RELIGIOUS AND CUSTOMARY LAW SYSTEMS

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Religious Law Vocabulary

1. predominantly — особенно, преимущественно

2. the main common feature — главная общая черта

3. to aim to cover all areas of life — иметь целью охватить все сферы жизни

4. revolutionary council — революционный совет

5. nonetheless — несмотря на, однако

Muslim Law — is an autonomous legal system which is of a religious nature and predominantly based on the Koran. The number of Muslim countries is growing (now there are more than 50 Muslim states the population of which is about 900 million people), and the main common feature is not merely spiritual: the Islamic religion aims to cover all areas of life. Countries belonging to this system are: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and others.

In its strongest formulation, some Islamic scholars state that law cannot exist outside religion and therefore the state has no power to legislate. But in practice the religion is found in the countries with very different histories, where formal legal systems differ much.

Hindu Law. Unrivalled in age, the Hindu law found in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Malaysia and parts of East Africa is contained in a literature which is vast and complex. In the countries mentioned, however, it governs only personal and family relations and its family law has been codified and much amended, especially in India. Nonetheless it can affect the lives of some 450 million people.

Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы.

1. What do numbers 50, 900, 450 mean in the text?

2. What legal systems do Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates belong to?

 

Customary Law

Vocabulary

1. Customary law — традиционное право

2. Napoleonic Civil Code — гражданский кодекс Наполеона

3. prior to colonial influences — до влияния колониальных стран

4. following the colonization — вслед за колонизацией

5. the earliest systems of law — самые ранние системы права

Customary Law is a type of legal system that serves as the basis of, or has influenced, present-day laws in approximately 40 countries — mostly in Africa, but some in the Pacific islands, Europe, and the Middle East. Customary law is also referred to as “primitive law”, “unwritten law”, “indigenous law”, and “folk law”. There is no single history of customary law such as that found in Roman civil law, English common law, Islamic law, or the Napoleonic Civil Code. The earliest systems of law in human society were customary, and usually developed in small agrarian and huntergatherer communities.

As the term implies, customary law is based upon the customs of a community. Common attributes of customary legal systems are that they are seldom written down, they embody an organized set of rules regulating social relations, and they are agreed upon by members of the community. Although such law systems include sanctions for law infractions, resolution tends to be reconciliatory rather than punitive. A number of African states practiced customary law many centuries prior to colonial influences. Following colonization, such laws were written down and incorporated to varying extents into the legal systems imposed by their colonial powers.

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1. What are the characteristic features of Customary law?

2. What is the main source of Customary law?

Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты следующим русским словосочетаниям.

1) включать санкции

2) термин

3) может также называться

4) служить основой или испытывать влияние

5) входить в состав правовой системы

6) обнаружить

7) иметь тенденцию к мирному решению вопроса

8) регулировать общественные отношения

 

The United Kingdom. Common Law

Vocabulary

1. to contain something — содержать что-либо

2. to form something — образовывать что-либо

3. to relate to the political instability — быть связанным с политиче- ской нестабильностью 4. to retain distinctions — сохранить различия

5. to be binding — быть обязательным

6. to incorporate something — включать в себя что-то

7. to ensure certainty and consistency — обеспечить определенность и устойчивость

8. to be flexible — быть гибким

9. to be derived from — происходить

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland contains three major legal systems which have been developed through ages. The three systems, each with their own legal rules, courts and legal professions, are based geographically. These are systems of England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

England and Wales. These two areas form one jurisdiction. The national courts (High Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords) are based in London, but there are local courts (Magistrates’ Courts and County Courts) throughout the country and the Crown Court has many locations.

Northern Ireland. It has some unusual features in its system, which is centered in Belfast. Many relate to the political instability and violence which has taken place in the region since its establishment. One such feature is the absence of a jury in “terrorist” trials. But the legal system of Northern Ireland has otherwise grown very similar to that of England and Wales.

Scotland. It had its own system of laws and courts (based in Edinburgh) before its union with England and Wales in 1707. The Acts of Union of 1707 expressly allowed these to continue, and so Scotland retains many distinctions from the English system. It should be noted that the United Kingdom has incorporated the legal system of the European Union since 1972. The legal systems within the United Kingdom were based largely on judge-made law since the 17th century. The law developed through decisions made by judges and was called “case law” or “common law” (common to all courts of the country). Since that time, new laws and law reforms have increasingly been brought about through Acts of Parliament, usually inspired by policies of the Government.

Even so, the development of case law still remains an important source of law. A statement of law made by a judge in a case can become binding on later judges and can in this way become the law for everyone to follow.

Precedent has a very important role in the common law. It ensures certainty and consistency and logical progression and development in the law. Many countries (especially in Continental Europe) prefer a codified system in which laws are set out in legislation and cases which apply them may be illustrative but do not become binding. Nevertheless, the common law does have advantages over codified systems — it is more flexible, it is more practical as it is derived from real life dramas played out before the courts.

 

The US Law Vocabulary

1. island possessions — островные владения

2. to define the division between something — определить деление на

3. to claim independence — требовать независимость

4. to shift — сдвигать, перемещать

5. to retain substantial legal authority — сохранить существенные правовые полномочия

6. to outline the general structure — определить общую структуру

7. to lack something — здесь: быть в недостатке

It is a type of common law, which is the basis of the legal system of the United States and that of its island possessions in the Caribbean and the Pacific. This legal system has several layers, more than in most other countries, and defined the division between federal and state law. The United States was founded not as one nation but as a union of 13 colonies, each claiming independence from the British Crown.

The US Constitution, implemented in 1789, began hifting power away from the states and toward the federal government, though the states today retain substantial legal authority. US law draws its authority from four sources: constitutional law, statutory law, administrative regulations, and case law.

Constitutional law is based on the US Constitution and serves as the supreme federal law. Taken together with those of the state constitutions, these documents outline the general structure of the federal and state governments and provide the rules and limits of power.

US statutory law is legislation enacted by the US Congress and is codified in the United States Code. The 50 state legislatures have similar authority to enact state statutes.

Administrative law is the authority delegated to federal and state executive agencies. Case law, also referred to as common law, covers areas where constitutional or statutory law is lacking.

Case law is a collection of judicial decisions, customs, and general principles that began in England centuries ago, that were adopted in America at the time of the Revolution, and that continue to develop today.

 

The Comparative Law

Vocabulary

1. comparative law — сравнительное право

2. applicability of laws — применимость законов

3. world trade — мировая торговля

4. intergovernmental organization — межправительственная орга- низация

5. to simplify rules — упростить правила

 

This law is a newly made one and studies differences and similarities between different jurisdictions, including civil-law systems, common-law systems and religious (or theological) legal systems.

Comparative law has become of increasing practical importance for two reasons. First, the globalization of world trade means that commercial lawyers are often required to work with colleagues and clients from unfamiliar jurisdictions. The second reason is the increasing harmonization (or unification) of laws between previously separate jurisdictions, as with the European Union and the Union of South American Nations.

This kind of law is closely related to private international law and the harmonization of law. Private international law concerns the applicability of laws in situations involving other jurisdictions. Harmonization of law developed out of a need to simplify these rules, both at a national level and between sovereign states

One more aspect of comparative law is the idea of uniform law. There are two main sources of international uniform law: The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCC) and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT). The Hague Conference, a global intergovernmental organization with over 60 member states, is the leading organization in the area of private international law. An increasing number of non-member states are also becoming parties to the Hague conventions. The statutory mission of the HCC is to work for the progressive unification of private international law in a wide range of areas, from commercial law to international civil procedure and from child protection to matters of marriage and personal status.

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1. Why do you think the comparative law is so necessary?

2. Do you agree that the law needs to be uniformed?

3. Сan you imagine the possibility of creating the unique world law system?