Unit 29 Types of English Civil Law

CIVIL LAW a legal system prevalent in continental Europe that is based on written codes (in this sense contrasts with the common-law system used in England and most of the United States) an area of law governing disputes between individuals (as opposed to criminal law)

CIVIL LAW (as a branch of law)  SUBCATEGORIES IN CIVIL LAW SYSTEMS - an area of private law regulating relations between individuals Basic branches:  Law of property  Law of obligations (Contract law)  Law of sucession New branches:  Law of securites  Commercial law  Copy-right law  Insurance law

IN COMMON LAW SYSTEM an area of law concerned with a) relations between private individuals b) non-criminal relations between governments and private individuals or other entities Subcategories: Law of contract Law of torts Law of property Law of succession Family law Revenue law; Patents and copyright; Trade unions; Administrative law

PARTIES IN A CIVIL LAWSUIT PLAINTIFF (CLAIMANT) - the party bringing a civil action (filing a claim) – the injured party DEFENDANT - the party against whom an action is brought (a claim filed)

THE LAW OF CONTRACT CONTRACT = a legally binding agreement made between two or more persons, by which rights are acquired by one or more to acts or forbearances on the part of the other or others Subcategories of the law of contract: 1. shipping contracts, 2. hire purchase, 3. sale of goods etc.

THE LAW OF TORTS TORT = a less serious civil wrong committed by one citizen against anothe r  serious enough to merit the award of compensation to the injured party  not serious enough to amount to the breaking of the the criminal law CIVIL LIABILITY NOT PUNISHABLE BY THE STATE Offender tortfeasor Action taken by the injured party

SUBCATEGORIES OF TORTS 1. Negligence 2. Nuisance 3. Defamation 4. Intentional torts 5. Statutory torts 6. Economic torts 7. Competition law

NEGLIGENCE an unreasonable breach of duty by one person to another the failure to take reasonable care to avoid foreseeable injury to others Example: the modern law of negligence started with a decomposed snail contained in a drink consumed in a public bar; the manufacturer was sued by the consumer for her consequent illness

NUISANCE unreasonable interference with a person’s use or enjoyment of property Example: Jones v Powell A brewery made stinking fumes waft to neighbors’ property, damaging his documents. Because he was a landowner, the neighbor sued in nuisance for this damage

DEFAMATION - tarnishing the reputation of someone (making factual assertion for which you cannot provide evidence of its truth) LIBEL  defaming somebody through print or broadcasting SLANDER  spoken defamation

READ THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLE A teacher may be bumped walking down the hallway at school by a grade nine student. No real harm is done. The grade nine student was not intending to cause him / her any harm. When harm is deliberately caused, for example, if that same grade nine student intentionally punched the teacher in the face, an intentional tort has been committed. The person doing the punching is responsible for any injury caused by the action. Intentional torts take place when someone deliberately comes into contact with another person or his or her property to the point where damage is done.

INTENTIONAL TORTS any intentional acts that are reasonably foreseeable to cause harm to an individual AGAINST THE PERSON  assault  battery  false imprisonment  intentional infliction  emotional distress  fraud PROPERTY TORTS  trespass to land  trespass to chattels  conversion

Other torts o STATUTORY TORTS - created by the legislature, not the courts (consumer protection - Product Liability Directive of the EU) o ECONOMIC TORTS - protect people from interference with their trade or business (eg. trade libel;) o COMPETETION LAW (ANTI-TRUST LAW) - an important method for regulating the conduct of business (the abuse of market power by monopolists, or the substantial lessening of competition through merger, acquisition, or concentration of enterprises)

REMEDIES COMPENSATION IN DAMAGES OR MONEY SELF-HELP (reasonable force to expel a trespasser) INJUNCTION (a command by the court)

ESSENTIAL EXPRESSIONS a tort a plaintiff/claimant a defendant to bring a civil action a wrong negligence nuisance false imprisonment assault and battery trespass to land trespass to chattels defamation slander libel a remedy an injunction

Read the text and find the English equivalents for the following Croatian legal terms: pravno obvezujući ugovor nečinjenje dodjela naknade/odštete; dodijeliti/dosuditi odštetu građanska odgovornost oštećena strana kršenje ugovora osoba koja neovlašteno ulazi na tuđe imanje; počinitelj građanskog delikta pravična obveza tužiti za nanesenu štetu zbog nemara Smatrati pravno odgovornim