Legal Terminology Assistant Professor Dr. Mohammed Abu sadah 2 nd Semester University of Palestine

PART I LAW CHAPTER I THE NATURE OF LAW

CHAPTER I THE NATURE OF LAW Definition : The law is the body of rules which govern and regulate the social conduct of people and which are enforced by a sanction. Characteristics of Law: Legal rules are social, general and forced by a sanction I- Rules of Law are Social: Law control and order relations between people living in a society. It is concerned only with the external conduct or behavior of man, and has nothing to do with internal thoughts or beliefs. It is only when he comes to act upon such beliefs that law can interfere.

CHAPTER I THE NATURE OF LAW cont. 2- Rules of Law are General : Law is generally applicable. It is applied in all cases and to all persons. Thus the criminal rule of law which provide the penalty of death in case of murder is applicable whenever any man killed another premeditatedly. A rule of law is general though it is applicable to one person only. For example: The President of the Palestine must be aged 35 years at least. That is a general rule although it concerns only one person, the president. This rule does not concern any president by name, it is applicable to all persons who would be candidates for the post president.

CHAPTER I THE NATURE OF LAW cont. 3- Rules of Law are Enforced by a sanction: People are invited to obey law voluntarily. If not, they are compelled to do so by means of sanction applied by the state, the sovereign political authority. A sanction is a devise to induce obedience of a rule of law. It may be criminal if the disobedience consist in a crime, for example. death, imprisonment, fine. A sanction may be civil, the invalidity of a contract, the restitution of what had been delivered, the payment of damages.

CHAPTER II THE CLASSIFICATION OF LAW Public and Private Law: Law is usually classified into two great classes. Public Law and Private Law. This classification is based upon a distinction between the public or private character of the persons concerned. Public Law is that which regulates the relations of public persons among themselves, or relations arising between public persons and private persons. Private law is concerned with the relations of private persons among themselves. By a public person is meant either the state or an independent authority of the state, whether legislative. parliament, executive. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Authority of Railways, or judicial Courts.

CHAPTER II THE CLASSIFICATION OF LAW cont. By a private person is meant either an individual, or a group of individuals. An association or a corporation. Subdivision of public law: Public law includes several branches, Constitutional law, Administrative law, law of Taxation, Criminal law, public international law. Subdivision of Privates law: Private law includes Civil law, law of civil and commercial procedure, Commercial and Maritime law, Private International law.

CHAPTER III THE SOURCES OF LAW Legal and Historical Sources : Sources of law can be classified as either legal or historical. The former are those sources which are recognized as such by the law itself. The later are those sources lacking formal recognition by the law. The legal sources are the only gates through which new principles can _difind entrance into the law. For every legal system contains certain rules of recognition determining the establishment of new law and the disappearance of old. The legal sources of Palestinian law: According to the Palestinian civil code, the legal sources of law are, legislation, custom, Muslim law and natural law.

CHAPTER III THE SOURCES OF LAW cont. Legislation: Legislation or statute law consists of act of parliament and of by laws passed by the government in other words, legislation is the laying down of legal rules by a sovereign or subordinate legislator. Legislation is either supreme or subordinate. At the summit of the hierarchy are the constitution or constitutional laws. The supreme legislative authority in Palestine is the House of People. Subordinate Legislation : Enactment's of legislative bodies inferior to the sovereign constitute subordinate legislation. Such legislation is subordinate in that it can be repealed by, and must give way to sovereign legislation.

The chief form of subordinate legislation is the executive. The essential function of the executive is to conduct the administrative departments ofthe state, but if combines with this certain subordinate legislative powers which have been expressly delegated to it by parliament. Custom: Although a custom is an important source of law in early times, its importance continuously diminishes as the legal system grows. However, custom plays preponderant role in alllegal systems, and in developing or applying the law. Legislation itself, in order to be understood, often has to appeal to custom for the necessary clarification of the ideas of the legislators. The custom is the popular source of law.

CHAPTER III THE SOURCES OF LAW cont. When a person has been doing a thing regularly over a substantial period of time, it is usual to say that he is accustomed to doing it, when a large section of the popular are in habit of doing a thing over a very much longer period it may become necessary of the courts to take notice of it. The third source of law is Muslim Law. The last source is the natural law and rules of equity.

PART II RIGHT CHAPTER I DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF RIGHT

RIGHT Definition : A right is an interest recognized and protected by the law. Classification of Rights: Legal rights can be classified into various kinds. Primary we distinguish between political rights and civil rights. Political rights are these which concern the government and administration of the country. Such rights are not enjoyed by all members of the community, only citizens enjoy the right to vote in the election of representatives on public bodies, the right to hold public offices.

RIGHT cont. Civil rights are divided into two kinds. Public rights and Private Rights. Private Rights: Private Rights are enjoyed by definite individuals. Private rights include three kinds : - Incorporeal rights. - Family rights. - Pecuniary rights.

CHAPTER II THE ELEMENTS OF THE RIGHTS The existence of a right demands the existence of a holder. The holder of the right is the person. Persons: In law, a person is any being who is capable to hold a right or to be bound by a duty. All human beings are persons because they are all so capable. But the scope of personality is larger than the class of human beings. For certain purposes, law treats some entities as subjects of rights and duties. Thus, persons are of two kinds natural and juristic.

THE ELEMENTS OF THE RIGHTS cont A natural person is a human being capable of rights and duties. A juristic person is any being which is not human to home law attributes personality. Natural persons are persons ill fact as well as in law, juristic persons are persons in law but not in fact. That is why juristic persons are also called fictitious, artificial or moral. A- Natural Persons: A human being personality commences at his birth and ends with his death. Yet the law usually recognizes a contingent right to the child conceived but not yet born.

Status: Status is the condition of being a member of a particular group of class : a family, a state, a religious sect. It results from such membership, that a man has a name, a family, a nationality and a religion. A person's status has some influence upon his legal condition. In Palestine, people are classified as Moslems, Christians and Jew for the purpose of determining what law is applicable to them in their domestic relations. Membership of a particular family creates mutual rights and duties between fathers and sons, husbands and wives.

Nationality consists in membership of a state. Such membership creates certain rights and duties upon persons who are members of it : citizens. Law recognizes political rights such as the right to vote to citizens only. Such rights are not entitled to aliens. B- Juristic Persons: Juristic persons can be classified into two kinds. Public juristic persons and private juristic persons. Public juristic persons are : the state, the governorate (Al-Mohafza ), the town, the villages and the public authorities. Private juristic persons are corporations, associations.