LPC) and the final stage entails working for two years as a trainee solicitor with a firm of solicitors or in the legal department of a local authority or large company.

Studying law in the USA

In the USA, a legal education comprises four years of undergraduate study followed by three years of law school. A law-school graduate receives the degree juris doctor (JD). In order to qualify as a lawyer-a law school graduate must pass the bar examination.

Vocabulary:

Tortfeasor - commits the tort

Duty of care - obligation towards a person

Bailment - garantie

Proximate cause - direct result from a breach

Nuisance - nulitate

Dereliction - breach (only in tort law)

Idiosyncrasies - habit

Types of court:

A small claims court is a court that deals with disputes over small amounts of money.

A court of appeal is a civil or criminal court to which a person may go to ask for an award or sentence to be changed.

A court-martial is a court which tries someone serving in the armed forces for offences against military discipline.

A courthouse is the general word for a building in which trials take place.

A county court is one of the types of court in England and Wales which hears local civil cases.

The European court of human rights is a court which considers the rights of citizens of states which are parties to the European convention for the protection of human rights.

An employment tribunal is a body responsible for hearing work-related complaints as specified by statute.

A magistrates’ court is a court which hears cases of petty crime, adoption, affiliation, maintenance and violence in the home and which can also commit someone for trial or sentencing in a crown court.

A coroner’s court is a court presided over by a public official usually a doctor or a lawyer who investigates sudden, unexpected and violent deaths.

A crown court is a court above the level of a magistrates’ court which hears criminal cases.

A lands tribunal is a court which deals with compensation claims relation to land.

A commercial court is a court in the Queen’s Bench division which hears cases relation to business disputes.

A rent tribunal is a court which adjudicates in disputes about money paid or services provided in return for borrowing something - usually building or land.

The high court/supreme court is the main civil court in England and Wales.

The European court of justice is the court set up to see that the principles of law as laid out in the treaty of Rome are observed and applied correctly in the EU.

A court of protection is a court appointed to serve the interest of people who are not capable of dealing with their own affairs, such as patients who are mentally ill.

The admiralty court is a court which is a part of the Queen’s Bench division which decides in disputes involving ships.

The house of lords is the highest court of appeal in the UK.

Curs 2 - 12.12.2011 - 2 hours

Clerk - grefier

Bailiff - jandarm, aprod

Documents

• Writ - citatie in civil law/Subpoena or summons in criminal law - a document informing someone that they will be involved in a legal process and instructing them what they must do

• Answer - cerere reconventionala - the principal pleading by the defendant in response to a complaint

• Injunction in civil law/ Restraining order in criminal - an official order from a court for a person to stop doing something

• Affidavit - declaratie - written statement that somebody makes after they have sworn officially to tell the truth, which might be used as proof in court

• Motion to (dismiss) - cerere - an application to a court to obtain an order, ruling or decision

• Brief - set of documents - a documents or set of documents containing the details about a court case

• Notice - a document providing notification of a fact, claim or proceeding