WHAT IS MEANT BY LAW? Unit 1

Structure 1. Definitions of law 2. Purpose of law 3. Classification of law 4. Law and morality 5. Law and religion 6. Law and justice:Revill v Newbery (1996) 7. Exercises 8. Legal terms

What is law? ‘Law, says the judge as he looks down his nose, Speaking clearly and most severely Law is as I’ve told you before, Law is as you know I suppose, Law is but let me explain it once more, Law is The Law’ (W.H.Auden. Extract from Law is Like Love)

The Law (Collins Cobuild English Dictionary) 1. a system of rules that a society or government develops in order to deal with crime, business agreements, and social relationships. You can also use the law to refer to the people who work in this system. They are seeking permission to begin criminal proceedings against him for breaking the law on financing political parties...

law 2. Law is used to refer to a particular branch of the law, such as criminal law or company law. Under international law, diplomats living in foreign countries are exempt from criminal prosecution...

law 3. A law is one of the rules in a system of law which deals with a particular type of agreement, relationship, or crime The law was passed on a second vote.

law Law or the law is all the professions which deal with advising people about the law, representing people in court, or giving decisions and punishments A career in law is becoming increasingly attractive to young people.

law Law is the study of systems of law and how laws work. He came to Oxford and studied law.

law The laws of an organisation or activity are its rules, which are used to organize and control it. ...the laws of the Church of England...

law A law is a rule or set of rules for good behaviour which is considered right and important by the majority of people for moral, religious, or emotional reasons ...inflexible moral laws...

law A law is a natural process in which a particular event or thing always leads to a particular result The laws of nature are absolute.

law A law is a scientific rule that someone has invented to explain a particular natural process ...the law of gravity...

Law (Black’s Law Dictionary) 1. The regime that orders human activities and relations through systematic application of the force of politically organized society, or through social pressure, backed by force, in such a society; the legal system Respect and obey the law

law 2. The aggregate of legislation, judicial precedents, and accepted legal principles; the body of authoritative grounds of judicial and administrative action; esp., the body of rules, standards, and principles that the courts of a particular jurisdiction apply in deciding controversies brought before them The law of the land

law 3. The set of rules or principles dealing with a specific area of a legal system Copyright law

law 4. The judicial and administrative process; legal action and proceedings When settlement negotiations failed, they submitted their dispute to the law

law 5. A statute Congress passed a law

law 6. COMMON LAW Law but not equity

law 7. The legal profession She spent her entire career in law

Law zakon pravo propis pravilo pravna znanost pravna profesija

Definitions of the law The most common definition of the law in English legal textbooks: “(1) rules of conduct (2) imposed by a state upon its members and (3) enforced by the courts.”

Definition Anthropologists: a norm is a law “if its neglect or infraction is regularly met, in threat or in fact, by the application of physical force by an individual or group possessing the socially recognized privilege of so acting”

Definition A rule is a law if “it is externally guaranteed by the probability that coercion (physical or psychological), to bring about conformity or avenge violation, will be applied by a staff of people holding themselves specially ready for that purpose” (Max Weber)

Purpose of law “to regulate human behaviour and establish social order…”

Types of law Law - national (municipal) - international

National law Public (involves the State or government) Private (disputes between private individuals or businesses)

Public law Constitutional law Administrative law Criminal law

Constitutional law Set of laws relating to government and its function under which a country is ruled

Administrative law Controls how Ministers of State or other public bodies such as local councils should operate Judicial review – review by a higher court of the actions of a lower court or of an administrative body (nadzor nad zakonitošću; sudska kontrola; sudski nadzor; postupak protiv javnih tijela i službenika

Criminal law Law relating to acts comitted against the law of the land which are punishable by the state

Private law Also: civil law Contract, tort, family law, law of succession, company law, employment law

Law and morality Concepts of morality differ from culture to culture Morality – often based on religious ideas Law reflects moral values of a community, but it is not the same as the common religious moral code (abortion? euthanasia? same sex marriage?)

Differences between law and morality Morality cannot be deliberately changed; law - altered by legislation Morality: no official sanction; individual’s sense of shame or guilt; law makes certain behaviour obligatory with legal sanctions to enforce it Breaches of morality – not subject to formal adjudication; breaches of law -ruled on by a formal legal system

Law and religion History: law closely linked to religion Today: law should not be used to support religious order Law should protect the ability of those of different religious beliefs to hold and practise their religion (European Convention of Human Rights, Article 9)

Law and justice Justice – the ultimate goal towards which the law should strive What is justice?

Law and justice An impartial, independent judicial system A competent and independent legal profession Procedural justice: access to legal advice, assistance and representation; the guarantee of a fair trial

Revill v Newbury (1996) Mark Revill, aged 21, with another man attempted to break into a shed belonging to William Newbury. They had already that night stolen cars and caused criminal damage elsewhere

Revill v Newbury (1996) Mr Newbury, aged 76, was sleeping in the shed to protect his property after earlier thefts; he had a shotgun and ammunition When he was awakened by the noise of the two men trying to break in, he loaded the shotgun and fired. The shot hit Mr Revill on the right upper arm and chest

Revill v Newbury (1996) Criminal proceedings: Mr. Revill was prosecuted for various criminal offences he had committed, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Mr Newbury was prosecuted for wounding Mr Revill; found not guilty by the jury

Revill v Newbury (1996) Civil proceedings. Mr Revill brought a civil case against Mr Newbury claiming damages for the injuries he had suffered The judge awarded Mr Revill damages of £ 12,100 but reduced the amount to £4,033 because the judge held that Mr Revill was two-thirds to blame for what had happened

Revill v Newbury (1996) Mr Newbury appealed against this order but the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal saying that his conduct was ‘clearly dangerous and bordered on the reckless’

Revill v Newbury (1996) ‘Violence may be returned with necessary violence but the force used must not exceed the limits of what is reasonable in the circumstances’

Questions Should a criminal be able to use the legal rules to claim compensation for injuries caused by another person? Is it justice to award damages to someone who was injured while carrying out criminal activities?

Questions Bearing in mind that Mr Newbery had fired without warning, was the decision that he should pay a reduced amount of damages a just one?

Questions Mr Newbery was found not guilty of a criminal charge of wounding Mr Revill. Was this a just decision?

Introduction to law: basic terms The following terms introduce you to the law and basic legal terminology: Authority, court, govern, judge, law enforcement agency, lawyers, legal action, legal system, legislation, rule, the judiciary, tribunal Below are definitions. Find the definition for each term.

1. A body that is appointed to make a judgement or enquiry_________ Authority, court, govern, judge, law enforcement agency, lawyers, legal action, legal system, legislation, rule, the judiciary, tribunal 1. A body that is appointed to make a judgement or enquiry_________ 2. a country’s body of judges________ 3. an act or acts passed by a law-making body_______ 4. behaviour recognized by a community as binding or enforceable by authority_____

5. legal proceedings_______ Authority, court, govern, judge, law enforcement agency, lawyers, legal action, legal system, legislation, rule, the judiciary, tribunal 5. legal proceedings_______ 6. an official body that has authority to try criminals, resolve disputes, or make other legal decisions_______ 7. an organization responsible for enforcing the law, especially the police_____ 8. a senior official in a court of law______

11. members of the legal profession_____ Authority, court, govern, judge, law enforcement agency, lawyers, legal action, legal system, legislation, rule, the judiciary, tribunal 9. The body or system of rules recognized by a community that are enforceable by established process _______ 10. the control resulting from following a community’s system of rules_______ 11. members of the legal profession_____ 12. to rule a society and control the behaviour of its members

Introduction to law: basic concepts Complete the following text about basic legal concepts using the following words and phrases. Use each term once: authority, court, govern, judges, law enforcement agency, lawyers, legal action, legal systems, legislation, rule, the judiciary, tribunal

authority, court, govern, judges, law enforcement agency, lawyers, legal action, legal systems, legislation, rule, the judiciary, tribunal Why do we have laws and legal systems? At one level, laws can be seen as a type of _____which is meant to ____ behaviour between people. We can find these rules in nearly all social organizations, such as families and sports clubs.

authority, court, govern, judges, law enforcement agency, lawyers, legal action, legal systems, legislation, rule, the judiciary, tribunal Law, the body of official rules and regulations, generally found in constitutions and____, is used to govern a society and to control the behaviour of its members. In modern societies, a body with ____, such as a ____ or the legislature, makes the law; and a ____, such as the police, makes sure it is observed.

authority, court, govern, judges, law enforcement agency, lawyers, legal action, legal systems, legislation, rule, the judiciary, tribunal In addition to enforcement, a body of expert____ is needed to apply the law. This is the role of ____, the body of _____ in a particular country. Of course, legal systems vary between countries, as well as the basis for bringing a case before a court or ____. One thing, however, seems to be true all over the world – starting a ____is both expensive and time-consuming.

The subject matter of the legal system Lawyers often divide the law into criminal and civil. Classify the following terms into the appropriate column. Two terms can appear in both columns: Criminal Civil

Classify the following: Compensation, contract, crime, damages, family law, intellectual property, plaintiff, police, private individual, prosecution, the accused, the defendant, theft, to bring a case, to bring an action, to fine, to charge someone with something

Legal terms: general Adjudication: the act of giving a judgement or of deciding a legal problem Sudska odluka, donošenje odluke, sudski postupak adjudicate

Legal terms Appeal: the act of asking a higher court to change a decision of a lower court Žalba Submit/bring an appeal Uložiti žalbu Dismiss an appeal Odbaciti žalbu

Legal terms: general Court: a body established by law for the administration of justice by judges Tribunal: a specialist court outside the judicial system which examines special problems and makes judgements Lawyer: a wide term which refers to all professionals working in the legal profession; it does not refer to a specific job

Legal terms: general Jurist: a person who has specialised in the study and practice of law Pravni stručnjak Enforce: to make sure something is done or is obeyed Provoditi (odredbe, zakone), primijeniti Avenge: If you avenge a wrong or harmful act, you punish the person who is responsible

Legal terms: general Neglect: failure to do a duty; a lack of care towards someone or something Nebriga, nemar, zanemarivanje Infraction: breach, violation, infringement Kršenje, povreda Coercion: the use of force to make someone to do some act Prisila, prinuda

Legal terms: criminal law Criminal proceeding Kazneni postupak Criminal offence Kazneno djelo

Legal terms: criminal law Criminal charge: an official statement in a court accusing someone of having committed a crime Optužnica To answer charges: to plead guilty or not guilty To withdraw/drop charges Odbaciti optužbe To charge someone with a crime optužiti

Legal terms: criminal law Prosecute Podignuti optužnicu Plead Izjasniti se o krivnji Sentence (osuđujuća) presuda, kazna To pass sentence on someone: to give a convicted person the official legal punishment

Legal terms: civil law Dispute: disagreement between parties Spor, parnica Civil proceedings Parnični postupak Plaintiff (claimant) Tužitelj u građanskom postupku; podnositelj tužbe, oštećenik Bring an action Pokrenuti postupak

Legal terms: civil law Claim Tužbeni zahtjev u građanskom pravu Damages Novčana naknada, (novčana) odšteta Claim damages Tražiti odštetu Award damages Dosuditi odštetu

Translate: What exactly do we mean by “the law”? Law is a common word, so common that most people never stop to consider what it means. Even jurists and social scientists find it hard to define the term law.

Questions for discussion Is it necessary for a society to reach a particular level of development before law can play a useful role? What are the consequences for a country or society of not accepting the importance of the rule of law? Can law protect the economically weak?

Questions for discussion What should be the relationship between law and morality? When should things we disapprove of be made unlawful? How successful is law in shaping human behaviour?

Thank you for your attention!